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Duke has long recognized that while talent is equally distributed, opportunity and access are not. When you invest in financial aid at Duke, you are not just funding tuition—you’re fueling ambition, enabling potential, and opening doors to futures that might otherwise remain closed. Financial aid is one of the most powerful tools in our kit to attract and support the next generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers.
Our Commitment to Financial Aid
At Duke, we believe that a student’s potential, not their family’s income, should determine their future. That’s why we are proud to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for every undergraduate. Last year alone, we provided $152 million in need-based grants to over 2,400 students.
Given the impact this support has in our students’ lives and futures, and Duke’s commitment to sustaining this life-changing resource, financial aid is a priority initiative in the Made for This campaign. And gifts to financial aid don’t just support individual students; they support the entire Duke community by allowing tuition revenue to go directly to faculty, innovation, and needs across campus.
Financial aid is not just a benefit—it’s a lifeline."
Sustainable Support: Endowments Ensure Our Future
Endowed gifts stand the test of time, ensuring today’s students receive the support they need while also growing in value so students in our next century benefit from your giving. Currently, only approximately $1 out of every $3 of financial aid is supported through endowment. Through philanthropy, we will be able to do more to meet the financial need of our students.
Aid Costs Are Increasing
Today, more than 4 in 10 Duke first-year students rely on need-based aid. For many, that aid makes all the difference. With an average need-based grant offer of $67,000 per student, financial aid is not just a benefit—it’s a lifeline.
And Duke financial aid goes beyond support for just tuition. Depending on a student’s level of financial need, our aid can provide assistance for books, health insurance, course materials, and even summer opportunities abroad. Students from North and South Carolina with family incomes under $150,000 receive a minimum grant offer of full tuition, and Carolinians earning under $65,000 receive enough grant assistance to eliminate nearly every cost—plus a laptop, medical co-pay assistance, and more.
Gifts to Financial Aid Broadly Support Duke
Funding financial aid through philanthropy not only transforms individual lives, it strengthens the university as a whole. The majority of financial aid at Duke is supported through revenue, primarily tuition revenue. By shifting this burden to endowed support, we free up critical resources to invest in other core priorities: recruiting and retaining world-class faculty, expanding research initiatives, improving campus facilities, and creating innovative academic programs. In this way, every gift to financial aid multiplies in impact by empowering students and fueling the excellence that defines Duke.
Endow Duke Students Forever
Gifts of any size move us closer to our goal of ensuring that every talented student can access a Duke education, regardless of financial circumstance. While all contributions make a difference, building the endowment for financial aid is especially powerful. An endowed gift of approximately $2 million provides full support for one Duke student across their four-year journey, repeated over and over forever. It’s a permanent investment in opportunity, equity, and the future of Duke.
Admitted students have said
Without the necessary grants from Duke, it would have been impossible for my family to afford my living there, especially as an overseas, military-affiliated dependent who must travel often."
-Accepted Admission
"Duke's financial aid and Carolina Initiative were vital in making Duke possible for me to attend."
-Accepted Admission
Duke's financial aid package allowed me the opportunity to attend a school that I had always cherished. Without these financial considerations, I likely would not be attending Duke."
-Accepted Admission
For more information on ways to make a gift to support financial aid, click the button below.