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The FLUNCH (faculty + lunch) program is designed to encourage student-faculty interaction outside the classroom. Through the program, undergraduates can invite their faculty and/or course instructors to a free lunch at one of many dining locations across campus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only individuals who are currently teaching OR have taught as a primary instructor in an undergraduate course are eligible to be FLUNCHed.
This does not include:
- Teaching assistants
- Non-teaching advisors
- Physical education course instructors
- House course instructors
- Lab, discussion and/or recitation section instructors
This does include:
- Faculty, emeritus faculty, and faculty at the Duke Marine Lab (DUML)
- Staff*
- Graduate students*
- Postdoctoral scholars*
*If students are trying to FLUNCH any of the starred individuals, they must first email fsengagement@duke.edu and provide the name of the desired FLUNCHee and the undergraduate course they are teaching or have taught as a primary instructor. Only then will the requested professor(s) be added as an approved FLUNCHee.
This approval process is separate from the FLUNCH approval process, but must be completed beforehand, or else the system will send an automatic rejection.
Before emailing the office or submitting a FLUNCH request, look up your instructor in the Duke Internal Directory. If their listed affiliation is anything other than "faculty," they will need prior approval from the Student-Faculty Engagement Office to be FLUNCHed. Otherwise, your FLUNCH request with them will be automatically denied.
See the previous FAQ question or scroll down for detailed instructions.
Students must be active, degree-seeking undergraduates at Duke in order to participate in FLUNCH. Students can also invite up to five other undergraduate guests to FLUNCH professors as a group.
If a FLUNCH includes multiple student invitees, only the paying student(s) in the group need to submit a request.
Each undergraduate student can use up to $70 of FLUNCH funds per semester. Students are responsible for any additional charges that exceed the $70 limit.
The FLUNCH dollar amount you see listed on the MyDuke or DukeCard websites displays the amount you have already used for this semester. The amount will display as negative. If you have not yet FLUNCHed this semester, your amount should list $0.
A 10% tip will be added to FLUNCHes held at The Commons. The tip amount counts toward a student's $70/semester FLUNCH account.
The FLUNCH program does not cover alcohol or personal purchases. Inappropriate charges to a student's FLUNCH account may be charged to the student's food points or Bursar account and may be considered violations of the Duke Community Standard.
FLUNCHes can be held at any of the following campus eateries:
- The Commons (reservations encouraged)
- JB's Roasts and Chops
- The Skillet
- The East Campus Marketplace
- Zweli's
- Tandoor
- Gothic Grill
- Duke Marine Lab
- Sazon
- It's Thyme
- The Freeman Center Café
FLUNCHes can only be held between 10:00 am and 4 pm Monday through Friday during the academic year. FLUNCH is not available during the summer.
The last day to submit a FLUNCH request is the last day of class for a given semester; the last day to hold an approved FLUNCH is the Friday of exam week each semester.
For the Fall 2024 semester, the first day to submit a FLUNCH request is Saturday, August 24th, and the first day to hold a FLUNCH is Monday, August 26th.
For the Fall 2024 semester, the last day to submit a FLUNCH request is Wednesday, December 11th, 2024. The last day to hold an approved FLUNCH is Friday, December 13th.
For the Spring 2025 semester, the first day to submit a FLUNCH request is Tuesday, January 7th, 2025. The first day to hold an approved FLUNCH is Wednesday, January 8th, 2025.
For the Spring 2025 semester, the last day to submit a FLUNCH request is Wednesday, April 30th, 2025. The last day to hold an approved FLUNCH is Friday, May 2nd, 2025.
How to FLUNCH
- First, invite your professor(s) and any other student participants to FLUNCH and decide on a mutually convenient time and location.
If your professor is staff, a graduate student, or a postdoctoral fellow, ensure that you have emailed the Student-Faculty Engagement Office in advance to request that your professor be added as an eligible FLUNCHee.
- At least 24 hours before the intended FLUNCH date, submit the FLUNCH Qualtrics form with full information about the professor, the date of the FLUNCH, and other student participants. Incomplete or incorrect FLUNCH submissions will not be approved.
Please be aware that requesting a FLUNCH with less than 24 hours notice runs the risk of not receiving approval in time, in which case all expenses are the responsibility of the student.
- Wait for an approval or rejection email, which should arrive in your email inbox around 11PM or 11AM, depending on when you submitted your request. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, email the office. Your request may not have gone through. You must receive an explicit approval email in order to access FLUNCH funds. Rejection emails will contain details about why a request was rejected.
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If your FLUNCH was rejected due to inaccurate participant/professor information, resubmit with the corrected information.
If your FLUNCH was rejected because the FLUNCHee is not a qualifying faculty member, but still acts as the primary instructor of an undergraduate course, email the office.
- Once approved, proceed with your FLUNCH. When checking out/paying for the meal, inform the cashier at the eatery that you would like to charge to your FLUNCH account. You may be asked to show your approval email as confirmation.
Request FLUNCH Approval for Non-Faculty
Staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars are eligible for FLUNCH, but must be added as approved FLUNCHees on a case-by-case basis. Follow this link to email the Student-Faculty Engagement Office (fsengagement@duke.edu) to request approval.
How do you know if your instructor is non-faculty and needs prior approval? Look them up in the Duke Internal Directory. If their listed affiliation is anything other than "faculty," they will need approval.
In your email, include the name of your desired FLUNCHee and the undergraduate course they are teaching or have taught as a primary instructor.
Please remember that this approval process is separate from the general FLUNCH approval process, and must be completed beforehand or you will receive an automatic rejection.
Submit a FLUNCH Request
FLUNCH requests are open.
The first day to submit a request for the 2025 Spring semester is Tuesday, January 7th at midnight, and the first day to hold a FLUNCH is Wednesday, January 8th.
The last day to submit a request for the spring semester is Thursday, May 1st at 11:45PM, and the last day to hold a FLUNCH is Friday, May 2nd.
Email questions to fsengagement@duke.edu.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
You do not need to resubmit your FLUNCH request, and no further action is needed as long as you are in communication with the other participants about the change.
Yes, you may split the FLUNCH bill with another one, or even more, of the student invitees - as long as the eatery allows it. Each student who is splitting the cost of the bill must individually submit a FLUNCH request.
In order to assure bills can be split, students are strongly encouraged to call their chosen dining location ahead of time to inquire about whether they are able to do so. Splitting checks is at the discretion of the eatery where you hold your FLUNCH.
If an eatery does not allow checks to be split, be sure to make an agreement among your student guest before you attend a FLUNCH of who will pay for the meal.
If you had an approved FLUNCH and accidentally charged the meal to your food or flex account, you can correct the charge by bringing the receipt to the same location where the original transaction occurred and requesting a refund.
Please note that you will need to request refunds sometime Monday-Friday during the active FLUNCH timeframe, 11AM-4PM.