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List of the Best American Universities

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Durham 

Duke University

History of Duke University

The history of Duke University is not so long. It was founded by two Christian groups in 1838 in North Carolina and has gone through several names since then. At the end of the 19th century, it was renamed at the request of the head of one of the colleges in gratitude to Washington Duke, the American magnate, whose donations greatly contributed to the development of the university. Washington Duke bequeathed $ 100,000 with the wish that the university open its doors to women and guarantee full equality.

Subsequently, his son James Duke went on to fund the university by founding the Duke Foundation. Duke Graduate School opened in 1926.

Over the past three years, Duke University has risen significantly in many rankings (both national and global). In addition, being a private university, Dyuksiy receives fairly high funding (a program carried out in 2003 brought the university over 2 billion US dollars).

The university consists of the following colleges: Trinity (humanities and arts), Pratt (engineering), Nicholas (environmental management and ecology), Sanford (political sciences), as well as schools of law and medicine.

Features of admission to Duke University for foreigners

  • English proficiency requirements are 7.0 IELTS scores and 100 TOEFL scores (for graduate programs the required TOEFL score is 90).
  • For foreign applicants for undergraduate programs, the SAT or ACT exam is mandatory , as in almost all other universities in English-speaking countries. However, the results of the exams are not the main criterion for selection. The admissions committee reports on the page for foreign applicants that it also takes into account the educational system of the country, and, in accordance with it, the compliance of the curriculum with the exam. For students who do not have access to test centers (for example, some areas of China), the SAT or ACT exam is not a prerequisite at all.
  • For applicants to master’s and doctoral programs, it is necessary to pass the GRE General (for MBA programs, respectively, GMAT), for some programs also the GRE Subject Test. There is no minimum acceptable score for these tests. The exceptions are the MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts and MA in Liberal Studies programs, which do not require the GRE.
  • When applying for a bachelor’s degree, you must submit an essay , part of which is autobiographical, the other is the answer to a specific question related to the program chosen by the applicant. For master’s programs, a motivation letter is required .
  • The Application Fee is $85 FOR Undergraduate programs and $ 80 for Graduate students.
  • The deadline for applications for the undergraduate level is November 1 for an early decision (the answer comes at the end of December), January 5 for other applications. Application deadlines for postgraduate programs vary quite a lot depending on the program: for some specialties it is mid-December, for others it is early March.
  • There are no strict requirements for the GPA of the university. Below are the statistics of applicants depending on the GPA and SAT / ACT indicators.

Arrangement of Duke University

  • There are 220 buildings on the Duke campus, including research centers, libraries, college buildings, sports buildings, and Duke Chapel. The territory of the university includes 22 square meters. km of forest, called Duke, as well as several parks, the most famous of which is the garden of Sarah Duke, which attracts 300 thousand visitors a year. All buildings are divided into three campuses – East, West and Central. The West Campus is considered the main one; all the main administrative buildings and gyms are located on its territory. Mostly sophomores live on its territory. East Campus is for freshmen. Undergraduates live on the territory of the Central Campus, on its territory there is a police station, the Nasher Museum of Art,
  • In addition to the North Carolina campus, Duke University has offices in China (Duke Kunshan University) and Malaysia (Duke NUS Graduate Medical School).
  • The university team is a member of the NCAA Division 1 in 26 sports. The university’s men’s basketball team is one of the most successful in the United States. The university has the necessary facilities and equipment for training in basketball, football, tennis, lacrosse, wrestling and swimming.
  • The most notable building on the territory is the Duke Chapel, 64 meters high, made in the Gothic style. The chapel has approximately 1,800 seats for visitors, three organs (one with 6,900 pipes) and a 50-bell carillon. The chapel is one of the tallest buildings in the Dyurem district.
  • Duke University has one of the largest library systems in the United States. It includes the Perkins Library, the Bostock Library, the Rubenstein Library on Campus West, the Lily Library on Campus East, the Marine Library at Duke Marine Laboratory, and individual college-led libraries.
  • The university publishes three main magazines: Duke Magazine (dedicated to student life and university research), Duke Environment Magazine (a magazine about nature and the environment, as well as the latest research in this field) and Gist Magazine (dedicated to the latest news from the Institute for Social Research) . In addition, a student newspaper, The Chronicle, has been published since 1902 with a readership of about 70,000.
  • About 40% of all students at Duke University are members of famous fraternities and sororities (student organizations in the United States). As a rule, they live in separate buildings on campus.

Cooperation with universities in the field of international student exchange

  • Exchange programs are available for university students. Their number depends on the college, for example, the Law School offers semi-annual exchange programs with universities in China, Australia, the USA and the UK. The College of Political Science cooperates with Erlagen Universities in Nuremberg and Humboldt Universities in Berlin, Fukua Duke Business School sends students for a year to business colleges in 27 countries of the world. In addition, there are student exchange programs between university campuses (in China and Malaysia).
  • Since 2007, the Duke Engage summer program has existed at the university. According to it, about 70% of students are involved in public life and civil organizations around the world. Program students receive full funding for their projects. With the help of this program, such projects as a summer camp for children with cancer, informing young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, a program to prevent violence, etc., were implemented.

Assistance in finding employment after graduation from Duke University

  • The DukeConnect program brings together graduates who have already begun their careers and those who have just graduated from university. Approximately 6,000 alumni volunteers participate in this program to inform students and alumni about employment and further education opportunities. There is also a Duke Alumni Conversations program where alumni can discuss career issues with university staff and other students.
  • Within 4 years after graduation, a graduate can contact the Duke Career Center and get advice from an employment specialist.
  • Many Duke alumni coaching professionals offer graduate career coaching at a reduced cost.

Opportunity, conditions and cost of living in a hostel

  • For the first three years of study, students of undergraduate programs are required to live in campus buildings – this requirement is explained by the desire of the administration for each student to be introduced into the life of the university and develop relationships with classmates. Senior students can choose between East and West campuses, however, most choose to live off campus.
  • Freshmen students live in the buildings of the East Campus, students of graduate programs and undergraduates – in the buildings of the West Campus. Typically, students from the same college are housed in the same building. The cost of living for one academic year is on average 13,500 USD .

Opportunity to receive scholarships and grants from Duke University

  • About 50% of students receive financial assistance from the university, usually a discount on tuition. For undergraduate students, the university offers parental income support, which can reach full coverage of all expenses. To do this, you must apply for a scholarship before November 15 (about a year before the start of training).
  • Students of doctoral and master’s programs also have the opportunity to receive a scholarship from their college or from an external source. Each department has a consultant who will help students in finding funding. However, the university does not guarantee full financial assistance.
  • All undergraduate students receive a Work study offer, i.e. combining study with work. With regard to PhD and MA programs, in most cases, work during training is not encouraged, since these students are expected to give full return in their research activities.

Interesting facts about Duke University

  • Duke Hospital, once a small clinic, is now a world-renowned medical center with just under a thousand beds for patients.
  • The Duke Lemur Centre, at 34 hectares, is the largest strep-nosed primate sanctuary in the world. The center is open to the public, and it also conducts research on the life of lemurs in their natural environment.
  • In the 1990s, the university introduced a policy regulating the purchase of beer barrels to limit student alcohol consumption: they could only be purchased through the Dining Service of the university itself. As a result, student parties have moved to off-campus living quarters. After numerous complaints from neighbors and several student arrests, the university once again decided to change its policy, buying back houses normally rented by students in March 2006 and selling them to private individuals. As a result, the number of parties decreased significantly.
  • The mascot of the Duke University sports teams is the Blue Devil (from the French les Diable Bleus – the name of the French infantry in the Alps during the First World War).

Famous alumni of Duke University

  • Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
  • Ricardo Dagos, the 33rd President of Chile, received his Ph.D. in Economics here.
  • Among the graduates are three Nobel Prize winners – Hans Dehmelt “for the development of the method of confining single ions”, Robert Richardson “for the discovery of helium-3 superfluidity” and Charles Townes “for work on quantum electronics”.
  • Three winners of the Pulitzer Prize (the most prestigious award in the field of literature and journalism) – Louis Jaffe, William Stowron and Ann Tyler – studied at Duke University.
  • Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook, received an MBA from this university.
  • Cisco CEO John Chambers once studied at the School of Engineering.
  • Rick Wagoner, former chairman of the board of General Motors, received his first BA in Economics degree here.
  • Carl von der Heyden, former CEO of PepsiCo and Heinz, completed his bachelor’s program here.