Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The school, which officially became Duke University in 1924, traces its institutional roots to 1838. Beginning in the 1970s, Duke administrators began a long-term effort to strengthen Duke’s reputation both nationally and internationally. Interdisciplinary work was emphasized, as was recruiting minority faculty and students.
In its 2007 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the undergraduate division eighth in the nation (down from fifth in 2006), while ranking the medical, law, and business schools among the top eleven in the country. Duke’s research expenditures are among the largest in the U.S. and the athletic program is one of the nation’s elite.
Besides academics, research, and athletics, Duke is also well known for its sizable campus and Gothic architecture, especially Duke Chapel. The forested environs surrounding parts of campus belie the university’s proximity to downtown Durham. Duke’s 8,709 acres (35 km²) contain three main campuses in Durham as well as a marine lab in Beaufort. Construction projects have updated both the freshmen-housed Georgian-style East Campus and the main Gothic-style West Campus, as well as the adjacent Medical Center over the past five years. Other projects are underway on all three campuses, including a 20- to 50-year overhaul of Central Campus, the first phase of which is expected to be completed in Fall 2008 at an estimated cost of $240 million.
Website: www.duke.edu