Tuition and Aid on the Rise

At its February meeting, the board of trustees approved a 4.5 percent increase in tuition, fees, and room and board for undergraduate students in the coming academic year. Duke's planning also calls for a 5.7 percent increase in undergraduate financial aid.

Tuition for students enrolled in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Pratt School of Engineering will be $32,845 for 2006-07, up from $31,420 for the current year. The total cost to attend Duke, including room and board, will be $43,115.

Approximately 45 percent of undergraduates receive financial support to attend Duke; about 40 percent receive need-based aid. Duke will spend approximately $58 million for undergraduate financial aid in 2006-07, up from a budget of nearly $55 million in 2005-06. The university is currently raising $300 million to increase its endowment for financial aid. The Financial Aid Initiative, announced last fall, seeks $245 million for undergraduate aid and $55 million to support graduate and professional-school students. To date, more than half of that amount has been given or pledged.

The university has made other recent changes to strengthen its financial-aid programs, including expanding aid eligibility for transfer students, allowing academic prizes to be added to aid packages, and providing greater support for students participating in summer internships.

At their meeting the trustees also approved new tuition rates for Duke's graduate and professional schools for 2006-07:

• Divinity School--$14,960, up 7.5 percent over the current year;
• Fuqua School of Business--$39,350 (daytime M.B.A.), up 4.9 percent;
• Graduate School--$32,680, up 4 percent;
• Law School--$37,985, up 5.9 percent;
• Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences--$25,500, up 4.9 percent;
• School of Medicine--$36,880, up 5.8 percent;
• School of Nursing--$28,260, up 5.9 percent.