Beginning in fall 2023, Duke will provide full tuition grants for undergraduates from North Carolina and South Carolina with family incomes of $150,000 or less, according to a Tuesday morning release from Chris Simmons, interim vice president for public affairs and government relations.
According to the release, Duke will also provide additional aid for Carolinian undergraduates with family incomes of $65,000 or less for “housing, meals and some course materials or other campus expenses, without the need for student loans.”
“This additional financial support for undergraduates reflects Duke’s commitment to our students from the Carolinas,” President Vincent Price said in the release. “By providing even more equitable access to a Duke education, and ensuring students have the resources they need to truly thrive while here at Duke, we will also make our campus community stronger.”
All current undergraduates from the Carolinas, including rising first years, will receive financial aid statements by July 1 reflecting the change. The release estimates that about 340 undergraduates will benefit from the new policy.
Students from military families who meet the income requirements and are legal residents in the Carolinas will also qualify, regardless of where they are stationed.
“We want to make it easier for families to choose Duke,” said Dean of Trinity College Gary Bennett in the release. “Attending college can expand a family’s opportunities for generations, and we aim to make the Duke experience as widely accessible as we can.”
Duke has more undergraduate students from North Carolina than from any other state. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 1,131 North Carolina undergraduates attended Duke, while 160 additional undergraduates were from South Carolina.
The expansion will be funded through “university resources” and is expected to increase financial assistance for Carolinian students by about $2 million for the 2023-2024 academic year. As more eligible students are expected to enroll over the next five years, Duke expects to invest an additional $6 to 7 million per year.
Duke currently provides over $130 million annually in financial aid and announced the completion of the Lord 100 challenge in May, which added $100 million total to undergraduate financial aid.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Audrey Wang is a Trinity junior and data editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 119.