2025 College Rankings

Duke University is perhaps better known for its basketball team than for its academic offerings: the school excels far more in sports than in education.

The administration is deeply committed to enforcing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology, along with other activist initiatives. Duke maintains a large DEI bureaucracy, with more than seven employees per 1,000 students. Almost half of all advertised faculty positions require a DEI statement. The university has not adopted a policy of institutional neutrality, as evidenced by its repeated interventions in issues beyond its educational mission. Most notably, Duke filed an amicus brief in support of affirmative action in the Students for Fair Admissions case—a clear sign that it prioritizes diversity over merit in admissions.

Duke’s record on free speech is similarly unimpressive. Though the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) gives the school a “green” speech code rating—indicating that its written policies do not explicitly restrict speech—policy alone means little without enforcement. Student confidence in the administration’s support for free expression is low. In times of controversy, only 22 percent of students tell FIRE that they believe it “extremely” or “very” likely that the administration would protect speech. Duke also operates a bias-response system, which monitors and reports speech deemed offensive.

Duke’s faculty leans liberal but is not necessarily closed-minded. When asked to place their professors on an ideological scale from 1 (“very liberal”) to 7 (“very conservative”), students rank them at 2.6, on average. Most faculty campaign donations in the 2023–24 cycle went to Democratic or liberal causes. Still, a noteworthy portion of Duke professors are members of Heterodox Academy, an organization that promotes free inquiry on college campuses.

Students also tend to be fairly liberal—and not always tolerant of opposing views. There are 3.2 liberal students for every conservative, and five times as many liberal student organizations as conservative ones. In general, students say that it is unacceptable to disrupt campus speakers, but recent years have seen a rise in attempted de-platformings. In one notable case, students tried to disinvite law professor Helen Alvaré over her perceived anti-LGBTQ views on family law. After some back-and-forth, Alvaré was ultimately allowed to speak.

Duke’s curriculum is largely uninspiring, with a few notable exceptions. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives the school a C in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. Students must complete courses focused on DEI ideology to graduate. Still, ACTA identifies some academic bright spots. The Program in American Values and Institutions offers undergraduate courses, hosts conferences, and brings speakers to campus—mostly centered on the American Founding. Similarly, the Civil Discourse Project aims to foster dialogue and friendships across ideological lines. The Center for the History of Political Economy promotes coursework on the history of economics. Other excellent programs include the Program in Transformative Ideas and the Program in American Grand Strategy.

Duke typically serves its graduates well. Median annual earnings ten years after initial enrollment exceed expectations, based on SAT and Pell Grant data, by nearly $7,000. Additionally, it typically takes just 1.5 years to recoup the cost of a Duke education, well below our overall average of 2.3 years.