Duke University Pre-College Programs High School Summer Courses

Students in grades 9 to 12 can enroll if they're at least 14 by the first day of their session and have finished a year of high school, and you can still go the summer after you graduate. Duke says students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to take part, but its programs are open to all for registration, so places go to eligible students while space lasts.

Some courses ask for a prerequisite, which you upload during checkout, and the course page gives the details. Everyone needs immunizations that meet North Carolina law, with proof uploaded by 1 June 2027, and a laptop running a current version of Windows or macOS, since a phone or tablet isn't enough. Students who aren't U.S. citizens need a B-2 tourist visa and must show English proficiency in one of three ways:

• English-medium school

  Evidence that you attend an international high school where classes are taught in English.

• Test score

  At least 90 on the TOEFL (4.5 for tests taken after 20 January 2026), 7.0 on the IELTS or 115 on the Duolingo English Test.

• Interview

  An oral interview with Duke's English for International Students program, which costs $130.

Class runs from 9:00 AM to 12:15 PM and from 1:45 to 4:45 PM, and the rest of the day is planned too, because Duke runs a supervised schedule from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM with attendance required at everything except designated social events. In Duke's 2026 sample schedule, breakfast was at 7:45 AM in the East Campus dining hall, dinner at 5:00 PM (sometimes swapped for an evening field trip), and evenings from 6:15 to 9:30 PM held leadership sessions, an activity and an RA check-in.

Of the 12 days, 10 have class, eight full and two mornings only, and one break day falls mid-session, usually on a weekend. Because every session spans a weekend, at least one weekend morning has class. Time outside class can include study and project hours, leadership workshops, talks on college admissions and off-campus outings, and in 2026 the day off included group trips to Bowlero and Frankies of Raleigh. On day 12 you present your capstone from 9:00 AM to noon and head home that afternoon.

Your main instructor is a current Duke Ph.D. or graduate student, faculty member or alumnus, but that person is there for only one of the two class blocks each day. Teaching assistants run the rest, leading simulations, research time, labs and case studies, and Duke hires them from people who've studied the course's subject, typically college sophomores through seniors, recent graduates and graduate students.

Some courses, such as Introduction to Medicine, are taught by a team of guest lecturers covering different specialties, and others may bring in guests from the Duke community and local industry. Sessions also feature guest speakers, and 2026 speakers included Dr. Michael Tomasello, a professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Avery Harding, a social AI marketer at Google. Duke doesn't publish a class size or staff ratio.

High school students pay $6,300 for the 12-day session, and since every high schooler lives on campus, that's the only option. Duke says it covers housing, on-campus meals, course materials, trips, tours, activities and transport to off-campus events. Getting to Durham isn't included, and neither are spending money, laundry or off-campus meals.

Optional extras are the airport shuttle at $45 each way and $120 a night if you arrive early or leave late. If you need the Tdap or meningococcal ACWY vaccine, you can get it at the Duke Student Health Center when you arrive, and Duke says these typically cost $150 to $250, with the exact fee announced in April 2027. International students should also check the cost of the B-2 visa with the U.S. government.

A deposit holds your place, $500 if you enroll before 2 April 2027 and $1,500 after 1 April. Enroll before 1 May 2027 and the rest is split into automatic monthly card payments, but everything must be paid 30 days before your session starts or you're dropped from the course. Cancellation fees rise through the spring:

Students live in supervised dorms with key-card access to the building and their rooms, and the teaching assistants double as resident advisors who live on the same floors. During the day, classes and activities run in small groups, each with its own TAs.

Duke's Youth Protection Policy applies to the program, so every adult working with students completes minors training each year and a Duke background check at least every three years. On arrival day, staff in blue Duke Pre-College T-shirts meet shuttle students in baggage claim at Raleigh-Durham International Airport between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, so flights need to land by 3:00 PM Eastern time. Unaccompanied-minor escorts are only for middle schoolers, so high school students fly on their own, and on departure day staff drop them at the right terminal but can't go through security. Dining services handle allergies and dietary restrictions if you list them in your student profile.

Duke takes applications while space remains, with no fixed deadline, but it says programs are typically about half full by 1 March and most sessions and courses are waitlisted by 1 April.

1. 1

   Join Duke's 2027 information request list to get an email when registration opens in early December 2026.

2. 2

   Register online and pick your session and course, and if your first-choice course is full you're enrolled in your second choice and waitlisted for the first.

3. 3

   Pay the deposit by credit or debit card when you register, or email Duke Pre-College if you'd rather pay by check.

4. 4

   Upload any prerequisite document your course needs during checkout.

5. 5

   Upload proof of immunizations to your student portal by 1 June 2027.

6. 6

   Pay the balance no later than 30 days before your session starts.