Duke University is a non-denominational private University associated with the Methodist Church. It was established by in the Indenture of Trust of James B. Duke in 1924. Situated in the heart of the city of Durham, the University is surrounded by Duke Forest.

Duke University consists of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Fuqua School of Business, the Divinity School, the School of Engineering, the Graduate School, the Law School, the Medical School, and Nicholas School of the Environment. Duke's undergraduate liberal arts college and its seven professional and graduate schools are widely recognized as being among the very best of the country's institutions of higher learning.

Current enrollment at Duke includes 6,340 undergraduates and 7,117 graduate and professional students. Its tenure and tenure track faculty number 1,723. As a major research University, Duke is committed to the discovery of new knowledge and to the application and dissemination of that knowledge.