The Economy

Today, Durham is a global economic player driven by knowledge-based enterprises—including everything from software and information technology to film and TV production. It is also home to one of the oldest and largest science parks in the U.S., the Research Triangle Park (RTP), which houses more than 250 companies—from Fortune 100 multinational operations to university spinouts and start-ups. In fact, Inc. Magazine ranked Durham as one of the 7 of the hottest start-up hubs outside of Silicon Valley, and Forbes Magazine ranked the area as #2 among the best places for business and careers.

Thanks to having so many enterprises just a stone’s throw from campus, we’re able to invite influential local speakers, connect businesses with student clubs, and tap our more than 3,000 local Fuqua alumni as mentors for students.

Employers

A sample of employers in the Research Triangle Park includes:

Bayer CropScience
BD Technologies
Biogen IDEC
Credit Suisse
Cisco
Dupont
Fidelity
GlaxoSmithKline
IBM
Lenovo
RTI International
United States Environmental Protection Agency 

The Culture

Durham is an eclectic city, with a diverse mix of historical and cultural places, offbeat shopping, sports venues, arts festivals, houses of worship, and great restaurants. Known for everything from laid-back Carolina BBQ joints to charming donut shops and trendy microbreweries, Durham was voted America’s foodiest small town by Bon Appetit.

Within just a few hours’ drive from campus are the Blue Ridge Mountains for hiking and mountain activities, the Atlantic coast for beaches and water sports, or the NC Sandhills area for champion golf. Washington, D.C., is just 4 hours by car—or hop a 1-hour flight to New York City or a direct flight to London or Paris.

Durham is filled with amazing ways to spend your free time. But there are some great things to do right on campus, too. So make time to experience all the cultural activities, sports events, and popular sites that the Duke University campus has to offer.

Duke Chapel

An iconic symbol of the university, it was built in 1932 and stands at the center of the Gothic West Campus. It features a 210-foot tower, a 50-bell carillon, 77 stained glass windows, and seating for 1,600 people.

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Sarah P. Duke Gardens 

Covering 55 acres of landscaped and woodland gardens in the heart of Duke's West Campus, it is open to the public daily from 8:00 a.m. to dusk. Each year more than 300,000 visitors enjoy the gardens' five miles of walkways and more than 8,000 species and varieties of plants.

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The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, The Nasher is a major center for the arts on campus. Its permanent collection includes some of today’s best contemporary art, with a focus on work by artists of African descent, European medieval art, and European and American paintings.

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Duke Forest

Located in more than 7,000 acres in the north-central Piedmont, it serves as a natural outdoor laboratory for Duke and neighboring universities, and its trails are popular with local walkers and runners.

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Cameron Indoor Stadium

Cameron is considered the crown jewel of college basketball. Originally conceived on the back of a matchbook cover in 1935, it is now the celebrated home of the Duke Blue Devils.

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Page Auditorium

Page Auditorium is Duke's largest theater, with a capacity of 1,200 seats. It has been the site of thousands of performances and lectures since its opening in 1930, including speeches by Sen. John F. Kennedy in 1959 and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964.

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The Duke Lemur Center

The Duke Lemur Center is the only university-based facility in the world devoted to the study of prosimian primates and is home to the world's largest colony of endangered primates.

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It’s easy to make your home at Fuqua. In fact, the Durham area is touted as one of the best places to live in the country in part due to the affordable standard of living. While housing options are plentiful in Durham, there is limited graduate student housing on Duke’s campus—so MBA students typically find off-campus housing.

Our Off-Campus Housing site is a searchable database of houses, apartments, and rooms for rent. It’s just one of the resources available to help you find accommodations and roommates.