Tuition & Fees
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Tuition & Fees
All information below applies to the 2024-2025 academic year and is subject to change.
JD and MLS Candidates
For the academic year 2024-2025, entering students in the JD and MLS programs, as well as transfer students, will pay a full year’s tuition of $77,100. JD/LLM students will pay a full year’s tuition of $89,950. Entering students must pay their fall tuition by August 1. The tuition refund policy is set forth below.
Graduate Degree Candidates
Students pursuing the LLM degree will pay tuition of $77,100 in 2024-2025 for their single year of instruction. SJD candidates must enroll for two years; tuition for the SJD program for 2024-2025 is set at $77,100.
Other Fees
Student Health Fee. A mandatory student health fee of $968 ($484 per semester) is charged to all Duke University students. All students are required to maintain medical insurance that meets minimum standards set by the university.
Absentia Fee. Duke Law School students spending one semester or all of their final year of law school at another law school shall be charged an in absentia fee for the semester or semesters “visiting” at another law school. The fee is the greater of (1) 10 percent of Duke Law School tuition or (2) the amount that Duke Law School tuition exceeds the tuition at the “visited” school. The fee shall not exceed two-thirds of Duke Law School tuition. Students visiting Duke will receive no scholarship assistance from Duke Law School.
Law Student Activity Fee. Students are charged an activity fee of $150.
Graduate Student Activity Fee. Students are charged an activity fee of $36.50.
Graduate Student Services Fee. Students are charged a $24 fee to support co-curricular services such as University career services and cultural programming.
Recreation Fee. Students are charged a recreation fee of $374.
Academic Transcript Fee. The university will charge a one-time academic transcript fee of $120.
General Expenses
In addition to tuition and fees, the cost of a legal education includes living and personal expenses. Each year, the University develops a standard budget for these expenses. This budget governs the total amount of aid that is available to a student in any given year.
First-year students are also strongly encouraged to own a computer; the student expense budget may be increased by up to $2,500 for the purchase of a notebook computer. (This budget increase is available only once during a student’s career.) Financial aid awards in most cases cannot be based on proposed budgets in excess of these figures.
The 2024-2025 cost of attendance budget is below. See asterisks for notes.
Item | Yearly Amount |
|---|---|
JD Tuition | $77,100 |
Medical Insurance | $3,462 |
Health Fee (mandatory) | $968 |
Law Student Activity Fee | $150 |
Graduate Student Activity Fee | $38 |
Graduate Student Services Fee | $24 |
Recreation Fee | $374 |
Transcript Fee | $120 |
Loan Fees* | $1,656 |
Books & Supplies | $1,458 |
Rent & Utilities | $13,518 |
Food | $4,230 |
Personal/Miscellaneous | $4,266 |
Local Transportation | $2,034 |
TOTAL | $109,398 |
*This is the standard, average loan fee allocation. Individual students may have this figure reduced based on their actual loan fees.
Visiting Students
All financial assistance for visiting students at Duke Law School must be processed through the institution from which the student will receive his or her degree.
International Students
Duke offers some financial assistance based on merit or need to outstanding international students. All non-US citizens admitted will need to provide proof of sufficient financial support for tuition and living expenses for the degree program before the university initiates the student visa process. International students admitted to the JD program must demonstrate that they have funds available for all three years of study. Duke Law School does not award new scholarship funds on the basis of need or merit once the student matriculates.