Duke Kunshan University is a Sino-American university in Kunshan near Shanghai, founded by Duke University (USA) and Wuhan University. The undergraduate program is a research-inflected liberal arts education: students declare a major in their second year, study across the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and finish with their own Signature Work project. In spring 2026 DKU had 2,080 students, about 550 of them international.

Key advantages

• Two bachelor's degrees — from Duke University and Duke Kunshan University
• All teaching in English, with Chinese studied as a second language
• An optional semester at Duke's campus in Durham (USA) with no change to tuition or scholarship
• 14 undergraduate majors and 5 master's programs leading to a Duke University degree
• Students from 65+ countries

Undergraduate admission — 2027 intake

Undergraduate cost for international students (2026–2027)

Payments can be split into four installments a year. A summer term at Duke is charged separately — about USD 9,500.

Requirements for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia

DKU has no country-specific rules — all international applicants apply under the general requirements, and national school-leaving exams are accepted as external exam results. A valid foreign (non-Chinese) passport is required.

Master's programs

Five programs leading to a Duke University degree: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Environmental Policy, Global Health, Medical Physics and Management Studies (with the Fuqua School of Business). Applications go through Duke's system; the ECE program has no application fee.

Campus

DKU's campus of about 200 acres (around 80 hectares) is in Kunshan, a city in Jiangsu Province between Shanghai and Suzhou.

• Academic buildings, a library and science laboratories
• On-campus residence halls and dining halls
• Language center, writing studio, career services and a clinic

Undergraduate majors and tracks

On-campus housing

DKU students live in on-campus residence halls in Kunshan; residences and dining halls close during the winter break.

There is no extra residence charge during the required summer Chinese Society and Culture course.

Scholarships and financial aid (bachelor's, 2027 intake)

How to apply

• Merit scholarships — automatic with the application
• Financial aid — tick «yes» in the Common App and submit the CSS Profile: by November 5, 2026 (ED) or January 15, 2027 (RD)
• Full Scholarship — an additional form with a 250–500-word essay: by November 15, 2026 (ED) or February 1, 2027 (RD), then an interview by invitation

Conditions

• Students who do not apply for aid at admission cannot receive it later
• DKU is need-aware in admissions
• Full Scholarship: top 10% of the applicant pool, academic excellence and leadership potential; candidates with full need who are not selected are not admitted
• Tuition and scholarship do not change during the Duke semester

Master's

Master's applicants are considered for merit scholarships automatically based on their application; applications submitted by the programs' early deadlines get priority. Programs do not publish award amounts.

History

Rankings

DKU is a young university (its first undergraduates graduated in 2022) and is not yet included in the main QS World University Rankings or THE World University Rankings.

Bachelor's and master's degrees are awarded by Duke University, ranked 70th in the QS World University Rankings 2027.

International opportunities

• Duke University — one semester at the Durham (USA) campus with no change to tuition or scholarship; summer programs at Duke are charged separately (about USD 9,500)
• Dual degree — undergraduates receive degrees from Duke University and DKU and are alumni of both
• Duke Kunshan — Duke-NUS Medicine Pathway — conditional acceptance to the MD program at Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore) for students on the Biology track of Global Health or in Data Science
• Wuhan University — DKU's founding partner
• Master's — part of several programs is at Duke (Durham): the second year of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the fall semester of year two in Medical Physics, and the first three terms of Management Studies