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Student Admission to Duke

Applying for Student Admission to Duke

Duke University has a large variety of academic programs. Our current international student population is over 3000 students and Duke has received national recognition for our internationalization efforts. Each school has an Admissions Office dedicated to admitting new students. Contact information for each school can be found at Duke's Admissions and Aid webpage.

Visa Document Issuance

Students offered admission to Duke will receive an electronic application (Webform) with instructions to complete and electronically submit the application with the supporting paper documentation to the admitting schools or programs. Funding Guidelines will provide instructions on the required funding documentation. The F-1/J-1 Comparison Chart will clarify basic regulations of each visa classification allowing the student to determine which visa category will be appropriate for the academic program.

The following lists highlight key information to assist each student in completing the webform application and supporting paper documentation which must be submitted to the admitting school or program before a F-1 visa document (I-20) or J-1 visa document (DS2019) can be issued. Partial or incorrect information will cause delays. The admitting school or program will submit the completed webform and supporting paper documentation to the Duke Visa Services Office (DVS).

The F-1 visa documents or J-1 visa documents will be mailed within 2 weeks.

Student Checklists

New Students Arriving Directly from Overseas

New students should submit the following documents to the program or school at Duke where admitted. The department will forward the completed materials to DVS.

  1. Print and sign the last page of the web form.
  2. Submit the original signed form.
  3. Electronically submit the web form.
  4. Proof of funding.
  5. Photocopy of passport biographic and expiration page.

Students Transferring from a United States Institution to Duke

Transfer students should submit the following documents to the program or school at Duke where admitted. The department will forward the completed materials to DVS.

  1. Print and sign the last page of the webform.
  2. Submit the original signed form
  3. Electronically submit the web form.
  4. Proof of funding
  5. Copy of passport biographic and expiration page(s).
  6. Copy of I-94 record, if currently in the United States.
  7. Copy of all prior visa documents (I-20, DS-2019, I-797, EAD or other).
  8. Copy of visa stamp.
  9. Students must request the transfer of their SEVIS record from current school to Duke. Contact the international office at current school to request a SEVIS transfer and inform DVS of the SEVIS release date.

Non-Duke Sponsored New Students (H-4, Permanent Resident Applicant, NATO, J-2, etc.)

Students who will study at Duke in a visa category other than F-1 or J-1 are required to submit the following documents to the program or school at Duke where admitted. The department will forward the completed materials to DVS.

  1. Print and sign the last page of the webform
  2. Submit the original signed form.
  3. Copy of documents verifying current immigration status (i.e. I-797 Approval Notice, I-94 record, Employment Authorization Document, etc.)
  4. Copy of passport biographical page and expiration page.
  5. Upon arrival to Duke, all new students must bring original immigration documents to DVS.

Note: Permanent Resident applicant students, upon receipt of the Permanent Resident Card, must present the original card to Duke Visa Services. DVS must update your demographic data in the DukeHub system.