Duke University Campus

In 1924, James Buchanan Duke established the Duke Endowment and donated $21 million in Endowment funds to transform Durham’s Trinity College into Duke University, building what are now known as Duke's East and West Campuses.

Duke's combined campuses occupy much of western Durham. The warm Georgian architecture of East Campus houses undergraduate freshmen students. West is the famous gothic campus where Duke Chapel dominates the skyline. Duke Gardens span the gap between West and Central Campuses.

The Duke campus is bordered by Durham's Ninth Street and Brightleaf Square commercial districts, walkable neighborhoods of eclectic shops and restaurants.

In 1925, shortly before his death, Duke designated additional funds to establish Duke University School of Medicine. The School of Medicine sits on West Campus; it fronts on the main quadrangle then stretches back through two large hospitals and a complex of buildings housing many research institutes and the basic science departments.

The 7,000-acre Duke Forest spreads west and north of campus and fills much of the distance between Durham and neighboring Chapel Hill. The forest is a research laboratory, but it also provides miles of hiking and biking trails and streams and picnic areas for Durham residents.

Sarah P Duke Gardens cover 55 acres of landscapes and woodlands on the edge of West Campus. They are an easy walk from the hospital and a popular spot among medical students.