In evaluating applicants for admission, Duke maintains a strict policy of selecting candidates without regard to their ability to pay for medical school. Candidates selected for admission are invited to apply for financial assistance. US citizenship or permanent residence is required of all students receiving federal and/or institutional aid through the school. You should complete the application process early to ensure a financial aid award has been made before you need to make a decision about attending Duke University School of Medicine.
The decision to attend a high-cost private medical school should involve the entire family. For purposes of the schools' need based funds (available for the MD program only) the student is not viewed as financially independent of parents. Individual students (and spouses, if married) and their parents have the primary responsibility for financing the cost of a medical education at Duke. Parental information will be used to determine grant eligibility each year of enrollment. Duke looks at both natural parents for purposes of determining Duke-based financial aid for a student with divorced or separated parents.
Please complete the required forms listed below if you want to apply for financial assistance.
Due Date: April 1, 2025
- FAFSA application
Required for all students applying for federal aid; School code 002920, - CSS Profile
Required for all students applying for need based grant aid for 2025-2026 academic aid year; school code 5152. CSS Profile has a link to IDOC, a service where you can upload 2023 parent and student tax returns/W2's.The CSS Profile does NOT need to be completed if you are only applying for federal aid or merit aid.
*We encourage students to use IRS data retrieval when completing the FAFSA application. Upon receipt of your SAR (Student Aid Report) review for any messages that may require further action on your part.
Doctor of Medicine-International and Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
The School of Medicine will make available funding for a need-based grant program in 2025-2026 for international and DACA-eligible MD students. Individual grant amount is dependent on the student determined need, number of applicants, and amount of funding available.
Parental or sponsor support- based on need analysis, parents and/or sponsors may be expected to contribute to the student’s cost of education. Parental financial analysis will demonstrate the ability to contribute not necessarily the willingness to contribute which is the same criterion used for U. S. students. Please submit in English the local equivalent of a U. S. tax return from the applicant’s home country if applicable. If this does not exist, you should submit a statement from the employer confirming all income. International and DACA students can then choose to borrow from outside sources to cover this expected contribution.
The grant funding is limited to four years. Students taking extra research years and/or extended fourth years will need to seek funding from private loan sources.
Due Dates: April 1, 2025
- CSS Profile
Required for students applying for need-based scholarship funding. School code 5152 - *Student Non-filing Statement
Required for students applying for need-based scholarship funding - *International Business Supplement
Required for students applying for need-based scholarship funding - *Income Statement Parents Living Abroad
Required for students applying for need-based scholarship funding
*Documents should be sent directly to the financial aid office. The documents can be faxed to 919-684-0251 or uploaded to our secure BOX link. Email our office for the secure link to upload documents.
Caveats to this proposal:
- The School of Medicine cannot guarantee meeting 100% of demonstrated need with Duke funds alone. Students may still need to seek alternative loan programs. Currently we keep a list of recommended lenders (vetted through our process to assure reliability on service, pricing and availability). The School of medicine Grant portion of the financial aid package is dependent upon the number of international/DACA student financial aid applications received from each class. Grant that has been awarded to an incoming student that withdraws is returned to the pool of funding and redistributed to eligible applicants.
- Typically application materials are ready by mid-January for the following academic year of funding. Students must apply by the April 1st deadline.
- All other financial aid policies regarding cost of attendance, outside scholarships and awards will be the same for international students as for our other students.
For additional information about aid for international students, please see some websites listed below: