Duke University is a private

Private university

Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...

 research university located in Durham

Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity

Trinity, North Carolina

Trinity is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2000 census.-History:The community was named after Trinity College, which later became Duke University. The "World's Longest Hot Wheels Track" was built at the Kyle Petty Farm in Trinity, North...

 in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B. Duke

James Buchanan Duke

James Buchanan Duke was a U.S. tobacco and electric power industrialist best known for his involvement with Duke University.-Personal life:...

 established The Duke Endowment

The Duke Endowment

The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke. The mission of the foundation is to serve the people of North Carolina and South Carolina by supporting selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and...

, at which time the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father, Washington Duke

Washington Duke

George Washington Duke was an American tobacco industrialist and philanthropist.-Biography:Duke was born in Orange County, North Carolina , to Taylor Duke and Dicey Jones...

.

Duke is organized into two undergraduate and ten graduate and professional schools.