Katherine S. Upchurch, MD'76, left; School of Medicine Dean Nancy C. Andrews, MD, PhD; the Duke Bluedevil, center; and Chancellor for Health Affairs and President and CEO of Duke University Health System Victor J. Dzau, MD, celebrate surpassing the School of Medicine's $12 million financial aid fundraising goal.

To continue to attract medical students of the highest caliber, the School of Medicine has raised $13 million to endow its financial aid program, far surpassing its $12 million goal.

The effort is part of the overall Duke University Financial Aid Initiative, which has a goal of adding $300 million in new endowment funds by the end of 2008.

Currently 90 percent of medical students receive some form of financial aid.

The majority of medical student financial aid comes from unrestricted sources like The Fund for Duke Med and The Davison Club and other unrestricted dollars. These unrestricted funds are needed to support Duke's innovative medical education curriculum, with its unique third-year of research.

Duke Medicine recruits diverse and talented students and is proud of its commitment to a need-blind admissions policy, which admits students without regard to their ability to pay.

"We need to ensure that the Duke School of Medicine can attract the finest students who can graduate without a crushing burden of personal debt as they progress to become leaders and scholars of medicine in the future," says R. Sanders 'Sandy' Williams, MD, senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

The need for financial aid has increased dramatically in recent years. Scholarships keep DukeMed's average class debt at about 1/2 the national average, allowing flexibility for students to pursue their passions and talents.

Leading the effort for the School of Medicine is Katherine S. Upchurch, MD'76.

To contribute to Duke's Financial Aid Initiative, or to learn more, please call Ann Horner at 919-667-2520.

Student Stories

Ashley Wysong, Third-year Med Student

Ashley may be a six-time All-American track athlete in the 800 meters, as well as a former professional runner for Nike, but let's be real: without a name like Tiger or Agassi, her sponsorship was extremely limited. She scraped by while trying to make the 2004 U.S. Summer Olympic team, missing the finals by a mere fraction of a second.

Ashley has a masters degree in clinical epidemiology and wants to specialize in women's health in gynecological surgery, or reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

She says Duke's aid package "weighed heavily on my decision to come here. It was second to none."

Carlos Bagley, T'96, MD'00

Having been raised in a single-parent family, mostly by his grandmother, Carlos says "there was no way of even thinking about affording a medical education" without the help of financial aid.

Powered by an undergraduate football scholarship and a prestigious Eugene A. Stead, MD, Scholarship and other grants and loans in medical school, Carlos was able to reach his true potential. He is at the top of his game and well-poised for a successful career in spinal oncology neurosurgery - one of medicine's most elite fields today.

Qinghong Yang, PhD, MD'06

Qinghong is exactly the kind of promising foreign student that Duke President Richard H. Brodhead says is important to Duke because top scientists and engineers from other countries will contribute significantly to the United States' science and technology base.

Qinghong already holds a PhD and three patents in gene mutation detection. Getting a medical degree, she says, is key to her desire to combine stem cell research with relevant clinical work.

Michael Barfield, Fourth-year Med Student

Acting globally is Michael's passion. He wants to join forces with fellow Duke grads in medicine, nursing, law, and engineering to build and staff medical clinics for the less fortunate on six continents.

"If you don't dream big," he says, "you may never realize what kind of impact you could have."

Michael says his Duke aid package will allow him to pursue his passion for mission work much sooner than if he were loaded with debt.

"I feel strongly about sharing what we have been given with those who are less fortunate," he says.

Kelley Hutcheson, T'97, MD'06

After graduation the future cardio-thoracic surgeon will enter eight to 10 years of residency and fellowship programs.

Kelley was raised in a single-parent home from the time she was 3 years old. Finances were understandably tight, and today she is self-supported.

Her aid package was crucial to her coming to Duke. She is admittedly less stressed about her finances than friends at other medical schools.

In the meantime, she said she hopes her Honda Civic keeps chugging along until it reaches 300,000 miles.

Duke Medical Education By the Numbers

Total Cost for a 2008 Entering Duke Medical Student: $67,138

(Broken down as such:)
Tuition: $41,126
Fees: $4,423
Room & Board: $13,080
Books: $2,605
Living Expenses: $5,904

Average Duke Medical Student Debt for class of 2007: $95,886

Private Medical School National Debt Average in 2007: $156,804

Percentage of Duke Medical Students Receiving Financial Aid: 90%

Average Award to Duke Medical Students: $44,949

Funding Opportunities

$1.5 Million Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Scholarship

• Student earns MD and PhD degrees in approximately seven years
• Provides about $65,000 annually for all expenses

$1 Million/$500,000 Scholarship

• Provides full or 1/2 tuition and stipend
• Scholarship can be restricted or unrestricted

$250,000 Restricted Scholarship

• Minimum gift amount to create a restricted scholarship

$100,000 Unrestricted Scholarship

• Minimum gift amount to create an unrestricted scholarship

Gifts Less than $100,000

• Benefactors may give any amount to existing scholarship endowments or to the Medical Annual Giving/Davison Club Endowed Scholarship Fund.
• These gifts will count toward the School of Medicine $12 Million goal, but will not be matched

“Part of the success of American education is its role as an engine of opportunity. We must keep the doors open to all people of talent and drive -- this is the social investment that great universities make. There is nothing like endowment to assure that we can continue to do this through tough economic times.” - President Richard H. Brodhead