Duke University
What Duke says
Exact quotes from Duke’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
You may request a personal leave of absence from the Time Away Office once you have completed your first semester at Duke and are a student in good standing.
— trinity.duke.edu ↗Deadline for a Personal Leave of Absence 11:59PM ET on the day before the first day of classes of the semester when you want your personal leave to begin.
— students.duke.edu ↗When students are separated from Duke for extended periods of time (e.g., longer than 2 years) and do not respond to outreach … they may be involuntarily withdrawn from Duke…
— students.duke.edu ↗Complete the Time Away Return Request Form.
— students.duke.edu ↗Typical reasons for a personal leave might include a desire to travel, participate in a non-academic program, campaign, complete a paid or unpaid internship
— students.duke.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Duke appears to use a Personal Leave request through the Time Away Office.
- The deadline looks like 11:59 p.m. on January 5, 2027.
- It seems available after your first semester, in good standing.
- Reasons accepted: any personal reason (After first semester, good standing only).
- Time away allowed: Over 2 years may mean withdrawal.
- Classes start Jan 6.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
Entrepreneurship center
Hard-tech team
- Duke AERO ↗Student rocketry society; 3rd place in 30K solid SRAD at IREC 2026.
- Duke Robotics Club ↗Pratt student club building autonomous underwater vehicles for competitions.
- Duke SEDS ↗Duke chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.
- Duke SPACE Initiative (student groups) ↗University space initiative; directory of Duke's student space groups.
Why 74
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Source pages look current for 2026–27. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.