As part of your online application, you must upload one copy of the scanned unofficial transcript from each undergraduate and graduate institution where you

  • earned (or will earn) a degree;
  • studied for one semester or more;
  • earned 12 or more hours of credit; or
  • took classes that relate to your graduate study interests.

If you took classes at a college or university while in high school, do not list the college or university as a separate school in your application unless the credits you earned applied to your bachelor’s or associate’s degree.

You do not have to provide a separate transcript for study abroad credits, as long as the credits are listed on the transcript from your home educational institution. If you list a study abroad institution in the Academic History section of your online application, the system will require you to upload a document. If the study abroad credits are listed on the transcript from your home educational institution, upload a document stating that fact. If they are not listed, you must upload a transcript from the study abroad institution.

Do not mail paper copies of your transcripts before receiving an offer of admission. If you are unable to upload your transcripts to the application because your educational institution does not issue transcripts directly to students, please follow the instructions at the end of this page.

If you are admitted, you will be asked to request an official transcript from each institution listed in the Education section of your application, regardless of the number of credits earned. (You will not have to provide separate official transcripts from study abroad institutions, as long as the study abroad credits are listed on the official transcript from your home educational institution.)

Duke reserves the right to rescind any offer of admission if any discrepancies are found between your uploaded and official transcripts.

How to Submit

Upload electronic copies of your unofficial transcripts via the online application. Do not submit secondary-school records.

Transcript Requirements

  • Each transcript must provide a year-by-year listing of all courses taken and the grade or mark received for each. 
  • The transcript must list your name and the name of the school.
  • If your school provides transcripts in English, please provide the English-language transcript. If your school does not provide transcripts in English, you must provide a transcript in the original language AND an English translation from a professional translation service.
  • If your Social Security number appears on your transcripts, mark out all except the last four digits of the number before uploading the transcripts to your application.
  • If the grading scale of the institution is available, be sure to include that information.
  • Before uploading an electronic transcript issued by your school, make sure it can be opened without passwords or other security information.
  • We do not accept web page screenshots from a student information system in place of transcripts. Uploading screenshots instead of transcripts will delay the processing of your application.
  • You may submit a credential evaluation from a third party (e.g. WES or ECE), but if you do so, you must also submit the transcript from your institution.

Acceptable Transcript Formats

  • Scanned copies of paper transcripts produced by the institution
  • Electronic transcripts produced by the institution

I Can’t Upload My Transcript

If you are having trouble uploading your transcript, the following tips may help:

  • Make sure your file is in PDF format and does not exceed 1.5 MB (1,500 kb) in size.
  • Once you have uploaded your file, click the "Preview Upload" button to ensure that the document you uploaded is legible throughout. If your document is not legible, the processing of your application will be delayed.
  • The system will not allow you to submit your online application unless you upload a document for every school listed in the Academic History section.

If you have followed the above guidelines and still cannot upload your transcript, upload a statement instead explaining why you cannot upload the transcript. You must then e-mail the transcript as a PDF attachment (i.e. one transcript=one PDF attachment, two transcripts=two PDF attachments, and so on) to grad-admissions-center@duke.edu.

  • Do not e-mail your transcripts unless you have exhausted all options for uploading the transcripts to the academic History section of the application.
  • E-mailed transcripts must be in PDF format; do not send Microsoft Word documents or JPEG files.
  • In the body of the e-mail, include your name and the name of the department to which you are applying.

My School Doesn’t Issue Transcripts to Students

If your school does not issue transcripts directly to students, upload a statement that states that your school will be sending the transcript to Duke as your transcript in the Academic History section of the application.. Then ask the school to either send a secure, electronic copy of your transcript to grad-admissions-center@duke.edu or mail a paper copy to:

Duke University Graduate School
Office of Admissions
2127 Campus Drive, Box 90065
Durham, NC 27708

Note: This address is both a physical location and a mailing address. If your mail service will not deliver to a post office box, delete "Box 90065" from the address and use the postal code 27708-0065.

Frequently asked questions about transcripts