Forbes Names Duke Among 'Best Employers for New Grads' in 2025

Health System is 55th and University is 198th on list of 500 top workplaces for new grads

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Image courtesy of Duke Marketing & Communications.

Duke University and Duke University Health System were recognized as being among the nation’s top places to start a career, according to Forbes’ 2025 list of “America’s Best Employers for New Grads,” which was released Tuesday.

Duke University Health System was 55th on the list while Duke University was ranked 198 on the list of 500 employers recognized for fostering a positive working environment for young professionals.

“It is always great to be recognized as a good place to work,” said Duke Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer Antwan Lofton. “At a time when there is considerable competition for talent in higher education and health care, we are grateful that, for many reasons, people continue to look to Duke as a place where they want to further the work that they do.”

Created for Forbes by market research firm Statista, the list is based on data drawn over a three years of responses from a survey panel of more than 100,000 U.S.-based professionals with less than 10 years of work experience and for organizations with 1,000 or more employees. 

Respondents were asked how likely they would be to recommend working for organizations they have direct experience with, or that have employed their family, friends or industry colleagues. They were also asked to evaluate employers in areas such as atmosphere and development, opportunity for growth, compensation, image of organization, diversity and working conditions.

Duke University also appeared on Forbes' 2024 list of "America's Best Employers for New Grads."

Earlier this year, Forbes named Duke University one of “America’s Best Large Employers for 2025.” It was the eighth time in the past 10 years that Duke has landed on the list of best large employers. In recent years, Duke University and Health system have been featured on similar lists from both Forbes and Newsweek, including recognition in several categories in 2024.

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