- Bedding and pillows (please review the “Amenities and Services” page on the Housing website to see what sized bedding to purchase based on your assignment.)
- Bath towels and cloths
- Bathrobe, slippers, shower shoes
- Cleaning Products
- First-Aid kit
- Plates, bowls, cups, and utensils
- Food storage containers
- Pots and pans (if you like to cook)
- Broom and/or vacuum
- Warm and cool weather clothes and jackets
- Hangers
- Re-usable water bottle
- Umbrella
- Photos and posters to personalize your space (please use blue painter’s tape or command strips for hanging items)
- Photo ID
- Shower bucket
- Toiletries (shower gel, shampoo/conditioner, soap, feminine hygiene products, etc.)
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Prescription medications and supplements
- Flip-flops for showering
- Laundry bag/basket and detergent
- Desk lamp
- Laptop/ipads
- School supplies: stapler, pens, pencils, notebooks, stationary, stamps
- Other class specific items communicated by your professors
- Chargers and cords for your technology
- Headphones
- UL-approved power strips (please avoid extension cords)
- Rice cookers
- Coffee makers that do not have an open heating element
- Electric kettles
- Iron
- Alarm clock
- Flashlight
- TV
- Gaming system
- Bike, scooter, moped (for outdoor use)
- LED strip lights.
- Large furniture (e.g., sofas/futons, lounge chairs, bookshelves, beds/mattresses, etc.).
- Bed risers are permitted. However, we do not allow bed lofts, nor will we loft your bed for you.
- Your pet(s), unless it’s an Emotional Support or Service animal approved
through SDAO. - Fish in aquariums less than 25 gallons are permitted.
- Personal items of high monetary or sentimental value (e.g., jewelry, irreplaceable family heirlooms, or photos, etc.).
- Personal printers (each community has a networked printer for student use).
- Students are encouraged to rent a micro-fridge from Blue Devil Deliveries. Orders are open for the 2025-26 school year via our partner, Collegiate Concepts, Inc. All orders placed by 8/1 are guaranteed delivery to your room before the main move-in date. All units are brand new—never used before. More information can be found on the Duke Stores website.
- Appliances with an open heating coil or unit (e.g., hot plates, toasters, toaster items, portable grills, air fryers).
- For damage and safety reasons, the following items are specifically prohibited in student rooms, suites, and apartments: halogen lamps, all types of strip lights with adhesive backing, and all types of string lights.
- Candles, halogen lamps, lava lamps, “spider lamps”, hoverboards.
- Alcohol, cannabis or illegal drugs (and any related paraphernalia).
- Students are allowed to have cigarettes and tobacco vapes; however, Duke University is a smoke-free campus. Students are not permitted to use these products inside the residence halls or on campus.
- Nails, thumbtacks, hammers, abrasive tape (e.g., duct tape, two-sided tape) and other items that could damage walls.
- Personal AC units or space heaters (each room has central air or a window AC unit).
- Water-based furniture (e.g., waterbeds).
- Weapons (e.g., firearms (including BB, pellet guns, airsoft guns, etc.), explosives, large knives and swords, bow and arrows, etc.) These are prohibited for actual use or for decoration on Duke’s campus.
- Flammable items (e.g., lighter fluid, charcoal, propane tanks, paint, other items and fluids that can easily catch on fire).