Quarterly Data (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010
Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 2,089,781	$ 2,182,371	$ 1,915,181
Operating Profit	204,237	494,175	410,902
Net Income Attributable to DeVry Inc.	141,565	330,403	279,909
Basic	$ 2.11	$ 4.73	$ 3.92
Diluted	$ 2.09	$ 4.68	$ 3.87
CASH DIVIDEND DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE	$ 0.30	$ 0.24	$ 0.20
First Quarter
Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Revenues	519,038	521,428
Operating Profit	79,865	111,815
Net Income Attributable to DeVry Inc.	57,484	73,601
Basic	$ 0.84	$ 1.04
Diluted	$ 0.83	$ 1.03
Second Quarter
Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Revenues	524,049	551,463
Operating Profit	13,756	135,553
Net Income Attributable to DeVry Inc.	8,865	88,706
Basic	$ 0.13	$ 1.26
Diluted	$ 0.13	$ 1.25
CASH DIVIDEND DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE	$ 0.15	$ 0.12
Third Quarter
Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Revenues	540,807	562,730
Operating Profit	95,454	137,227
Net Income Attributable to DeVry Inc.	67,131	92,900
Basic	$ 1.01	$ 1.34
Diluted	$ 1.00	$ 1.32
Fourth Quarter
Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Revenues	505,887	546,750
Operating Profit	15,162	109,580
Net Income Attributable to DeVry Inc.	$ 8,085	$ 75,196
Basic	$ 0.12	$ 1.09
Diluted	$ 0.12	$ 1.08
CASH DIVIDEND DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE	$ 0.15	$ 0.12