University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Overview

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) is a public university located in Chapel Hill, NC that has a strong focus on research. It was founded by North Carolina governor William Richardson Davie in 1789. UNC boasts of being the first public university in the country. Today, it continues to fulfill its mission of being a center for research, scholarship, and creativity where students are molded to become future leaders.

UNC offers bachelor’s degree programs with over 70 majors and minors taught across 60 departments. Popular majors at UNC are communication, journalism, business, management, marketing, psychology, social sciences, and biological and biomedical sciences. The school also offers more than 100 master’s degree programs, over 60 doctorate degree programs, more than 500 summer school courses, and seven professional degree programs. It also provides graduate- and undergraduate-level online and distance education programs.

A few years after its establishment, UNC became the only public university to confer degrees in the 18th century. In 1845, UNC built a School of Law and graduate programs were then added in the 1870s. After the 1970s, it changed its name from the University of North Carolina to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, following the consolidation of other state universities into the University of North Carolina.

UNC has a long list of distinguished alumni including the 11th President of the United States, James K. Polk, NBA player Michael Jordan and Tony and Emmy award-winning actor Billy Crudup.

UNC has achieved top-tier placement for being one of the best public and best value colleges in The U.S. It has also placed in the top 80 based on a number of global university rankings. In the last few years, UNC has also seen an increase in the number of patents produced by UNC inventors and delivered to commercial markets, which has stimulated job creation in the state and around the world.

The university is preparing for the future by following a blueprint called Carolina Next. This strategic framework includes eight initiatives centered around community-building, strengthening student success, enabling career development, making new discoveries, promoting democracy, addressing community issues, increasing global impact, and improving business operations.

The UNC System, which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a part of, is currently looking at streamlining financial aid. The UNC Board of Governors has created a task force that will examine the universities’ tuition and fee structures that will ensure affordability and flexibility for students while also delivering high-quality education.