Location | Chapel Hill, United States | Funding Type | Public |
---|---|---|---|
No of Students | 30011 | Establishment | University |
Founded In | 1789 | Estimated Cost of Living | 11526 USD |
Address | 103 South Building, CB 9100, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, US |
History of the University
The University of North Carolina was the first public university in the nation. In 1789, William Richardson Davie wrote the act that established the University. In 1793, he and fellow trustees laid the cornerstone of the first building, Old East. Students arrived in 1795, and UNC became the only public university to award degrees in the 18th century.
The School of Law was established in 1845. Other graduate programs began in 1876, followed by a summer school for teachers in 1877 and medical and pharmaceutical programs in 1879. In 1915, leaders broadened the mission of the University to include research and public service. Professional schools were established as follows:
In 1922, the Association of American Universities (AAU) admitted UNC as a member, an acknowledgment of its growth in research and graduate programs.
In 1931, the North Carolina General Assembly established a Consolidated University comprised of the Chapel Hill campus, Woman’s College at Greensboro, and North Carolina State College at Raleigh. In 1972, it created the UNC system, joining 16 state colleges and universities under a president and board of governors.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was chartered in 1789 and began admitting students in 1795, making it the first public university in the US. It was also the only public university to award degrees in the 18th century and is one of the original eight Public Ivy schools.
Today, UNC has 14 schools as well as the College of Arts and Sciences. It offers 78 bachelor’s degrees, 112 master’s degrees, 68 doctorate programmes and seven professional degree programmes. Its student population of almost 30,000 is taught by a faculty of more than 3,500. Nearly 90 per cent of classes have fewer than 50 students.
UNC has one of the highest study-abroad rates of any university in the US, with almost a third of its undergraduates studying in other countries before graduation. It has 325 programmes in 70 countries.
The UNC campus is located in the downtown area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Spread over nearly 730 acres, it is informally divided into three separate areas: north campus (which includes most of the classrooms and some residence halls), middle campus and south campus. There are also plans to build a new research park with expanded science facilities.
The university, with its Tar Heels teams, has a strong athletics programme and is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was founded in 1953.