About Carolina

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is at the heart of what’s next, preparing talented students from different perspectives and life experiences to become creators, explorers, entrepreneurs and leaders in North Carolina and beyond.

Carolina’s innovative teaching, campus-wide spirit of inquiry and dedication to public service continue a legacy that began when the University was chartered in 1789.

In Chapel Hill, students develop a voice for critical thought and the courage to guide change. They connect to the future they are already shaping and prepare with one another to solve the grand challenges of our time.

Carolina is passionately public and among the few flagship campuses to practice need-blind admissions and provide low-debt, full-need student aid. Our commitment to access and affordability includes providing opportunities such as the Carolina Covenant, a ground-breaking program for academically qualified low-income students that offers a debt-free path to graduation.

Our research, over a billion-dollar enterprise, has quadrupled over the past 15-plus years, firmly establishing Carolina as one of America’s top-ranked research institutions. Our world-class faculty experts continue to lead critical research to discover treatments and solutions for COVID-19, but also to develop drugs and therapeutics for future viral outbreaks.

Through the Carolina Across 100 initiative, UNC-Chapel Hill is enhancing its support to communities across the state. The five-year initiative identifies common themes and uses interdisciplinary teams to partner with community leaders in creating solutions to pressing challenges.

Such examples of progress come as we aspire to follow Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good, a strategic plan developed with broad input from the campus community that will guide us on our journey to become the leading global public research university.