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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ranked
Chapel Hill, United States
70th in World University Rankings 2025
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About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Basic information and contact details for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

institution

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. 

UNC has more than 300,00 living alumni. Some of its most notable former students include author Thomas Wolfe, Pulitzer Prize Winner Lenoir Chambers, and two Nobel laureates – Aziz Sancarco in chemistry and Olivier Smithies in Physiology/Medicine.

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Rankings

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World University Rankings 2025
20406080100
Overall 71.6
Teaching 63.3
Research Environment 62.3
Research Quality 93.3
Industry 75.7
International Outlook 50.9
66687072201620172018201920202021202220232024202566.469.3697069.970.170.667.871.271.6

Breakdown via year: Overall

Ranking positions 2016 to 2025
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Impact Rankings

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Impact Rankings 2021
92.792.792.792.792.7202092.7

Breakdown via year: Overall

Impact Ranking positions 2020 to 2021
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Key Student Statistics

A breakdown of student statistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

gender ratio
Student gender ratio
60 F : 40 M (1)
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International student percentage
9% (1)
student per staff
Students per staff
8.7 (1)
student
Student total
35049 (1)

Based on data collected for the (1) World University Rankings 2025

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Subjects Taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

See below for a range of subjects taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Physical Sciences151–175th

  • Chemistry
  • Geology, Environmental, Earth and Marine Sciences
  • Physics and Astronomy
  • Mathematics and Statistics

Computer Science101–125th

  • Computer Science

Social Sciences31st

  • Sociology
  • Politics and International Studies
  • Geography
  • Communication and Media Studies

Life Sciences50th

  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Sport Science
  • Biological Sciences

Clinical and Health30th

  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Other Health

Law101–125th

  • Law

Business and Economics=75th

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Business and Management
  • Accounting and Finance

Arts and Humanities90th

  • Languages, Literature and Linguistics
  • History, Philosophy and Theology
  • Archaeology
  • Art, Performing Art and Design

Education=56th

  • Education

Engineering126–150th

  • General Engineering

Psychology38th

  • Psychology