The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

. It is part of the

University of North Carolina System The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students each year. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". Founded on September 4, 1947, Wilmington College opened as a junior college, primarily providing education to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veterans. The school became a four-year liberal arts college in 1963, following legislation from the North Carolina General Assembly. In 1969, the college became a university and was renamed as the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Today, it has three campuses with the main campus in Wilmington, an extension campus in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commu ...

, and the Center for Marine Science near Myrtle Grove.

History

UNCW opened its doors on September 4, 1947, as Wilmington College. At the time, it operated as a junior college offering freshman-level courses to 238 students during the first school year, 77% of whom were veterans returning from military service following World War II. Under the control of the New Hanover County Board of Education, Wilmington College earned accreditation from the North Carolina College Conference in 1948 and became a member of the American Association of Junior Colleges. Further accreditation came in 1952 from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. University of North Carolina Wilmington Arches

University of North Carolina Wilmington Arches

In 1958, Wilmington College was placed under the Community College Act of North Carolina, passing control from the New Hanover County Board of Education to a board of trustees as a state-supported college under the supervision of the North Carolina Board of Higher Education. Wilmington College became a four-year liberal arts college on July 1, 1963, when the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation allowing it to award bachelor's degrees. Six years later, July 1, 1969, the college was elevated to university status under its present name, becoming the fifth campus of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

system. On August 22, 1977, UNCW was authorized to offer its first graduate programs at the master's level. The university offers 55 bachelor's degrees, 35 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees: Ed.D. Educational Leadership; Ph.D. Integrative, Comparative and Marine Biology; Ph.D. Psychology and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice.

Academics

The university is organized into seven colleges: *College of Arts and Sciences *

Cameron School of Business The Cameron School of Business is the business school of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. It currently enrolls 1,680 undergraduate students and 175 graduate students. Although UNCW was ...

*College of Health and Human Services *Watson College of Education *Graduate School *Honors College *University College The university has 55 undergraduate degree programs, 35 master's degree programs and four doctoral programs.

Rankings

Randall Library

William Madison Randall Library supports the mission of UNCW through the provision of information resources, services and programs relevant to the needs of its students, faculty and staff. To accomplish this mission, the library provides diverse collections of informational resources in multiple formats, including assistance and instruction in identifying, evaluating and interpreting these resources. Randall Library has two floors. The first floor features computer banks, group work areas, the Technology Assistance Center, and a coffee shop for students. The floor has a very social atmosphere, and is commonly used to complete group assignments. The second floor has a strictly enforced quiet policy. Most recently added to the library are charging kiosks. The kiosk located near TAC in the back of the library "provides six secure lockers to store your Phone, Android, iPad or other tabletswhile it charges."

Centers, institutes, and extensions

*Center for Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships *Center for Teaching Excellence *Center for Marine Science *Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship *ETEAL *Osher Lifelong Learning Institute *Swain Center for Professional and Continuing Education

Student life

Campus life

The university offers degrees in

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, sciences,

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, business and professional fields. The university's highly ranked marine science program draws a variety of undergraduate and graduate students from across the United States. The proximity to

the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

is a draw for incoming freshmen.

Teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...

is the official school color of UNCW, with

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

as alternate colors. The average high school GPA was 4.13 for incoming freshmen in 2018, and the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

average score was 1251.

Student facilities

Chancellor's Walk at University of North Carolina Wilmington

In 2000, the Student Recreation Center was opened to students, staff, and faculty members. It houses three basketball courts, exercise machines, a weight training area, an indoor running track, and an indoor climbing wall. It also includes a group exercise room which supports multiple clubs and activities, including Yoga, Pilates, and an Aikido club. In 2012, the Student Recreation Center completed an expansion of facilities, as well as construction on a new natatorium. This construction doubled the size of the existing Recreation Center. Lumina Theater, named after the boardwalk theater that was once found on Wrightsville Beach, features 333 stadium seats, a 15.5' x 30' screen, Dolby Digital surround sound, 35mm capabilities and a digital projection system. Lumina screens blockbusters, independents, cult classics, art films, international films and student films throughout the academic year, four or more days a week, except during University holidays and breaks. Some notable Lumina events included a multi-part, high-definition screening of BBC's Planet Earth series over the span of several weekends, and a yearly 24-hour movie marathon called Hawk-In.

Housing

On campus, the Department of Housing and Residence Life manages eleven residence halls and on-campus apartment complexes. The buildings are managed within geographically similar "areas", which are led by a Residence Coordinator (RC) and Assistance Residence Coordinator (ARC). The UNCW Residence Hall Association (RHA) is the overall governing body for the residence halls and is composed of councils from each of the residential areas. A residential quad on the south-central side of campus, comprising Galloway Hall, Graham-Hewlett Hall, Sandpiper Hall, Pelican Hall, and Belk Hall is in the process of being constructed. Two more buildings, Terrapin Hall and Loggerhead Hall, located on the eastern side of the quad are currently under construction, and will be complete in the Fall of 2021. Galloway Hall is UNCW's first residence facility on campus, and has a standard hall-style double room arrangement with shared bathrooms for the entire hall. Housing 400 students, predominantly Freshman, Galloway has a very social atmosphere. It was the first dorm in the UNC system to be built with air condition and was originally called "Dorm '71". Graham-Hewlett Hall and Belk Hall residence halls are configured in suite-style hall arrangements with up to eight individuals sharing a bathroom. Graham-Hewlett houses 384 residents and Belk houses 192 residents, and both facilities consist of predominantly first-year students. Originally a co-ed facility, Belk Hall was all female for quite some years before returning co-ed beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year. Pelican Hall and Sandpiper Hall were completed in 2020 as a part of the larger housing quad project. The buildings are built to mirror each other, each containing a pod-style layout and 518 bed spaces. University of North Carolina Wilmington Campus Center

University of North Carolina Wilmington Campus Center

Schwartz Hall houses 160 residents, and is home to mostly first-year students. A double room layout features shared bathrooms but is distinguished by its "pod" layout in contrast with the typical hall style areas. Adjacent to Schwartz Hall are the University Suites, which consists of seven pod-style buildings housing 400 students. Additionally, various sororities have personalized suites within the University Suites. Keystone Hall, Cornerstone Hall, and Innovation House form a residential area known as "Tri-House". All three residence halls were constructed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Cornerstone Hall houses freshman Honors College students. Various other living-learning learning communities are housed within the Tri-House area. Combined the area can house 465 students, with 265 students in Cornerstone Hall, and 100 in Keystone and Innovation House respectively. All three buildings are in a traditional format. Three on-campus apartment complexes are located at UNCW, Seahawk Village, Seahawk Crossing, and Seahawk Landing. All apartments are fully furnished, including a full-service kitchen, and washer and dryer. Upperclassmen are the only members allowed to live in the on-campus apartments at UNCW. Seahawk Village contained two, three, and four bedroom apartments which houses 524 students within six apartment buildings. Additionally, Seahawk Village contains a pool and clubhouse, only accessible to residents. Seahawk Landing contains similar two, three, and four bedroom apartments, with a combined 662 students living in seven buildings. Seahawk Landing contains a pool, only accessible to residents, with a sandwich shop and convenience market open to the public. Seahawk Crossing contains a slightly different layout, containing four, six, and eight person apartments with a combined 662 students within four apartment buildings.

Dining

On-campus dining at UNCW is managed by the Campus Dining department within Auxiliary Services in coordination with

Aramark Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America (United S ...

. Various dining locations are found throughout campus, mostly clustered in various areas. Wagoner Hall, located on the eastern side of campus and has a traditional cafeteria style of dining. Dub's Cafe, located inside of Warwick Hall, offers a similar cafeteria layout with a focus on sustainability. Port City Java has two locations on campus, one located in Randall Library and another inside of Sandpiper Hall. Starbucks operates a franchised location inside of "The Hub" dining area located adjacent to Graham-Hewlett Hall.

Mooyah Mooyah (stylized as MOOYAH) is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Plano, Texas. The chain reached over 100 locations in 20 U.S. states and nine countries in 2016 in North America and the Middle East. They specialize in hamb ...

operates within the same dining area, adjacent to Starbucks. The Fisher University Union houses Hawk's Nest, a dining center where students can choose from a wide assortment of available options. Hawk's Nest offers Mexican food, Mediterranean food, flatbread pizza, Greek cuisine, hamburgers and fries. A Chick-fil-A Express,

Panda Express Panda Express is an American fast food restaurant chain that serves American Chinese cuisine. With over 2,200 locations, it is the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in the United States, where it was founded, and is mainly located in North ...

and Subway are located within Fisher University Union. Einstein Bros. Bagels is located across the courtyard in Fisher Student Union. Additionally, the Landing Sandwich shop is located within the Seahawk Landing residential area. Several convenience stores exist throughout campus, labeled as P.O.D. Markets (Provisions on Demand) and are operated by Aramark.

Greek life

Greek-letter societies became an early part of student life at UNCW when the first social fraternity was formed in January 1964, just six months after Wilmington College became a four-year institution. Fraternities and Sororities have continued to grow at UNCW with membership now around 9.8% percent of the overall student population, falling slightly below the national average. There are 15 social fraternities and 11 social sororities. The

National Pan-Hellenic Council The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...

has 6 historically black organizations, three fraternities and three sororities. UNCW also has one Christian sorority. Several fraternities and sororities have on-campus housing in University Suites and University Apartments. More recently,

Alpha Psi Lambda Alpha Psi Lambda National, Inc. (), is a Coeducation, co-educational, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-oriented Fraternities and sororities, fraternity which began in 1985 at Ohio State University. It is the first co-ed fraternity for Lati ...

, a coeducational Latino-based fraternity, has established a colony at UNCW.

Fraternities

There are currently 17 national fraternities at UNCW: *

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States. The ...

* Alpha Tau Omega *

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international Greek letter collegiate social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890, at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 30, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership soc ...

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternity established in 1899 at The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis of religious and ethnic acceptance. It is also one of th ...

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. As of December 2015, the Kappa Alph ...

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

* Phi Gamma Delta * Pi Kappa Alpha *

Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston i ...

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an interna ...

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international Fraternities and sororities, college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont, and has initiated more than 200,000 members and currently has over 8,700 c ...

Sororities

There are currently 11 national sororities at UNCW: *

Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Chi Omega (, also known as Alpha Chi or A Chi O) is a national women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. As of 2018, there are 132 collegiate and 279 alumnae chapters represented across the United States, and the fraternity counts ...

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a memb ...

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fo ...

Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta (, often referred to as A-''"Zee"''-D ) is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893. Baird's Manual is also available online hereThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, United Stat ...

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chap ...

Delta Zeta Delta Zeta (, also known as DZ) is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Delta Zeta has 170 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 200 alumnae chapters in Cana ...

Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...

Kappa Delta Kappa Delta (, also known as KD or Kaydee) was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. Kappa Delta is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university, whic ...

Phi Mu Phi Mu () is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. The fraternity was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia as the Philomathean Society on , and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same y ...

Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma (), also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women's sorority. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization encompassing 26 national sororities or women's fraterni ...

National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc.

The 4 historically black fraternities include: * Alpha Phi Alpha *

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

* Omega Psi Phi * Phi Beta Sigma The 3 historically black sororities include: * Alpha Kappa Alpha * Delta Sigma Theta *

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic ach ...

Christian sorority

Sigma Alpha Omega Sigma Alpha Omega () is an American non-denominational Christian sorority for women, founded at North Carolina State University on January 5, 1998. However, they can trace their roots back to the once co-educational Chi Alpha Omega fraternity fou ...

Honors fraternity

Phi Sigma Pi Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity () is a gender-inclusive/mixed-sex national honor fraternity based in the United States. The fraternity is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania with the purpose ...

Athletics

The UNCW athletic teams are known as the Seahawks. They are NCAA's Division I members fielding 18 teams, 8 varsity athletic teams for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field) and 10 for women (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball, beach volleyball). UNCW is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. The men's and women's basketball teams play at

Trask Coliseum Trask Coliseum is a 5,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Wilmington, North Carolina. The coliseum was opened in 1977 and named after Raiford Graham Trask, a trustee of Wilmington College. It is home to the University of North Carolina at Wilmingt ...

and the baseball team plays at Brooks Field. The teams' colors include navy blue, teal, and gold. The baseball team has made eight appearances in the NCAA tournament (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016) while the men's basketball team postseason accolades include six NCAA tournament appearances (2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2016, 2017), two trips to the NIT (1998, 2001) and one invitation to the Collegeinsider.com tournament in 2015.

Notable people

Alumni

Faculty

* Herbert Berg, Philosophy and Religion (previous faculty member) *

Clyde Edgerton Clyde Edgerton (born May 20, 1944) is an American author. He has published a dozen books, most of them novels, two of which have been adapted for film. He is also a professor, teaching creative writing. Biography Edgerton was born in Durham, N ...

, Creative Writing *

Philip Furia Philip George Furia (November 15, 1943 – April 3, 2019) was an American author and English literature professor. His books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era. Biography Furia was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Ethel Rose Sz ...

, Creative Writing (deceased) *

David Gessner David Gessner is an American essayist, memoirist, nature writer, editor, and cartoonist. Gessner was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard College where he worked at the ''Harvard Crimson'' ...

, Creative Writing *

Peter Jurasik Peter Jurasik ( ; born April 25, 1950) is an American actor known for his television roles as Londo Mollari in the 1990s science fiction series ''Babylon 5'' and Sid the Snitch on the 1980s series ''Hill Street Blues'' and its short-lived spin ...

, Acting for the Camera *

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock and alternative music. He mixed Pearl Jam's debut album '' Ten'' (1991) and tracks on U2's album ''All T ...

, French and Japanese film studies. * Joseph R. Pawlik, Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology *

Jarrod Tanny Jarrod Tanny is a Canadian-American professor of history and Charles and Hannah Block Distinguished Scholar in Jewish History at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. After completing his education through a master's degree in Canada, he c ...

, Charles and Hannah Block Distinguished Scholar in Jewish History

References

External links

*
UNCW Athletics website
{{authority control University of North Carolina Educational institutions established in 1947 Public universities and colleges in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Wilmington, North Carolina Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in New Hanover County, North Carolina 1947 establishments in North Carolina Liberal arts colleges in North Carolina