UNCW - About UNCW

For the 11th consecutive year, UNCW is among the top 10 public regional undergraduate universities in the South. The designation appears in the 2009 U.S.News & World Report “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook.
Among all 121 public and private universities in the South that provide a full range of undergraduate and master's level programs, the overall ranking of UNCW stayed steady at 14th.
U.S.News also ranked UNCW fifth on its first-ever list of "up-and-coming" master's universities in the South.
UNC Wilmington is one of the top three "Best Values" among public universities in North Carolina, according to Kiplinger's 2009 rankings. We are ranked 25th nationally for value to in-state students and 35th for out-of-state students. Kiplinger's ranks four-year schools that combine outstanding economic value with top-notch education.
UNCW received the "Best in the Southeast" designation for 2009 by The Princeton Review.
UNC Wilmington is included in Peterson's Competitive Colleges 2008: Top Colleges for Top Students. Of the 440 institutions highlighted, UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and UNC Asheville are the only public institutions in North Carolina listed.
The 2008 Forbes special report on America's Best Colleges ranks UNCW second among public universities, behind only UNC Chapel Hill.
UNCW has one of the highest four-year graduation rates in the UNC system, second only to UNC Chapel Hill.
More than 74 percent of freshmen surveyed said UNCW was their first choice.
UNCW has the third highest freshman-to-sophomore year retention rate in the UNC system, behind UNC Chapel Hill and NC State University.
UNCW's student-athletes captured three Colonial Athletic Association championships in 2008-09: men's track and field, men's swimming and diving and men's tennis. UNCW’s athletes excel not only on the playing field but in the classroom as well.
The university’s student-athletes have consistently recorded among the highest graduation rates among NCAA Division 1 public universities in North Carolina for the four-year class average. According to the latest release of Academic Progress Rates by the NCAA, all 19 of UNCW’s intercollegiate teams remain in full compliance with the governing body’s guidelines, and the men’s basketball team received a Public Recognition Award recently for being in the top 10 percent nationally for its work in the classroom.
During the past four years, the university has constructed or renovated more than 15 buildings. Seahawk Crossing student residence facility and the campus’ first parking garage will open this summer, and construction is underway next door on the School of Nursing building. Planning is underway for a classroom building for psychology and other departments, a new marine biotechnology building at the Center for Marine Science and a teaching laboratory building for the planned College of Health and Human Services.
UNCW students have a strong sense of civic responsibility and volunteerism. During 2007-08, more than 4,700 UNCW students participated in more than 55,800 hours of community service and service learning programs.
2007-08 was a record-breaking year for fundraising with a total of $13.8 million in gifts and pledge. In fact, records have been set the last four years in a row, with donors giving the university more than $30 million to support scholarships, professorships, academics, faculty research, athletics, student life experiences and more.
Last fiscal year, the university received more than $20.3 million in sponsored research funding, 9 percent more than the previous year. The number of awards - 238 - is 8 percent higher than the previous fiscal year.

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