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Seahawks Soar Together

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Celebrate Graduates!

Follow along on our commencement highlight page for real-time stories, powerful photos and unforgettable moments.

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UNCW Fall 2025 Commencement Ceremonies Set for Dec. 13

UNCW will celebrate its fall commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13 in Trask Coliseum—an enduring campus tradition marking the moment students officially become Seahawk graduates.

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Graduate receives hood during commencement ceremony

Research Starts Here: UNCW Engineering's Undergraduate Edge

UNCW’s undergraduate engineering students are actively engaged in high-impact, faculty-mentored research across coastal, intelligent system and software engineering, gaining hands-on experience that shapes their academic and career trajectories.

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Engineering students worked in teams to build boats with the provided materials at the first annual UNCW Coastal Engineering Wave Flume Boat Race.

CIE and OIC Drive Change Through Innovation and Collaboration

UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Office of Innovation and Commercialization are transforming ideas into impact through innovation, commercialization and strategic partnerships.

Explore Innovation
People participating in a mentor program for entrepreneurs

Researcher Leads Effort to Eliminate Malaria in Uganda

Associate Professor Michelle Cathorall’s Malaria Mastery Prevention Program empowers Ugandan communities through education, rapid testing, and student-driven research to break the cycle of infection and build sustainable public health solutions.

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Michelle Cathorall with a mosquito net

Kenan Auditorium Presents 2025-26 Season

Kenan Auditorium’s new season dazzles with world-class talent, festive flair, and local artistry. Grab your tickets today!

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UNCW Magazine: Your Connection to Campus

UNCW Magazine is your gateway to the people, ideas and coastal spirit that define our campus — crafted for lifelong learners who value connection and discovery.

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Youth learning to dive

UNCW Drives $3.2 Billion Economic Growth in NC

UNC Wilmington's economic impact study reveals a $3.2 billion contribution to the state's economy, highlighting the university's pivotal role in driving regional growth and prosperity. Key findings include significant job support, alumni income contributions, and a robust influence on the eight-county Cape Fear Region.

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Rivera located in downtown Wilmington

109

Among Public National Universities, U.S. News & World Report

8 Years

Featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges

12th

Nationally, Best Online Bachelor's Programs, U.S. News & World Report

SEAHAWKS IN ACTION

Enjoy a powerful academic experience that stimulates creative inquiry, critical thinking and thoughtful expression.

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Aerial view of flooding in Carolina Beach

UNCW Receives Grant to Advance Flooding Research

UNC Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science (CMS) has been awarded a $500,000 planning grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment to identify flood vulnerabilities and increase effectiveness of community response to flood safety and resilience.

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Chancellor’s Corner

Portrait of Chancellor Volety

A Message from the Chancellor

In this season of gratefulness, it is a great joy to recognize the many reasons we have to give thanks at UNCW. From student leaders and expert faculty to dedicated staff and active alumni, our university is home to Seahawks who get involved and give back on campus and in countless communities.   

Read the Full Message from the Chancellor
panoramic view of Veterans Hall

Explore Our Campus. Take the UNCW Virtual Tour

SEAHAWK STORIES

As a Seahawk, your flight is your own. We each launch from communities that have shaped us, and we build new communities as we go—some right here on the UNCW campus. Hear from the fierce and generous individuals who are making our community stronger, more diverse, more unique.

Meet more Seahawks

Sammy C. Hawk greets students during Convocation

Soaring Higher

8,069 Seahawks took action to generate a record-breaking $53,263,470 in gifts and commitments from July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025.

See how every gift ripples outward

OUR COMMITMENT TO

Educational Excellence
Outreach & Engagement
Global Connections
Our Alumni & Friends
Hand holding a rolled diploma in the air

Educational Excellence

UNCW stands out among the best universities in the UNC System, ranking near the Top 100 Public Universities in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. The UNCW experience integrates teaching and mentoring with research and service, preparing students to soar after graduation.
Top 20 Nationally
See where we rank
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Outreach & Engagement

Whether it's teaching a child to read, pounding nails to build a new house or planting vegetables at a community farm, find a multitude of opportunities to connect to our community and support a thriving future for southeastern North Carolina, our surrounding region, the nation and the world.
Opportunities Await
Connections & Belonging
Group of students in front of mountains

Global Connections

International education is integral to global citizenship. At UNCW we offer education abroad programs for undergraduate and graduate students, nurture faculty and staff international professional development, host international students studying at UNCW and support on-campus extracurricular international programming.
Go Global
Get Connected
Group of alumni at an event

Alumni & Friends

You’ve earned your degree, spread your wings, taken flight and are soaring. And we all know that once a Seahawk, always a Seahawk! No matter where you are or what you’re doing, we’re here to connect and involve you – our alumni, students and friends – in the promotion and advancement of this great university.
Connect
Get Involved
A group of middle school students snorkel in an ocean cove with guides

Supporting Global Ocean Education

I AM WATER

I AM WATER and UNCW researchers are empowering youth to protect the ocean through hands-on conservation and immersive marine education.

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Research vessel on the ocean

Research Hubs Dive Deep

Focus on Maritime Cybersecurity and Brain Health

The UNCW’s Research Hubs program supports interdisciplinary research collaborations with $100,000 annually for up to three years, focusing on maritime cybersecurity and brain health. The Maritime Cybersecurity Applied Research, Technology and Education Center (MCARTEC) aims to enhance the cyber resilience of the maritime transportation system, while the Brain Health Resilience Hub addresses brain health issues through innovative research and collaboration.

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aerial view of the Battleship North Carolina in downtown Wilmington

Creating a Living Laboratory

Finding Solutions. Protecting Resources.

A project aimed at mitigating floodwater issues at the Battleship North Carolina site involves monitoring the challenging marsh environment. UNCW's Coastal and Estuarine Studies Lab is tracking physical and biological changes to address significant increases in flooding at the historic site. 

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a man kayaking on a river

Discovering New Knowledge

Excavating Evidence of Early Agricultural Engineering

With the use of a side-scan sonar and positioning systems, researchers are searching for archaeological evidence of the rice fields once situated along the lower Cape Fear and Brunswick rivers’ banks.

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researchers working with equipment on a research vessel

Collaborative Research

Understanding Frying Pan Shoals Ecology

UNCW researchers and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are studying Frying Pan Shoals as a possible offshore sand source. The university will receive $2 million in funding for the four-year collaborative research project.

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01

  • 1st

    Wilmington declared the first World War II Heritage City in the U.S.

  • 2nd

    Best Places in U.S. to Live & Work

  • 322

    Miles of Pristine Shoreline in NC