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SEAHAWKS IN ACTION

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

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UNCWelcome: Where Connections Begin

UNCWelcome kicks off the academic year with engaging events that help students build community and explore campus. 

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Students on a carnival ride

A New Season of Live Experiences Begins

Get ready for an unforgettable season with Kenan Auditorium Presents, featuring inspiring music, captivating stories, vibrant cultures, and extraordinary live performances from around the world.

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Graphic with dancers and actors with the words 2026-27 Season and Kenan Auditorium Presents

UNCW Magazine

The latest UNCW Magazine digs into smart farm solutions using AI and robotics, real-world business consultancy projects and sparking joy in the classroom.

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Robot collects soil data

Teaching with Joy

Teaching with Joy emerged from one powerful classroom moment and grew into a movement of educators reimagining learning by centering the power of joy.

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A group of teachers at a table

Network of Partners. A World of Opportunity.

Cameron School of Business students apply their skills in real‑world consulting projects, delivering research‑driven, actionable solutions that organizations often implement.

Experience Applied Learning
Student presenting research in front of a group

Growing Intelligence

UNCW’s SanaSolo project showcases how student‑faculty innovation is using AI and robotics to help farmers make smarter, more sustainable decisions from the soil up.

Dig into the Story
Engineering student Samuel Stasiewicz '26 works with Sana Solo, a robot that monitors soil fertilit

UNCW Officials Urge Hurricane Readiness

UNCW is encouraging the campus community to stay storm‑ready this hurricane season by knowing emergency procedures, staying alert to university communications and taking simple steps to prepare.

Learn How to Prepare
image of a hurricane of the coast

Community‑Driven Medical School Advances

UNCW is accelerating a long‑awaited vision, taking its first major step toward establishing a new public medical school.

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Veteran Hall on the UNCW campus

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

Chancellor’s Corner

Chancellor Volety

Dear Seahawks,

Welcome to a new academic year at UNCW! Over the past week, about 5,700 students moved into campus housing, bringing their excitement and energy to our campus. With enrollment expected to approach 20,000 this fall, there are a lot of new and returning Seahawks ready and eager to see what the year brings.

UNCWelcome is already giving students plenty of ways to jump into campus life. HawkFest and Rock the Rec were campus favorites once again, and many more activities are planned for the coming weeks. I encourage students to get out there, meet people, try something new and enjoy being part of this community. 

Read the Chancellor’s message

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

Alumni Association honors graduating seahawks by hosting the Senior Toast

UNCW Alumni Association welcomes Class of 2026!

Now a network with more than 114,000 graduates, the Alumni Association offers alumni the opportunity to create impact, build connections and soar beyond campus. 

Learn How Alumni SOAR

OUR COMMITMENT TO

Educational Excellence
Outreach & Engagement
Global Connections
Our Alumni & Friends
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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
Students counting sea turtle eggs

UN ‘Sea’ W

Advancing Turtle Conservation, Education and Outreach

Sea turtles are more than charismatic marine creatures — they’re vital barometers of ocean health. By studying their movements and physiology, graduate researchers Caroline VanDuzer and Jamie Clark are uncovering how rising temperatures are reshaping marine ecosystems.  Read the Full Feature Story
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

UNCW’s Research Hubs program advances innovation in two key areas: maritime cybersecurity and brain health. The Maritime Cybersecurity Applied Research, Technology and Education Center (MCARTEC) strengthens the cyber resilience of the nation’s maritime transportation system, while the Brain Health Resilience Hub tackles complex brain health challenges through collaborative, interdisciplinary research.

Read the Full Feature Story

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. 

READ THE FULL NEWS STORY

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the Full News Story

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