University of North Carolina, Charlotte

UNC Charlotte is the fourth largest of the 16 institutions within the University of North Carolina system. It serves the people of North Carolina, with special emphasis on Charlotte, the nation’s 35th largest city, and the surrounding 13-county metropolitan region, which includes 1.5 million people.

With enrollment approaching 20,000 students (45 percent men, 55 percent women), including about 4,000 graduate students. UNC Charlotte is the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte region. Enrollment is projected to increase annually through the year 2010, bringing the university a projected student body of more than 25,000.

Students come to UNC Charlotte from 98 counties in North Carolina, from 44 States, and about 80 foreign countries. Minority students, including African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans, comprise about 25.2 percent of UNC Charlotte’s student body.

A doctoral/research intensive university, UNC Charlotte is composed of seven colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences and six professional colleges — Architecture, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Information Technology, and Health and Human Services. The university offers more than 80 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees, over 58 master’s degree programs and 12 doctoral programs. The university also offers a multidisciplinary Honors College for talented, motivated undergraduates and a Graduate School. UNC Charlotte’s faculty includes 879 full-time members, with nearly 90 percent holding the highest degree in their fields.

UNC Charlotte’s first emphasis is on teaching, followed by applied research and responsive public service. The student-faculty ratio is approximately 15 to 1. Contract research amounts to more than $24 million a year. The university’s outreach programs extend into each of the 13 counties in the surrounding metropolitan region.

UNC Charlotte is committed to serving the community, state and nation through centers and institutes such as the Charlotte Research Institute, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, Ben Craig Center (a business incubator), Center for International Studies, Office of Continuing Education, Extension and Summer Programs, Center for Applied and Professional Ethics, the Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems and the 3,200-acre University Research Park, which employs more than 25,000 workers.