University of North Carolina Wilmington Degrees
The University of North Carolina-Wilmington appears in our ranking of 50 Affordable Accelerated MSN Online Programs.
Degrees at the University of North Carolina Wilmington are housed within four colleges that include the Watson College of Education, the College of Health and Human Services, the Cameron School of Business, and the College of Arts and Sciences. Applicants may pursue bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, or a handful of doctoral programs from these colleges.
In addition to traditional degree programs, the university also offers certificate programs, alternative academic programs, and interdisciplinary minors. The most popular degrees at the University of North Carolina Wilmington include business administration & management, psychology, speech communication & rhetoric, biology, and nursing.
Other popular programs include elementary education & teaching, social work, criminology, marine biology & biological oceanography, and kinesiology & exercise science. The university has an average freshman retention rate of 85 percent, and its student-faculty ratio is 17:1. More than 31 percent of its classes are held with fewer than 20 students in attendance.
Applicants who choose a certificate program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington may choose from the subjects of professional writing, publishing, or general science for undergraduate certificates. Meanwhile, post-baccalaureate certificates include those on applied statistics, emergency & disaster management, Hispanic studies, and forensic science, as well as many other areas. Post master’s programs are available in liberal studies, nursing education, and family nurse practitioner.
While enrolled for classes at the university, students may participate in classes, events, or programs from various academic centers on campus. Some of those academic programs include those from the Swain Center for Professional Executive Education, the Center for Support of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships, the University College, and the Center for Sales Excellence & Customer Delight.
Students who want to pursue a graduate degree at the university have many diverse subjects available in areas like sociology & criminology, curriculum studies, marine science, nursing, higher education, accountancy, and geoscience. Some of the degree paths offered include the Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking, the Master of Science in Computer Science and Information Systems, and the Master of Science in Chemistry.
The university also offers dual enrollment to qualified high school students that allows them to enroll in college classes at UNCW before they’ve earned a high school diploma. Students who want to qualify should live in the Wilmington area and may enroll in two classes per term.
About the University of North Carolina Wilmington
The University of North Carolina Wilmington has more than 16,000 students enrolled for classes at its Wilmington, North Carolina Campus. The university was once a junior college that primarily offered classes to first-year students who were also veterans returning from World War II. The university was established in 1947 as Wilmington College. The university’s official colors are teal, gold, and navy, and its teams are nicknamed the Seahawks.
The official motto of the university is Dare to Learn, and its endowment is more than $104 million. More than 1,000 teachers are employed by the university, and around 1,300 administrative staff members are also employed. The school has offered bachelor’s degrees since 1963 and began offering graduate programs in 1977. It would gain university status in 1969 as the fifth member of the state’s university system.
University of North Carolina Wilmington Accreditation Details
The institution would earn accreditation for the first time in 1948 after just a year of operation from the North Carolina College Conference, and it would also become a member of the American Association of Junior Colleges. Today, the university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has maintained its accreditation status since 1952. Universities undergo reaccreditation once a decade.
Other agencies that have accredited programs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington include the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc., the National Association of Schools of Music, the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
University of North Carolina Wilmington Application Requirements
There are two application deadlines for students interested in attending the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Deadlines are May 1 for the fall and November 15 for the spring. Applicants may send a paper application but are strongly encouraged to submit their application through SeaLevel, which is the online application tool used by the university.
The university doesn’t publish its paper application online due to the school’s efforts to protect the environment but will send a paper application to students who request one. In addition to the official application, students must also submit an application fee of $80 and official transcripts from the most recent institution attended. Students who live outside the state of North Carolina and want to enroll in online classes should check with the university before applying to make sure they are eligible for enrollment.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students who enroll in full-time classes as undergraduates at the University of North Carolina Wilmington will pay a tuition of $4,510 each year. Non-residents will pay a tuition of $19,063. Distance education rates are slightly different. Residents will pay $3,710 for distance education, and non-residents will pay $15,457 for distance education. Fees add another $2,808 for on-campus students and $485 for off-campus students.
Graduate students at the university who are residents of North Carolina will pay full-time tuition of $4,861 each year, and non-residents will pay $19,104 each year. Distance education for graduate students is $4,289 per year for North Carolina residents and $16,857 for non-residents. Fees add another $2,808 for on-campus students and $527 for off-campus students. North Carolina residents should be prepared for a total cost-of-attendance of $19,677 to $26,967, and non-residents should be prepared to pay between $32,245 to $41,210.
Financial aid at the University of North Carolina Wilmington is handled by the Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid. The office assists students in the financial aid application process, as well as in the process of maintaining financial aid over the course of the student’s college career. Based on information shared within the student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the office may award students a combination of loans, scholarships, and grants.
There are several grants and scholarship programs available to first-year students that include money from the Honors College, the SOAR Ambassador Scholarship Program, and AmeriCorps. Students who enroll at the University of North Carolina Wilmington may also receive funds from the TEACH Grant, the Forgivable Education Loans for Service program, and outside scholarship sources.