Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Find Schools Near

University of North Carolina at Wilmington Overview

University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a public institution located in Wilmington, North Carolina. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life.

What Is University of North Carolina at Wilmington Known For?

3,936 Undergraduate Awards
$32,565 Avg Cost After Aid
68% Acceptance Rate
  • The 4% student loan default rate at UNCW is better than the national rate of 10.1%. That's a good sign that you may be able to pay off student loans easier than your peers at other schools can.
  • The highest award offered at UNCW is the doctor's degree.
  • For the 2017-2018 academic year, 72% of the faculty were full-time.
  • On average, it takes about 4.2 years for students from UNCW to earn a bachelor's degree. This is excellent when compared to the average of 4.4 years.

Best Schools

University of North Carolina at Wilmington Rankings

UNCW is ranked #12 out of 113 schools in North Carolina.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at UNCW.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#2 Best Value Other Health Professions Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#13 Best Health & Physical Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#13 Best Other Health Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#20 Most Popular Health Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#20 Best Value International Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#23 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#34 Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#38 Best Value Health & Physical Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#53 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#129 Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards UNCW has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#10 Best Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General Schools College Factual
#24 Best Exercise Science and Kinesiology Schools College Factual
#34 Best Health & Physical Education Schools College Factual
#49 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools College Factual
#198 Best Business Administration & Management Schools College Factual
#299 Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools College Factual

Where Is University of North Carolina at Wilmington?

undefined

Contact details for UNCW are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403-5963
Phone: 910-962-3000
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wilmington-NC/UNCW/8357990919
Twitter: http://twitter.com/uncwilmington

How Do I Get Into UNCW?

You can apply to UNCW online at: www.uncw.edu/admissions/apply.html

Admission Requirements for UNCW

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank required
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program recommended
Recommendations required
SAT or ACT Scores required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into UNCW?

68% Acceptance Rate
65% Of Accepted Are Women
41% Submit SAT Scores
The acceptance rate at UNCW is 68%, which is a sign that the school is fairly selective. While it may not be as hard to get into as other colleges, you should not take admission for granted.

Approximately 35% of accepted students are men and 65% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 66%, and the acceptance rate for women is 69%.

Average Test Scores

About 41% of students accepted to UNCW submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 590 and 660. Math scores were between 570 and 650.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for University of North Carolina at Wilmington  ( 590 to 660 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for University of North Carolina at Wilmington  ( 570 to 650 )
200
800
UNCW received ACT scores from 61% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 21 and 27. Math scores were between 21 and 26. Composite scores were between 23 and 27.

ACT English Scores for University of North Carolina at Wilmington  ( 21 to 27 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for University of North Carolina at Wilmington  ( 21 to 26 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for University of North Carolina at Wilmington  ( 23 to 27 )
1
36

Can I Afford University of North Carolina at Wilmington?

$32,565 Net Price
48% Take Out Loans
3.9% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of UNCW is $32,565. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At UNCW, approximately 48% of students took out student loans averaging $7,628 a year. That adds up to $30,512 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at UNCW is 3.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

University of North Carolina at Wilmington Undergraduate Student Diversity

11,989 Full-Time Undergraduates
62% Women
18% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 14,650 undergraduate students at UNCW, with 11,989 being full-time and 2,661 being part-time.

undefined

There are also 3,265 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 11,989 full-time undergraduates at UNCW, 38% are male and 62% are female.

undefined

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of University of North Carolina at Wilmington students is as follows.

undefined
Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 222
Black or African American 458
Hispanic or Latino 934
White 9,403
International Students 164
Other Races/Ethnicities 808

Geographic Diversity

North Carolina students aren't the only ones who study at University of North Carolina at Wilmington. At this time, 35 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 48 countries are represented at UNCW. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Japan, China, and India.

Online Learning at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

6,269 Took All Classes Online
17,032 Took At Least One Class Online
34.3% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
There are 7 bachelor’s degree and 17 master’s degree programs available online at UNCW. In 2019-2020, 17,032 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at UNCW has changed over the last few years.

undefined

This school is the 6th most popular in North Carolina for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of UNCW

The following table shows how UNCW is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Foreign Languages & Linguistics #1 #13
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods #1 #24
Chemistry #1 #1
Other Health Professions #1 #13
Romance Languages #1 #7
Criminology #4 #28
Public Relations & Advertising #4 #10
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution #4 #4
International Studies #4 #1
Finance & Financial Management #4 #41
Liberal Arts General Studies #7 #40
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities #7 #40
Physical Sciences #7 #10
Health & Physical Education #10 #51
History #10 #31
History #10 #31
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies #19 #64
Communication & Journalism #19 #70
Health & Medical Administrative Services #25 #112
General Education #30 #96
Teacher Education Grade Specific #31 #133
Public Administration & Social Service #34 #160
Public Administration #34 #152
Education #37 #141
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies #37 #193
Curriculum & Instruction #40 #168
Social Sciences #40 #139
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies #46 #150
Instructional Media Design #52 #147
Educational Administration #64 #259

Online Growth Rankings of UNCW

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at University of North Carolina at Wilmington was 34.3%. This is the #826 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at UNCW regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of UNCW majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Business Administration & Management 4%
Business, Management & Marketing 10%
Communication & Journalism 17%
Community Organization & Advocacy 33%
Curriculum & Instruction 36%
Education 4%
Educational Administration 11%
General Education 6%
Health & Physical Education 36%
Instructional Media Design 69%
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 30%
Liberal Arts General Studies 30%
Other Health Professions 11%
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 91%
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 29%
Public Administration 5%
Public Administration & Social Service 5%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at UNCW ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at UNCW.

Major Growth Rate Rank
Community Organization & Advocacy #4
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution #7
International Studies #10
Romance Languages #13
Other Health Professions #14
Criminology #16
Chemistry #18
Foreign Languages & Linguistics #31
Public Relations & Advertising #32
Finance & Financial Management #33
History #36
Writing Studies #36
History #36
Physical Sciences #37
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods #47
General Education #61
Public Administration #62
English Language & Literature #64
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies #68
Health & Physical Education #82
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies #88
Curriculum & Instruction #90
Communication & Journalism #101
Instructional Media Design #102
Social Sciences #139
Public Administration & Social Service #146
Educational Administration #153
Teacher Education Grade Specific #184
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies #193
Health & Medical Administrative Services #281
Liberal Arts General Studies #292
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities #292
Nursing #306
Education #474

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

University of North Carolina at Wilmington Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Nursing 727 12 156 14 909
Business Administration & Management 752 0 106 0 858
Communication & Media Studies 242 0 0 0 242
General Psychology 222 0 19 0 241
Teacher Education Grade Specific 150 0 82 0 232
General Biology 191 0 4 0 195
Health & Physical Education 175 0 0 0 175
Social Work 76 0 78 0 154
Natural Resources Conservation 124 0 14 0 138
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 84 0 17 2 103
Criminology 101 0 0 0 101
Public Health 90 0 0 0 90
Computer Science 85 0 0 0 85
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 85 0 0 0 85
Political Science & Government 76 0 0 0 76
Other Health Professions 46 10 18 0 74
General Education 0 2 65 0 67
General English Literature 59 0 8 0 67
Chemistry 43 0 18 0 61
Accounting 0 0 59 0 59
Writing Studies 43 0 15 0 58
Recreation Administration 54 0 0 0 54
International Studies 52 0 0 0 52
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 0 0 51 0 51
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 49 0 0 0 49
Romance Languages 39 0 9 0 48
History 43 0 5 0 48
Geological & Earth Sciences 27 0 20 0 47
Computer Information Systems 37 0 5 0 42
Educational Administration 0 0 15 22 37
Fine & Studio Arts 34 0 0 0 34
Mathematics 26 0 7 0 33
Sociology 24 0 9 0 33
Drama & Theater Arts 33 0 0 0 33
Computer Software & Applications 8 0 24 0 32
Music 21 0 0 0 21
Anthropology 20 0 0 0 20
Public Administration 0 0 19 0 19
Special Education 17 0 0 0 17
Instructional Media Design 0 5 11 0 16
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies 15 0 0 0 15
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution 0 0 14 0 14
Geography & Cartography 7 7 0 0 14
Physics 13 0 0 0 13
Economics 13 0 0 0 13
Curriculum & Instruction 0 0 11 0 11
Statistics 11 0 0 0 11
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 11 0 0 0 11
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 0 10 0 10
Allied Health Professions 8 0 0 0 8
Finance & Financial Management 0 0 6 0 6
Gerontology 0 0 6 0 6
Germanic Languages 3 0 0 0 3
Community Organization & Advocacy 0 3 0 0 3
Natural Resource Management 0 0 2 0 2
Public Relations & Advertising 0 0 0 0 0
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 0 0 0 0
Other Engineering 0 0 0 0 0
Health & Medical Administrative Services 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 3,936 39 883 38 4,896

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.