University of North Carolina at Wilmington Overview
University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a public institution situated 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?
- The student loan default rate at UNCW is 4%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at UNCW.
- For the 2017-2018 academic year, 73% of the faculty were full-time.
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University of North Carolina at Wilmington Rankings
Out of the 64 colleges in North Carolina, UNCW is ranked at #10.
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.
UNCW has been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#68 | Most Popular Online Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at UNCW.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards UNCW has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#26 | Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | College Factual |
#39 | Best Colleges for Social Work | College Factual |
#62 | Best Teaching Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Teaching Degree Search |
#96 | Best Colleges for Nursing | College Factual |
#101 | Best Colleges for Business Administration & Management | College Factual |
#123 | Best Colleges for Health Professions | College Factual |
Where Is University of North Carolina at Wilmington?

Contact details for UNCW are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403-5963 |
Phone: | 910-962-3000 |
Website: | www.uncw.edu |
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?
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 67%.
Average Test Scores
About 34% 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 600 and 660. Math scores were between 585 and 650.
Can I Afford University of North Carolina at Wilmington?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At UNCW, approximately 54% of students took out student loans averaging $6,990 a year. That adds up to $27,960 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at UNCW is 4.0%. 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

There are also 2,295 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 12,157 full-time undergraduates at UNCW, 40% are male and 60% are female.

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

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 232 |
Black or African American | 448 |
Hispanic or Latino | 880 |
White | 9,465 |
International Students | 255 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 877 |
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
The following chart shows how the online learning population at UNCW has changed over the last few years.

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 2017-2018.
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 29.2%. This is the #714 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 | 3% |
Business, Management & Marketing | 4% |
Communication & Journalism | 7% |
Curriculum & Instruction | 14% |
Educational Administration | 21% |
General Education | 2% |
Health Professions | 28% |
History | 22% |
History | 22% |
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies | 1% |
Nursing | 28% |
Other Health Professions | 18% |
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution | 26% |
Public Administration | 6% |
Public Administration & Social Service | 3% |
Teacher Education Grade Specific | 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 | |
---|---|---|
Chemistry | #3 | |
International Studies | #3 | |
Physical Sciences | #5 | |
Criminology | #6 | |
Other Health Professions | #7 | |
History | #10 | |
History | #10 | |
Instructional Media Design | #23 | |
Curriculum & Instruction | #24 | |
General Education | #31 | |
Social Sciences | #31 | |
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies | #31 | |
Educational Administration | #55 | |
Teacher Education Grade Specific | #57 | |
Liberal Arts General Studies | #85 | |
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | #85 | |
Nursing | #120 | |
Education | #151 | |
Business Administration & Management | #193 | |
Health Professions | #210 | |
Business, Management & Marketing | #242 |
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.
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.
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