University of North Carolina at Wilmington University of North Carolina at Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington or affectionately as The Dub, is a public university in Wilmington, North Carolina. UNCW enrolls 16,886 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students each year as part of the 17-campus University of North Carolina System. UNCW opened its doors on September 4, 1947 as Wilmington College. At the time the school operated as a junior college, offering freshman-level courses to 238 students during the first school year, 75% of whom were veterans returning from military service following World War II. Under the control
University of North Carolina of which were at the bachelor's level, with 31,055 degrees awarded. Founded in 1789, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of three schools to claim the title of oldest public university in the United States. It closed from 1871 to 1875, faced with serious financial and enrollment problems during the Reconstruction era. In 1877, the State of North Carolina began sponsoring additional higher education institutions. Over time the state added a women's college (now known as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro), a land-grant university (North Carolina State University), five historically black institutions (North Carolina