Student Handbook - Introduction
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This State Historical marker is located at McCorkle Place.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, founded in 1789, is the nation’s first public university, and is also one of the most beloved and respected universities in the country. Carolina is a global higher-education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Many of its schools and programs, including the Gillings School, are ranked highly in prestigious rankings.
Now in its third century, the University offers 78 bachelor’s, 112 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. More than 29,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students learn from a faculty of 3,600. Every day, faculty, staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in all 100 counties. Carolina’s 292,500 alumni live in all 50 states and in more than 150 countries.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees and certificates. The Gillings School also is accredited by The Council on Education for Public Health.
The Graduate School
Graduates celebrate after turning tassels during commencement.
The Graduate School of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill encompasses more than 80 programs offering more than 160 different graduate degrees. Graduate and professional students make up about 37 percent of Carolina’s enrolled students. More than 13 percent of graduate and professional students are from underrepresented groups, including African-Americans, Hispanics and American Indians. Another 14 percent are international students.
The Graduate School provides graduate students with fellowships, tuition support, travel awards and research supplements. Many of our fellowships are interdisciplinary in focus.
The Graduate School supports graduate students in every program across the Carolina campus, serving students from admission through graduation. The Graduate School also provides services to graduate students, including seminars and classes in pedagogy, leadership, communication, grant writing and other professional development.
The Gillings School of Global Public Health
The Gillings School of Global Public Health first was recognized as an independent school in 1940 after starting initially as part of the UNC School of Medicine. It provides exceptional teaching, conducts groundbreaking research and delivers dedicated service to people across North Carolina, the United States and around the world. According to U.S. News and World Report’s 2016 rankings, the school is #2 of all public health schools in the U.S. and is the top public school of public health.
These doors welcome students into Armfield Atrium, the heart of the Gillings School’s campus.
The school’s mission is to improve public health, promote individual well-being and eliminate health inequities across North Carolina and around the world.
Accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the public health school offers undergraduate and graduate programs on campus near UNC’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work and pharmacy, and through its state-of-the-art online education programs. Online graduate education is also an option in several of the school’s academic units. The school’s Michael Hooker Research Center and many renovated labs and classrooms provide an environment highly conducive to the dissemination and development of public health knowledge. Beyond campus, members of the Gillings School of Global Public Health faculty teach, conduct research, and serve communities across the state and nation and around the world.
The Gillings Global Gateway™ works with faculty and students to coordinate research, teaching and practice efforts in more than 55 countries. Global and local content and approaches are infused across our courses, programs and degrees. The Gillings Global Gateway™ harmonizes and promotes student global health opportunities throughout the School.
The North Carolina Institute for Public Health, the School’s service and outreach arm, brings public health scholarship and practice communities together. NCIPH works with our partners to conduct training and education for the public health workforce; collaborate on technical assistance, research and evaluation projects; translate research to practice; publish and present scholarly practice-based work; and link students to research projects and practica.
Research and Innovation Solutions manages innovation labs, visiting professorships and strategic initiatives funded by a generous gift from Dennis Gillings and Joan Gillings to solve public health problems and scale up solutions. The unit also supports the School’s robust research program and public health entrepreneurship.
Clockwise from top left: Environmental sciences and engineering alumni Abhinav Komandur and Alyson Malone, pictured here as students in their lab, won an award for their research; The Gillings School’s Student Global Health committee (with adviser Dr. Jim Herrington, third from left) planned the GillingsX talks to reflect students’ global and local research and service; A student explains her research findings at a ‘Spotlight on Student Research’ event at the School; Winners of the 2016 Teaching Innovation Awards posed during a ceremony to honor them.
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