Universities and Colleges

4-Year Colleges and Universities

By the Numbers

Research Universities

Three major research universities make up the Research Triangle region.

NC State in Wake County, UNC-Chapel Hill in Orange County and Duke University in Durham County. Any of these universities by themselves would be a significant asset and an enormous economic engine. When you combine the resources of the three, all within a short drive of the other, you create one of the most dynamic regions in the country.

Raleigh

North Carolina State University 

  • 39,603 students
  • 10,542 degrees conferred annually
  • More than 300 bachelor and masters programs
  • 62 doctoral programs
  • $633 million in annual research expenditures
  • Educating more North Carolinians than any other university
  • Home to Centennial Campus (Video)

Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • 32,346 students
  • More than 80 majors and minors in 60 departments
  • 66 doctoral programs and 112 master's programs offered
  • Nation's first public university – only public university to award degrees in the 18th century
  • Nearly one-third of Carolina undergraduates study in other countries before graduation (330 programs in 70 countries)
  • 13:1 student-faculty ratio with 87% of classes having less than 50 students

Durham

Duke University

  • 17,499 students
  • 63 majors, 61 minors and 23 certificates offered in undergraduate study
  • Offers master's and doctoral degrees in more than 80 departments and programs of study
  • 200+ domestic and international learning opportunities
  • 50%+ of Duke undergrads complete faculty-mentored research projects
  • 8:1 student-faculty ratio with 70% of classes having fewer than 19 students