The university was named a Public Ivy by Richard Moll in his 1985 book The Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities, and in later guides by Howard and Matthew Greene.[134][135] Many of UNC-Chapel Hill's professional schools have achieved high rankings in publications such as Forbes magazine, as well as annual U.S. News & World Report surveys.[136][137] In 2020, US News & World Report ranked the School of Medicine #1 in primary care and #23 in research.[138] In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked UNC-Chapel Hill business school's MBA program as the 16th best in the nation. In the 2019 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health as the second best school of public health in the United States (behind Johns Hopkins and tied with Harvard).[139] The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy was ranked #1 among pharmacy schools in the United States in 2020 by U.S. News & World Report.[140] In 2005, Business Week ranked UNC-Chapel Hill business school's Executive MBA program as the 5th best in the United States.[141] UNC also offers an online MBA program, MBA@UNC,[142] that is ranked #1 in the country in 2019 for Best Online MBA Programs (tied with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University).[143] Other highly ranked schools include journalism and mass communication, law, library and information science, medicine, dentistry, and city and regional planning.[144][145][146][147][148] Nationally, UNC-Chapel Hill is in the top ten public universities for research.[149] Internationally, the 2016 QS World University Rankings ranked North Carolina 78th in the world (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings).[150]
Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement, convocation, and athletic games are the university fight songs "I'm a Tar Heel Born" and "Here Comes Carolina".[194] The fight songs are often played by the bell tower near the center of campus, as well as after major victories.[194] "I'm a Tar Heel Born" originated in the late 1920s as a tag to the school's alma mater, "Hark The Sound".[194] "Hark the Sound" was usually played at the end of games, but as of late it has been played at the beginning of games as well.
The student-run newspaper The Daily Tar Heel is ranked highly by The Princeton Review,[200] and received the 2004–5 National Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press.[201] Founded in 1977, WXYC 89.3 FM is UNC-Chapel Hill's student radio station that broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Programming is left up to student DJs. WXYC typically plays little heard music from a wide range of genres and eras. On November 7, 1994, WXYC became the first radio station in the world to broadcast its signal over the internet.[202][203] A student-run television station, STV, airs on the campus cable and throughout the Chapel Hill Time Warner Cable system.[204] Founded in 1948 as successor to the Carolina Magazine,[205] the Carolina Quarterly, edited by graduate students, has published the works of numerous authors, including Wendell Berry, Raymond Carver, Don DeLillo, Annie Dillard, Joyce Carol Oates, and John Edgar Wideman. Works appearing in the Quarterly have been anthologized in Best American Short Stories and New Stories from the South[206] and have won the Pushcart and O. Henry Prizes.[207]
In 2003, Chancellor James Moeser announced the Carolina Covenant, wherein UNC offers a debt free education to low-income students who are accepted to the university. The program was the first of its kind at a public university and the second overall in the nation (following Princeton University). About 80 other universities have since followed suit.[161]
Cures and treatments for disease. Innovative technologies. New industries for North Carolina and the world. UNC-Chapel Hill is harnessing the very best of our world and is proud to advance knowledge for this and each generation to come. Carolina ranks fifth in the country for federal research funding among universities, and its faculty members and researchers conduct more than $1.1 billion in research activity each year. Students are encouraged to participate in research opportunities as soon as they start at Carolina.
Student government at Carolina is composed of an executive branch headed by the student body president, a legislative branch composed of a student-elected student congress, and a judicial branch which includes the honor court and student supreme court.[221] The Judicial Reform Committee created the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, which outlined the current Honor Code and its means for enforcement in 1974.[222] Currently, Carolina boasts one of the only student-run judicial systems in the nation. All academic and most conduct violations are handled by the student-run Honor System. Prior to that time, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies along with other campus organizations supported student concerns.[223]
The Residence Hall Association, the school's third-largest student-run organization, is dedicated to enhancing the experience of students living in residence halls. This includes putting on social, educational, and philanthropic programs for residents; recognizing outstanding residents and members; and helping residents develop into successful leaders. The organization is run by 8 student executive officers; 16 student governors that represent each residence hall community; and numerous community government members. RHA is the campus organization of NACURH, the largest student organization in the world. In 2010 the organization won the national RHA Building Block Award, which is awarded to the school with the most improved RHA organization.
The program's first recorded game took place in 1867, when the Tar Heels defeated a Raleigh all-star team, 34-17. Although baseball continued to be played at UNC, there exists a gap in record-keeping during Reconstruction, despite the noted existence of the UNC baseball team. The program's next recorded games were played in 1891. Thereafter, the University sponsored a varsity intercollegiate baseball program on a regular basis from that season onwards.
UNC-Chapel Hill's admissions process is "most selective" according to U.S. News & World Report.[106] State law requires that the percentage of in-state students per freshman class be at least 82%, making out-of-state admissions particularly selective. For freshmen entering Fall 2019, 9,610 were accepted out of 44,859 applicants, a 21% acceptance rate, and 4,183 enrolled.[107] Women constituted 61% of the incoming class; men 39%.[107]
Following a down year for Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils, there was a significant amount of offseason roster movement. Leading scorer and All-ACC forward Matthew Hurt was joined by guard D.J. Steward and forward Jalen Johnson in turning pro after the season, while guard Jordan Goldwire and forwards Henry Coleman and Jaemyn Brakefield transferred out. There are quality pieces that remain. Point guard Jeremy Roach and center Mark Williams showed flashes of potential last season, while forward Wendell Moore is a key veteran. The Blue Devils brought in Marquette transfer Theo John to add depth in the frontcourt, and as always, there’s an elite recruiting class headlined by No. 2 overall forward Paolo Banchero and No. 17 overall wing A.J. Griffin.
UNC-Chapel Hill's 729-acre (3.0 km2) campus is dominated by two central quads: Polk Place and McCorkle Place.[69] Polk Place is named after North Carolina native and university alumnus President James K. Polk,[70] and McCorkle Place is named in honor of Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, the original author of the bill requesting the university's charter.[71] Adjacent to Polk Place is a sunken brick courtyard known as the Pit where students will gather, often engaging in lively debate with speakers such as the Pit Preacher. The Morehead–Patterson Bell Tower, located in the heart of campus, tolls the quarter-hour. In 1999, UNC-Chapel Hill was one of sixteen recipients of the American Society of Landscape Architects Medallion Awards and was identified as one of 50 college or university "works of art" by T.A. Gaines in his book The Campus as a Work of Art.[69][72]
