University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Public · Moderately Selective · NC

Photo: Willthacheerleader18 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationNC · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads14,062

Student:faculty18:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate38.6%

6-yr grad rate56.3%

Drop-out rate21.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$8k

Out-of-state tuition$24k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity62.2%

Gender diversity66.4%

International1.2%

Identity—

Overview

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro sits in North Carolina's Piedmont Triad near downtown Greensboro. Founded in 1891 as a women's college, it joined the University of North Carolina system in 1972 and has retained a teaching-centered, access-oriented mission that serves many first-generation students, a legacy of its founding purpose that still shapes the university's culture even as it has grown into a comprehensive coeducational institution.

Academics

Nursing, education, and the visual and performing arts stand out, with a curriculum built around close faculty contact and applied preparation for professional fields rather than heavy research-university scale. The School of Music, Theatre and Dance carries a genuinely strong national reputation in dance specifically, drawing students to Greensboro for that program alone in a way that's unusual for a school of UNCG's general profile. The Bryan School of Business and Economics rounds out the university's professional offerings.

Campus & student life

The campus's location near downtown Greensboro gives students access to a mid-size city without the isolation of a rural college town, and the arts programs give campus life a noticeably creative, performance-oriented undercurrent beyond the usual student-organization scene. Regular dance and theater performances open to the public bring a working-arts-school atmosphere to parts of campus that many comprehensive public universities don't have, and the surrounding Piedmont Triad gives students a genuine, if unglamorous, mid-size regional city to explore beyond the campus gates.

Getting in

Admission is access-oriented and less focused on an elaborate application process, reflecting UNCG's founding mission. The university has historically served students, including many first-generation and transfer students, who might not target the most selective UNC-system campuses, and applicants to the dance or music programs typically go through a separate audition or portfolio-review process alongside the standard application.

After graduation

Graduates in nursing and education fill regional healthcare and school system roles across the Piedmont Triad, and the arts programs feed regional and some national performing-arts and design careers, with dance graduates in particular finding paths into professional companies, university faculties, and arts education roles.

Worth knowing

UNCG's dance program is a legitimate hidden strength, nationally respected within the dance world despite the university's broader profile as an access-oriented regional public, worth knowing for arts-focused applicants who might otherwise overlook it in favor of bigger-name conservatory programs.

uncg.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate88.5%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1150–1355 · ACT 22–27

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying