Chartered by the N.C. General Assembly on December 11, 1789, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first state university in the nation. Today, the campus is a hotbed of learning and research. Buoyed by a $3.1 billion bond package for higher education—the largest in the nation—UNC is undergoing a dramatic transformation that has helped provide its students with a modern environment spanning everything from renovated recreational facilities to brand new research buildings with state-of-the-art equipment.

UNC-Chapel Hill is among the top U.S. public universities in research support, as well as in creating jobs through new products and spin-off businesses. In 2006, the faculty attracted $593 million in total contract and grant funding, more than double what the University received in 1997. The bulk of the University’s funding comes from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Pharmacy was eighth among the nation’s pharmacy schools in NIH funding in 2006, and UNC’s other four health affairs schools—dentistry, medicine, nursing, and public health—all ranked in the NIH’s top twenty.

The University offers 66 doctoral and 100 master's degree programs. Graduate and professional students make up about forty percent of UNC's total enrollment. Graduate students play a vital role in the University's research efforts, as more than one thousand work as research assistants.

Carolina boasts a library system that perennially ranks among the best research libraries in North America according to the Association of Research Libraries. The collection features more than 5.8 million volumes and more than 54,000 serial subscriptions.