Consistently ranking among the top 15 southern universities in the U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges Guide, Appalachian State University enrolls over 14,000 students in 95 undergraduate and 81 graduate degree programs.

Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on March 8, 1907, East Carolina University has grown from its beginnings as a two-year normal school to a Doctoral/Research-Intensive level university. ECU currently enrolls more than 19,000 students.

When ECSU opened its doors in 1892, it had 23 students, two faculty members, and a budget of $900. Today, ECSU enrolls more than 2,100 students in 34 baccalaureate degree programs, a master's program, and selected professional areas.

The second-oldest public institution of higher education in the state, Fayetteville State was founded in 1867 as the Howard School for the education of African Americans. Today, FSU serves a growing and diverse student body of more than 5,300.

Since its inception as a land grant university in 1891, North Carolina A & T State has carried a rich tradition of leadership and achievement. Spread over 188 acres at the center of North Carolina's Piedmont, A & T's campus is just 9 blocks from downtown Greensboro.

Founded in 1909, North Carolina Central University was the nation's first public liberals arts institution founded for African-Americans. NCCU is a comprehensive university offering undergraduate and graduate programs.

As the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation, the School of the Arts trains students for careers in the performing, visual, and film and television arts.

A nationally recognized leader in science and technology with historic strengths in agriculture, textiles, and engineering, NC State offers degree programs in the humanities and social sciences, design, education, natural resources, business and veterinary medicine.

UNC Asheville was founded in 1927 as Buncombe County Junior College for area residents interested in pursuing their education beyond high school. Today, UNC Asheville's reputation as a high-quality public liberal arts university extends beyond the state.

Now in its third century, UNC-Chapel Hill was the first public university to open its doors to students. UNC's academic offerings include 84 bachelor's, 165 master's, and 108 doctoral degrees, as well as professional degrees in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, and law.

UNC Charlotte is one of a generation of universities founded in metropolitan areas immediately after WWII in response to rising education demands. UNC Charlotte has since grown at a rate of about 4 percent a year, reaching its current enrollment of more than 18,000 students.

The NC College for Women (as UNCG was then called) was chartered in 1891 as the first state-supported school for the higher education of women. UNCG, now with 14,000 students, offers more than 100 bachelor's, 10 master's and doctoral degrees in 14 disciplines.

In 1887, the NC General Assembly, in response to a petition from the Indian people of Robeson County, enacted legislation to create the Croatan Normal School. The Normal School was founded to train Native American public school teachers.

Education on the college level first came to Wilmington in 1946 when a college center was established that offered courses on the freshman level. Today, UNC Wilmington offers master's programs that impact the region's needs and issues.

Western Carolina University was founded in 1889 as a semi-public school whose mission was teacher training. A new charter in 1929 authorized the school to extend its work to the four-year level. By 1972 Western was designated a regional campus and became a constituent institution of UNC.

Winston-Salem State University was founded as the Slater Industrial Academy in 1892. It began in a one-room frame structure with 25 pupils and one teacher. In 1925 it became Winston-Salem Teachers College and was empowered to confer appropriate degrees.

The NC School of Science and Mathematics opened in 1980 as the first school of its kind in the nation ?a public, residential high school where students study a specialized curriculum built around science and mathematics. On July 1, 2007, NCSSM became a consituent institution of UNC.