UNC Charlotte aspires to be North Carolina's most energetic and responsive university, offering unparalleled educational opportunities for students seeking the highest quality undergraduate, graduate, and continuing personal or professional enrichment in the liberal arts and sciences and selected professions. With an enrollment of more than 15,000 students in its academic programs and approximately 4,000 students residing on the campus, UNC Charlotte attracts a diverse student body from 44 states and 65 foreign countries.
The University offers a comprehensive array of baccalaureate and master's programs and selected opportunities for doctoral education designed to serve the educational needs of the citizens of North Carolina. In addition, it has one of the most active international studies programs in the country for an institution of its size. A number of programs, including graduate studies, are offered in the evening, on weekends, and at UNC Charlotte Uptown, a classroom facility in the heart of Charlotte.
UNC Charlotte is known for its "student-centered" approach to education featuring outstanding faculty in classes of moderate size. The University's goal is to help every student capable of completing college-level work to learn to the maximum of their ability and to be successful in their chosen field of study. UNC Charlotte also is gaining national and international recognition for the research and scholarship of its faculty and for its willingness to collaborate with other institutions to address the major educational, economic, social, and cultural needs of the greater Charlotte region.
Despite its location in a metropolitan area of more than 1.5 million people, the campus includes approximately one thousand acres of rolling hills with forests, streams, and ponds, surrounding a pedestrian core of contemporary air-conditioned buildings that has the feel of a small residential campus. Easily accessed by nearby interstate highways and an international airport, the campus is enhanced by University City, a planned community comprising University Place, University Research Park, and University Hospital, adjacent to the campus.
Institutional Mission Statement
Goals of UNC Charlotte Education
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
Academic Structure
Accreditation
Institutional Mission Statement
UNC Charlotte is the public university of the Charlotte region, fully engaged in the discovery, dissemination, synthesis, and application of knowledge. It provides for the educational, economic, social, and cultural advancement of the people of North Carolina through on- and off-campus programs, continuing personal and professional education opportunities, research, and collaborative relationships with the private, public, and nonprofit institutional resources of the greater Charlotte metropolitan region.
The primary commitment of UNC Charlotte is to extend educational opportunities and to ensure success for qualified students of diverse backgrounds through informed and effective teaching in the liberal arts and sciences and in selected professional programs offered through colleges of Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, and Nursing and Health Professions, and through programs and services designed to support students’ intellectual and personal development. The University offers a comprehensive array of baccalaureate and master’s programs and selective opportunities for doctoral education.
With a broad institutional commitment to liberal education as the foundation for constructive citizenship, professional practice, and lifelong learning, UNC Charlotte is prepared to focus interdisciplinary resources to address six broad areas of concern to the region comprising the ten North Carolina and three South Carolina counties that surround Charlotte: 1) Business and Finance; 2) Community and Regional Development; 3) Children, Families, and Schools; 4) Health Care and Health Policy; 5) International Understanding and Involvement; and 6) Applied Sciences and Technologies.
Goals of UNC Charlotte Education
Graduates of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte should be self-motivated individuals who are able to form, articulate and act upon reasoned decisions in their personal, civic, and professional lives. To this end they should (a) have a broad knowledge base as well as a more specialized knowledge base in their chosen area, (b) possess skills and capacities that can be applied to a variety of situations and professions in an ever-changing world, (c) understand the complexities and interrelationships between humans and their environment, and (d) possess a realistic understanding of their own potentials, limitations and mental/physical development. All UNC Charlotte graduates should possess a general understanding of and appreciation for science and technology; literature and the arts; the individual, society, and culture; and the interrelationships among these.
In order to meet these goals of UNC Charlotte education, students engage in programs designed to develop understandings, skills and capacities in the following six interrelated major areas:
I. Communication
II. Problem Solving
III. Understanding Values
IV. Understanding Science and Technology
V. Understanding the Arts, Literature and Ideas
VI. Understanding the Individual, Society and Culture
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is dedicated to equal opportunity through affirmative action within the University community. The University's affirmative action program is designed to provide equal consideration of all applicants for faculty and staff positions, for all faculty members in the tenure and promotion process, for administrators and other staff members seeking promotions and upgrades, as well as for students seeking admission, financial aid, and equality in academic and athletic programs.
In keeping with this policy, faculty and staff are recruited, hired, and promoted without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or any non-relevant disability. The University actively recruits students from protected categories and provides opportunities for the growth and development of these students.
The University's Affirmative Action Program was established in 1973 and includes the monitoring and reporting of compliance with applicable laws and regulations including Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Executive Order 11246, as amended by Executive Order 11375; Revised Order No. 4; the Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended; the Vietnam Era Veteran's Rehabilitation Act of 1974; Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Action; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; The Americans with Disabilities Act; and all applicable laws and ordinances of the State of North Carolina. The University has a published Affirmative Action Plan, copies of which have been distributed to all departments and offices. Copies have also been placed on reserve in the Library.
The Director of Human Resources serves as the Affirmative Action Officer and is responsible for ensuring The University's commitments are met. Contact the Director of Human Resources, 225 King Building, (704) 547-4269.
Discriminatory Personal Conduct. The University seeks to promote a fair, humane, and respectful environment for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, University policy explicitly prohibits sexual harassment, racial harassment, and all other personal conduct which inappropriately asserts that sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry are relevant to consideration of individual worth or individual performance. The same policies provide procedures for the informal or formal resolution of instances where such behavior is suspected or alleged. The policies have received wide distribution and are available for inspection in all administrative offices on campus.
UNC Charlotte is organized into four administrative divisions: Academic Affairs, Business Affairs, Development and University Relations, and Student Affairs. The Division of Academic Affairs includes Academic Programs; Graduate Programs; Library and Information Services; Extended Academic Programs; International Programs; Research; and six colleges, the Colleges of Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Education, and Nursing and Health Professions. The colleges offer more than 75 undergraduate and 40 master's degree options and sixth-year Certificate of Advanced Study, and four doctoral programs through the departments and programs listed by college in the Undergraduate Programs and Graduate Programs sections of this Catalog. Many of the departments throughout The University are involved in teacher education. The College of Education, advised by the University Teacher Education Committee, is responsible for these programs.
UNC Charlotte is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097: telephone number 404-679-4501) to award baccalaureate, master’s, intermediate, and doctoral degrees.
The Bachelor of Architecture program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting board (NAAB). The Department of Chemistry is on the approval list of the American Chemical Society. The Master of Public Administration program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The Bachelor of Social Work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The programs in business and accounting are accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The University’s professional education programs for PK-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators are approved by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The School Counseling and Agency (Community) Counseling programs in Counselor Education are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The programs in engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and those in engineering technology by the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET. The Nursing programs are accredited by the National League for Nursing (NLN) and approved by the North Carolina Board of Nursing. The Nursing Anesthesia program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nursing Anesthesia Educational Programs (CANAEP).
The University is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools, the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools, and The North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities.
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