The University of North Carolina Wilmington has again been ranked as one of the top 10 public master's universities in the South, according to U.S. News & World Report. UNCW has been named to this elite listing every year for the past 12 years.
UNCW again ranks sixth among public master's institutions in the 2010 edition, which is the same ranking the university has held for the past two years. Among all 117 public and private universities in the South that provide a full range of undergraduate and master's level programs, UNCW is ranked 12th, up from 14th in 2009 and steadily advancing from 24th in 2002.
Improved or steady performance in a number of key measurement categories led to UNCW's strong showing in the U.S. News rankings. These include:
• High peer assessment marks from senior administrators at other universities
• An average freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of 84 percent
• An average graduation rate of 65 percent
• 31 percent of classes with under 20 students (up from 27 percent last year)
• 9 percent of classes with 50 or more students (down from 11 percent last year)
• Student SAT scores in the range of 1080-1240
• 62 percent of incoming freshmen in the top 25 percent of their high school class
For the second straight year, UNCW was also included on the U.S. News list of 16 "up-and-coming" master's universities in the South. Nationally, 77 colleges and universities were singled out on this list as schools that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities. The list was derived from the analysis of peer assessments from senior administrators at other universities, including chancellors and presidents, provosts, deans and directors of undergraduate admissions.
UNC Wilmington continues to be a university of first choice for a growing number of high-achieving high school students. For fall 2009, entering freshmen came to UNCW from 86 of North Carolina's 100 counties, 36 states and 22 nations. The Class of 2013, with more than 1,950 students, has an estimated average SAT score of 1168 and an estimated average high school GPA of 3.77 (final statistics are still being calculated). The university's total enrollment for fall 2009 is expected to exceed 12,500 students.
The complete U.S. News & World Report rankings can be viewed online at www.usnews.com/colleges.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of the best colleges and universities in the Southeast, according to the Princeton Review. This is the sixth consecutive year that UNC Wilmington has been named to this elite group.
UNCW was selected as one of the institutions it recommends as "Best in the Southeast" in its Web site feature 2010 Colleges: Region by Region. The 640 colleges named "regional bests" represent only about 25 percent of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges.
"We chose UNC Wilmington and the other terrific schools we recommend as our "regional best" colleges primarily for their excellent academic programs," said Robert Franek, vice president of publishing for Princeton Review. "We also take into account what each school's customers—their students—report to us about their campus experiences on our 80-question student survey."
The survey asks students to rate their own schools on several issues—from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food—and to answer questions about themselves, their fellow students and their campus life.
UNCW student comments were focused on the quality of campus life and the wide variety of things to do on campus and in the community. The following student comments are posted on UNCW's profile at www.PrincetonReview.com:
"Everyone wants to live here (on campus) after their freshman year, which is rare at most colleges."
"The city here is big enough to always have something to do and be entertained, but quaint enough where you feel safe and you know your way around."
"There are athletic events to attend, movies to watch in our movie theater, dramas to see, concerts, guest speakers, comedians, etc.—and these are all on campus."
"The environment is very pretty, and many people work toward conserving it."
UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said, "While it is always gratifying to be included in such a prestigious group of universities, it is particularly so when much of the praise is coming from students. Our number one strategic goal is to provide our students with the most powerful learning experience possible," she said. "The Princeton Review survey results and comments from our students reflect the hard work of our faculty and staff to provide high-quality academics, a vibrant campus life, a safe and sustainable campus environment and a diverse, inclusive campus culture."
The Princeton Review is a New York City-based company known for its test prep courses, education services and books. It has conducted the survey since 1992, when it first published its annual "Best Colleges" -- the only guide offering college rankings based on students' ratings of their experiences with them.
Lists of top 20 colleges in more than 50 categories are in the The Princeton Review book, Best 366 Colleges and can be viewed at http://www.PrincetonReview.com.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of the nation's 50 "Best Value" public colleges and universities according to The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely-known education service companies.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of the nation's 50 "Best Value" public colleges and universities according to The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely-known education service companies.
The Princeton Review has teamed with USA TODAY, the nation's most widely-read newspaper, to present The Princeton Review's "Best Value" Colleges list for 2009. The "Best Value" colleges list features a total of 100 schools: 50 public and 50 private colleges and universities.
"It is indeed an honor for UNC Wilmington to be included on the list of the 50 "Best Value" public colleges and universities," said Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo. "UNCW always has been committed to providing our students with the highest quality educational experience at the lowest possible cost. This has become even more critical given the financial pressures many families face in the current economic environment. It's important that we help make a college education accessible for as many North Carolina students as possible."
In a profile of UNC Wilmington on USA TODAY's Web site, the editors at The Princeton Review said, "A big school with a smaller school feel, UNCW boasts a solid faculty that excels at the upper levels and isn't afraid to show their passion for the subject at hand. Ambitious students should shoot for entry into the Honors Program, which opens up avenues of education and opportunities that are otherwise unavailable to the general college."
Regarding cost of attendance and financial aid at UNC Wilmington, The Princeton Review noted, "The UNC system boasts one of the lower in-state tuitions in the country, a real bargain when coupled with the relatively high quality of instruction throughout the system. UNCW offers both need- and merit-based aid, with the majority of funds allocated to the needy. Need-based aid comes in the form of federal work-study, institutional employment, scholarships, grants and loans. An upcoming fundraising campaign is designed to increase the number and value of merit scholarships."
The Princeton Review selected these institutions as its "best value" choices for 2009 based on its surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private colleges and universities. The selection criteria covered more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs of attendance, and financial aid, using the most recently reported data from each institution for its 2007-08 academic year.
Said Robert Franek, Princeton Review VP-Publisher, "We have always believed finding the 'best fit' college should be the foremost goal for student applicants and their families. But the economic crisis and financial downturn have presented sobering challenges both to families struggling to afford college and to higher education institutions struggling to maintain their programs in the face of budget and funding shortfalls. We are pleased to partner with USA TODAY to present these schools for all they are doing to provide outstanding academics at a relatively low cost of attendance and/or generous financial aid."
Visitors to The Princeton Review's and USA TODAY's Web sites can access the complete lists of the 50 private and 50 public "best value colleges".
The University of North Carolina Wilmington has been named by G.I. Jobs to its 2010 list of Military Friendly Schools. This list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are "doing the most to embrace America's veterans as students," according to the magazine.
UNCW has made numerous changes to its admissions and advising processes to better assist its military affiliated students, which include active duty, veterans and dependents of active duty. These changes have been made to serve the university's current students, said Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, but also to prepare for an expected influx of more than 11,000 marines and their families to Southeastern North Carolina.
Details about programs designed to assist military affiliated students can be found on the university's newly launched Military Admissions Web site.
Criteria for making the Military Friendly Schools list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students, and academic accreditations. The 2010 Military Friendly Schools list can be found at
www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/mfspr. A full story and detailed list will be highlighted in the publication's annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of the top 25 "Best Values" among public universities in the nation and one of the top three in North Carolina, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
Kiplinger's ranks four-year schools that combine outstanding economic value with top-notch education. For 2008-09, UNCW is ranked 25th nationally as a "best value" for in-state students and 35th for out-of-state students. This is a significant improvement over last year's rankings, in which UNCW placed 36th in value for in-state students and 51st for out-of-state students.
In North Carolina, Kiplinger's ranks UNCW as the third best value in public education, behind only the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University. Kiplinger's has rated UNCW in the top 5 public universities in the state since 2003.
Of UNCW's 14 peer institutions, which are determined by the UNC Board of Governors, 10 appear in the 2008-09 listing of Kiplinger's top 100 best values in public colleges. The top four best values among UNCW's group, comprised of public master's institutions, are Truman State University, the College of New Jersey, UNCW and James Madison University. UNCW moved up one place among its peers from fourth last year.
Selected from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, schools in the Kiplinger 100 were ranked according to academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid. The complete list is available at www.kiplinger.com.
For the second straight year, UNCW was ranked in the top 100 public universities in the nation in the 2009 Forbes special report on America’s Best Colleges.
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington is designated one of the top 50 MFA programs in creative writing in the nation in the Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of Poets & Writers magazine. One of the top publications in the creative writing profession, Poets & Writers ranks UNC Wilmington's program fifth in creative nonfiction and places it at number 22 in poetry and number 25 in fiction.
"These rankings support and validate the remarkable work that UNCW faculty and staff have done in developing and nurturing the MFA in Creative Writing," said Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo. "It is astounding that a program created in 1996 has risen to challenge some of the most highly regarded creative writing programs in the country."
Overall, the UNCW MFA program was ranked number 24, ahead of well-established and highly funded programs at Arizona State University, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Houston, University of Arizona, Boston University, George Mason, Ohio State, Florida State, Penn State, the University of Virginia, Purdue and the University of Maryland, among others. The UNCW MFA program has steadily gained national recognition in recent years. It was named one of the "Five Top Innovative/Unique Programs in Creative Writing" in The Altantic magazine's 2007 Fiction Issue.
"These rankings say something about our program," said Philip Gerard, chair of the Department of Creative Writing. "Clearly, we're going in the right direction. When we created this program 15 years ago, we were very intentional and very conscious of what we were doing and why we were doing it. As faculty members, we created the kind of program we wished we had been part of when we were students."
Alumni agree that UNCW's program is student-centered, and that faculty provide needed support and encouragement to help students become successful writers.
"What made this program stand out for me were the professors," said Kirsten Holmstedt, 2006 MFA graduate and author of Band of Sisters and The Girls Come Marching Home. "I felt their commitment when I entered the program in fall 2002 until my book was finished in spring 2006. They challenged me, and along the way the belief that I could be published replaced self-doubt. In the end, it's the combination of selfless professors and the high quality of students that has made the program such a success."
UNC Wilmington's Creative Writing Program was named as one of the "Five Top Innovative/Unique Programs in Creative Writing", in The Atlantic magazine's 2007 Fiction Issue.
The article highlighted top creative writing programs in the U.S. Categories included: "Five Highly-Selective Programs"; "Ten Top Graduate Programs in Creative Writing"; "Five Top Ph.D. Programs in Creative Writing"; "Five Top Low-Residency MFA Programs"; "Five Innovative/Unique Programs"; and "Five Top-Funded Programs".
UNC Wilmington is included in Peterson's Competitive Colleges 2008: Top Colleges for Top Students. Of the 440 institutions highlighted, UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and UNC Asheville are the only public institutions in North Carolina listed.
This year, the University of North Carolina Wilmington has joined the ranks of an exclusive group of higher education institutions included in the revised and updated 2010 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward B. Fiske.
In his review of UNC Wilmington, Fiske states that "students enjoy extensive undergraduate research opportunities, a slate of solid sciences, and a close-knit community of like-minded individuals who like their modern academics mixed with a bit of old-fashioned Southern charm."
Students, parents and high school counselors trust and recommend Edward B. Fiske and the Fiske Guide to Colleges because it is fiercely independent. The Fiske Guide accepts no consulting, advertising or other fees from colleges and has no outside relationship of colleges working on its behalf.
For more information, please visit http://www.sourcebookscollege.com and http://fiskeguide.com.
