University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC · Public · 20,752 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$85 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$2,004
$30,000 – $48,000	$3,918
$48,000 – $75,000	$8,538
$75,000 – $110,000	$16,415
Over $110,000	$24,396
All incomes (average)	$11,655

Sticker tuition and fees: $8,994 in-state, $41,203 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$15,038
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$15,712
Books and supplies	$622
Other expenses, on campus	$3,010
Other expenses, off campus	$3,010

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (4,425 of them) in 2022–23; 58% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	38%	$15,365
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	17%	$5,668
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	34%	$11,706
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	18%	$4,707

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 15%
Average SAT: 1439
Median ACT: 25
Students with Pell grants: 20%
Graduation rate (6yr): 91%
Freshman retention: 97%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $72,200
Median debt at graduation: $14,000
International undergrads: 1,094 (5.3%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $85
Students per faculty member: 15 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 78%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 690–750
SAT Math: 700–780
ACT composite: 28–34

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Considered if submitted
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 57,902
Admitted: 10,850
Enrolled: 4,699

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Biology & Life Sciences15%

Social Sciences14%

Business9%

Computer Science9%

Communications & Media9%

Health & Nursing6%

Kinesiology & Sports Science6%

Mathematics & Statistics4%

Engineering3%

Physics & Chemistry3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (42)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Biology, General	613	$36,437	$62,047national $57,214	$13,500
Communication and Media Studies	534	$49,277	$70,240national $56,359	$12,500
Behavioral Sciences	524	$38,662	—national $48,673	$12,000
Economics	470	$69,762	$103,846national $82,686	$13,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	418	$88,182	$135,874national $68,257	$9,250
Computer Science	404	$94,151	$137,047national $107,009	$11,958
Political Science and Government	401	$46,926	$72,001national $63,293	$10,800
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	382	$38,759	$63,286national $54,562	$13,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	215	$76,947	$78,585national $88,910	$17,275
Applied Mathematics	206	$81,296	$119,839national $91,532	—
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	190	$39,200	—national $62,451	$13,096
English Language and Literature, General	176	$37,505	$51,208national $48,590	$8,104
Area Studies	164	$38,868	$65,933national $56,625	$13,230
Public Policy Analysis	159	$52,170	$74,403national $73,721	$12,300
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	148	$76,315	$97,992national $93,451	$18,976
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	147	$42,850	$65,337national $55,012	$10,134
Mathematics	139	$64,598	$101,599national $69,562	$13,000
Anthropology	131	$37,453	$56,589national $46,676	$11,762
History	126	$38,229	$57,952national $50,680	$11,117
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	115	$33,806	$49,209national $47,382	$9,694
Human Resources Management and Services	115	$54,488	$76,811national $68,069	$14,000
Information Science/Studies	105	$78,821	$100,940national $85,294	$9,000
Chemistry	100	$39,779	$64,981national $65,120	$11,681
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution	96	$46,230	$80,344national $63,114	$8,282
Sociology	94	$43,771	$51,801national $52,657	$13,300
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	62	—	—national $54,945	$15,000
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	58	$33,205	$64,570national $55,000	$13,459
Health and Medical Administrative Services	47	$44,456	$110,204national $58,716	—
Philosophy	45	$43,620	$70,709national $54,455	$10,100
Music	44	—	$58,127national $42,892	$13,653
Fine and Studio Arts	41	$32,773	$41,722national $41,367	$15,325
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	39	$45,584	$54,181national $49,984	$10,000
Physics	35	$66,284	$103,477national $76,786	$14,067
Geography and Cartography	32	—	$49,476national $57,853	—
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	29	$32,384	$41,362national $39,775	—
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	28	$39,634	$54,691national $51,710	—
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	28	$67,596	$72,567national $68,061	$9,001
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	22	$62,893	$72,422national $53,072	—
Religion/Religious Studies	20	—	$52,716national $41,390	—
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	16	—	$72,892national $75,975	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	11	$70,039	—national $70,786	—
Statistics	0	$77,181	—national $92,425	$11,500

Master's degrees (27)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	954	$158,240	—national $124,807	$98,931
Public Health	472	$65,768	$86,115national $82,751	$70,878
Social Work	135	$54,815	$62,611national $65,123	$47,743
Health and Medical Administrative Services	83	$86,773	$113,370national $89,981	$77,550
Information Science/Studies	81	$82,624	$81,473national $112,705	$41,000
Library Science and Administration	77	$51,179	$57,675national $56,301	$56,600
Public Administration	52	$73,925	$81,915national $81,408	$47,625
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	48	$98,276	$114,707national $120,193	$41,000
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	44	$73,951	$82,613national $79,665	$40,864
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	43	$49,237	$54,867national $59,916	$19,250
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	42	$56,593	$64,051national $71,416	$41,000
Medical Illustration and Informatics	40	$105,918	—national $101,441	$44,994
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	32	$57,545	$71,951national $62,033	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	28	$59,649	$71,783national $67,030	$41,000
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	28	$145,567	$170,529national $129,214	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	24	$76,299	$76,137national $71,685	$39,838
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	23	$111,986	$122,874national $127,347	$127,227
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	22	$207,416	$216,728national $235,700	$120,087
Communication and Media Studies	18	$68,161	$88,174national $71,953	$49,937
Political Science and Government	18	$70,095	—national $78,850	—
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	16	$54,494	$56,624national $60,111	$48,391
Fine and Studio Arts	8	—	$51,978national $49,079	—
Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies	8	—	$204,372national $198,417	—
Education, General	7	—	$54,337national $65,824	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	7	$186,447	$203,447national $103,485	—
Nutrition Sciences	3	$51,392	$65,013national $67,126	—
Accounting and Related Services	—	$78,997	$110,766national $95,833	$69,500

First professional degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	208	$93,372	$142,928national $107,773	$86,403
Medicine	176	$64,208	$106,964national $112,460	$157,242
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	119	$76,088	$135,678national $138,348	$158,705
Dentistry	91	$139,945	$198,570national $170,812	$224,422
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	35	$114,631	$142,610national $133,099	$58,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29	$71,981	$73,711national $81,641	$66,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	10	$80,020	$87,889national $85,242	—

Doctoral degrees (8)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Chemistry	42	$111,234	$114,619national $115,386	—
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	37	$136,705	—national $153,586	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	28	$152,130	$144,922national $126,299	—
Behavioral Sciences	24	$70,077	—national $104,514	—
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	22	$139,657	—national $136,696	—
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	21	$86,726	$113,327national $97,173	—
Education, General	8	—	$91,430national $87,373	—
Genetics	7	—	$101,128national $102,123	—

Post-baccalaureate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Public Health	—	$94,895	$77,776national $78,697	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 123 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 103 South Bldg Cb 9100, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Phone: (919) 962-2211
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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