Structure NC State is one of 17 institutions that constitute the
University of North Carolina system. Each campus has a high degree of independence, but each submits to the policies of the UNC system board of governors. The 32 voting members of the board of governors are elected by the North Carolina General Assembly for four-year terms. President
Peter Hans heads the system. The board of trustees of NC State has thirteen members and sets all policies for the university. The UNC system board of governors elects eight of the trustees and the governor of North Carolina appoints four. The student body president serves on the board of trustees as a voting member. The UNC system also elects the chancellor of NC State, currently
Kevin Howell. The board of trustees administers NC State's eleven academic
colleges. Each college grants its own degrees with the exception of the First Year College which provides incoming freshmen the opportunity to experience several disciplines before selecting a major. The
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is the only college to offer
associate degrees and the
College of Veterinary Medicine does not grant undergraduate degrees. Each college is composed of numerous
departments that focus on a particular discipline or degree program, for example
Food Science,
Civil Engineering,
Genetics or
Accounting. There are a total of 66 departments administered by all eleven NC State colleges. In total, NC State offers nine
associate degree programs in agriculture,
bachelor's degrees in 102 areas of study, master's degrees in 108 areas, and
doctorate degrees in 60 areas. NC State is known for its programs in agriculture, engineering, textiles, and design. The textile and
paper engineering programs are notable, given the uniqueness of the subject area.
Academic divisions , NC State had the following colleges and academic departments: • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences • College of Design • College of Education • College of Engineering • College of Humanities and Social Sciences • College of Natural Resources • Poole College of Management • College of Sciences • Wilson College of Textiles • College of Veterinary Medicine • The Graduate School • University College
Admission Considered a
more selective university, NC State accepts about half of those who apply for undergraduate admission. For the class of 2019, 21,104 applied and 10,584, or 50%, were accepted, of whom 4,210 enrolled. Members of the class of 2019 had average SAT verbal, math and writing scores of 610, 640 and 587, respectively, for a two-part total (verbal and math) of 1250 (1600-point scale) or a three-part total of 1836 (2400-point scale). The 4,210 students who enrolled had an average high school GPA of 3.44; 40%, or 1,677, ranked in the top 10% of their graduating classes. There were 130 valedictorians and 102 salutatorians in the class. Transfer admission is also very competitive. In the fall of 2015, 4,165 students applied to the transfer class; 1,470, or 35%, were admitted. The Graduate School reviews all postgraduate education applications. For fall 2015, 14,394 prospective students applied to the Graduate School; 3,460 (24%) were admitted. Of these, 2,982 (80.3%) enrolled. The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) degree awarded by the Institute for Advanced Analytics is the university's most selective graduate program accepting around one-in-eight applicants.
Libraries . NC State University Libraries, ranked 30th out of 120 North American research libraries, includes 4.4 million volumes, over 50,000 print and electronic serial subscriptions, more than 20,000 videos and film holdings, and more than 40,000 digital images (as of 2011). The library system has an annual budget of over $40 million. The library system consists of five libraries: two main libraries and three branch libraries. The
D. H. Hill Jr. Library, on
Main Campus, is over nine stories tall and covers over 119,000 square feet. This library is on North Main Campus in the center of University Plaza, or often called "The Brickyard" and is 11,000 square meters. The
James B. Hunt Jr. Library, on the university's
Centennial Campus, opened in January 2013 and covers over 221,000 square feet. NC State, as a member of the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), has interlibrary loan services with
Duke University, the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
North Carolina Central University.
Rankings and reputation In 2014–2015 NC State became part of only fifty-four institutions in the U.S. to have earned the "Innovation and Economic Prosperity University" designation by the
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For 2025,
U.S. News & World Report ranks NC State tied for 58th out of all national universities and tied for 26th out of public universities in the U.S., tied at 34th for "best college for veterans" and 60th for "best value" schools. NC State's College of Engineering was tied for 24th by
U.S. News & World Report, with many of its programs ranking in the top 30 nationally. NC State's Nuclear Engineering program is considered to be one of the best in the world and in 2020, was ranked 3rd in the country (behind MIT and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor). The biological and
agricultural engineering programs are also widely recognized and were ranked 4th nationally. In 2019 NC State's manufacturing and industrial engineering program was ranking 13th in the nation, and
material science at 15th. Other notable programs included civil engineering at 20th, environmental engineering tied at 21st, chemical engineering tied for 22nd, computer engineering at 28th, and biomedical engineering ranking 28th nationally in 2019. In 2019, the
Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked NC State's electrical engineering program 9th internationally and chemical engineering 20th. In 2020,
The Princeton Review ranked NC State 36th for game design. NC State is also home to the only college dedicated to textiles in the country, the Wilson College of Textiles, which is a partner of the National Council of Textile Organizations and is widely regarded as one of the best textiles programs in the world. In 2020 the textile engineering program was ranked 1st nationally by College Factual. In 2017,
Business of Fashion Magazine ranked the college's fashion and apparel design program 8th in the country and 30th in the world. In 2018,
Fashion Schools ranked the college's
fashion and textile management program 11th in the nation. NC State's Masters program in
data analytics was the first in the United States. Launched in 2007, it is part of the Institute for Advanced Analytics and was created as a university-wide multidisciplinary initiative to meet the rapidly growing demand in the labor market for analytics professionals. In 2012,
Thomas H. Davenport and D.J. Patil highlighted the MSA program in
Harvard Business Review as one of only a few sources of talent with proven strengths in data science. NC State is known for its College of Veterinary Medicine and in 2020 it was ranked 4th nationally, by
U.S. News & World Report, 25th internationally by NTU Ranking and 36th internationally by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. In 2020, NC State's College of Design was ranked 25th by College Factual. In 2018, the
Animation Career Review ranked NC State's Graphic Design program 4th in the country and best among public universities. In 2020, the College of Education tied for 45th in the U.S. and the Poole College of Management is tied for 52nd among business schools. NC State's Entrepreneurship program is ranked 10th internationally among undergraduate programs by
The Princeton Review in 2020. For 2010 the Wall Street Journal surveyed recruiters and ranked NC State number 19 among the top 25 recruiter picks. In 2022,
U.S. News & World Report ranked the Department of Statistics 11th (tied) in the nation. In fiscal year 2019, NC State University received 95 awards and $29,381,782 in
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funds for Research. For fiscal year 2017, NC State was ranked 45th in total research expenditure by the National Science Foundation. ''
Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' placed NC State 9th in its 2018 ranking of best value public colleges in the United States.
Scholarships There are several notable scholarships of North Carolina State University which include: •
The Park Scholarship Program – Named after
Roy H. Park (class of 1931), the Park Scholarship Program was established in 1996 following a donation by the
Park Foundation. Approximately 35 to 40 incoming first-year students are selected per cohort after evaluation on the criteria of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. The scholarship covers tuition, room and board, food, books, and other personal expenses, renewable up to eight semesters of study. •
The Caldwell Fellows Program – Created by the NC State Alumni Association to honor the legacy of former Chancellor
John T. Caldwell, the Caldwell Fellows Program is a leadership development scholarship program with a strong focus on
servant leadership. •
The Goodnight Scholars Program and Goodnight Transfer Scholars Program– Established in 2008 by
Dr. James Goodnight and Mrs. Ann Goodnight of the
SAS Institute, the Goodnight Scholars Program provides 100 incoming traditional students and 60 incoming transfer students an award worth $24,000 per academic year for up to eight semesters for first year students and six semesters for transfer students. The scholarship also provides enrichment grants for personal and professional development, alongside travel opportunities and programming. •
The Centennial Scholarship – This scholarship to the Wilson College of Textiles was introduced by the North Carolina Textile Foundation in 1999 as a part of the Wilson College of Textiles' Centennial Celebration and pays approximately 80% of expenses to attend NC State and a $7,500 enrichment fund. •
Oaks Leadership Scholarship – Created by NC State faculty Jackie Bruce & Katherine McKee after a shared experience at a diversity and inclusion training.
Special programs The Entrepreneurship Initiative The Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI) at NC State was formed In July 2008 in response to the Chancellor's call to "develop an educated an entrepreneurial work force." By organizing and energizing its entrepreneurial efforts through the initiative, NC State hopes to provide a comprehensive springboard for ideas, projects, and partnerships. '''Young and Teen Writers' Workshops''' The Young and Teen Writers' Workshop is a summer creative writing program for area high school and middle school students. Sponsored by the English Department within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and held on NC State University's campus, the Young and Teen Writers' Workshop teaches creative writing skills and techniques, while also improving communication skills and confidence. YTWW was founded in 1986 and is one of the oldest and most affordable young writing summer programs in the nation. Courses offered include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, genre fiction, graphic novels, and dramatic writing. The director since 2015 is William K. Lawrence. ==Athletics==