North Carolina Private Colleges and Universities

Looking for Private Colleges and Universities in North Carolina

North Carolina Private Colleges and Universities: Salem College - Main Hall

North Carolina private colleges are world famous for their athletic programs thanks to alumni such as Michael Jordan among others. But they also have excellent academic reputations as well. Whether you are pursuing degrees as a physicist, videogame designer, art historian, or palm reader, schools and universities in the "Tar Heal State" have college programs to suit your needs.

Private Colleges in North Carolina

North Carolina private colleges and universities offer a wide range of education programs with degrees and certificates up to the doctoral level, as well as professional degrees such as law and medicine.

North Carolina can be broken down into the following categories: one large public university system, more than 15 liberal arts colleges, 35 private universities and colleges and a community college system with about 60 different community colleges. While many North Carolina private colleges and universities are considerably more expensive than comparable state institutions, they also tend to offer more generous financial aid packages. Many students have found the actual out-of-pocket cost to earn a degree from a private college in North Carolina to be less than the cost of the state schools to which they were accepted.

Private Colleges and Universities in North Carolina includes:

  • Salem College (Winston-Salem)
  • New Life Theological Seminary (Charlotte)
  • Brevard College (Brevard)
  • Guilford College (Greensboro)
  • Barton College (Wilson)
  • Duke University in Durham, NC
  • Wake Forest University (WFU) in Winston Salem, NC
  • Campbell University Inc in Buies Creek, NC
  • Gardner - Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC
  • High Point University (HPU) in High Point, NC
  • Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC
  • Lenoir - Rhyne University in Hickory, NC
  • Methodist University (Methodist) in Fayetteville, NC
  • Mount Olive College (MOC) in Mount Olive, NC
  • Queens University of Charlotte (Queens) in Charlotte, NC

The largest being Duke University with 14,512 full time students. Wake Forest University is the most expensive with an in-state tuition of $42,700. On average, how much does it costs to attend private college in North Carolina? The average annual in-state private college tuition in North Carolina is $20,099 in 2013. Private colleges and universities in North Carolina Include: Salem College (Winston-Salem), New Life Theological Seminary (Charlotte); Brevard College (Brevard),Guilford College (Greensboro), Barton College (Wilson), and others.

North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

NCICU is comprised of 36 nonprofit, private liberal arts, research and comprehensive colleges and universities across North Carolina.
From traditional four-year coeducational institutions to women's colleges to historically black colleges and universities, NCICU colleges and universities offer the full spectrum of the college experience. The oldest private two-year college in the nation also is part of the NCICU family.

North Carolina independent colleges and universities serve the needs of:

  • 68,000 undergraduate students
  • 21,000 graduate and professional students
  • 53,000 students total from North Carolina

More than 90% of the students on some campuses receive financial aid.
NCICU's colleges and universities award 30% of the bachelor's degrees in the state, as well as 51% of the medical degrees, 65% of the law degrees, 37.5% of the physical therapy degrees, and 53% of the pharmacy degrees.

Independent colleges and universities in North Carolina provided more than $580 million in institutional aid in 2012-2013, which equates to 43% of the total financial assistance received by students at North Carolina's independent colleges and universities.

North Carolina students at independent colleges and universities receive more than $83 million in need-based financial aid from the state.

The independent colleges sector is one of the largest private employers in the state.

Almost 1,300 individuals lead North Carolina's independent colleges and universities through service on individual Boards of Trustees.

Our student bodies are as diverse as our campuses. In 2013, approximately 60 percent of students were women, 40% were students of color and 44.7% of the undergraduate students attending our independent colleges and universities came from out of state.

More than 1/3 of all students at NCICU member institutions receive federal Pell Grants.

Each year, approximately 2,000 students transfer from community colleges in North Carolina to an independent college or university.



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