Higher Education

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

With more than 19,000 students, UNC Charlotte is the fourth largest of the 16 member institutions of The University of North Carolina. UNC Charlotte tailors its programs to meet the cultural and economic needs of the 15-county Charlotte metropolitan region and the state of North Carolina.

The university offers a broad array of programs leading to bachelor’s degrees, more than 50 leading to master’s degrees and 10 leading to doctoral degrees. A research university, UNC Charlotte comprises seven colleges—Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Education, Information Technology and Health and Human Services. The institution also offers an Honors College, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, for approximately 400 undergraduates in university and business honors, as well as the teaching fellow and the merit scholarship programs. A Graduate School serves about 3,500 students

UNC Charlotte focuses on teaching with a strong emphasis on applied research and public service. The university serves the community, state and nation through the Urban Institute; the Ben Craig Center, a business incubator; the Office of Continuing Education, Extension and Summer Program; the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics; the Charlotte Research Institute; the Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems; and other centers and institutes. Among its services to students are a Writing Resource Center, a Learning Center, a Center for Career Services, and a Counseling Center. In response to Charlotte’s global business outlook, the university also offers a Center for International Programs, which encourages students to study abroad and participate in international student/scholar services. UNC Charlotte enrolls students from about 80 foreign nations and has working relationships with colleges and universities throughout the world.

The university serves a diverse student body, with 27 percent of that population represented by minority students. Each year, UNC Charlotte grants about 3,700 degrees and now has more than 70,000 alumni.

Central Piedmont Community College

CPCC is the largest of the 58 colleges in the North Carolina Community College System and serves approximately 56,000 students each year. The college’s vision is to “become the national leader in workforce development.” Its six area campuses and online Virtual Campus make the college accessible to students and employers throughout Mecklenburg County: Central Campus (near uptown), North Campus (Huntersville), Levine Campus (Matthews), Northeast Campus (near UNC Charlotte), Southwest Campus (Arrowood area), and West Campus (near the airport).

The college offers two-year associate degrees and short-term diploma and certificate programs in over 100 technical specialties. Its Corporate and Continuing Education customized training programs serve over 3,000 existing, expanding, and new companies. An articulation agreement with the institutions of the University of North Carolina facilitates transfer of credit for CPCC students seeking bachelor’s degrees. Pre-college programs such as Adult Basic Education, Adult High School, General Education Development, Compensatory Education, and Limited English Proficiency serve the education and training needs of all adult students.

High school students can get a head start on a college education through the College Experience Program with courses that fulfill both high school and college requirements. CPCC technical programs feature CAD/CAM workstations, mainframe, mini and personal computers, CNC systems, microprocessors, robotics and automation, digital circuitry lab models and much more. Students can participate in Cooperative Education Programs to integrate practical learning into their academic programs. The college also operates several apprenticeship programs in cooperation with private industry and the Department of Labor. Corporate and Continuing Education offers extensive computer training including A+, Microsoft, Cisco, CIW, and Novell certifications, and AutoCAD™. In all, CPCC has nearly 450 collaborative partnerships with business, industry, government, and sister educational institutions.

Davidson College

Davidson exemplifies the dynamic nature of the liberal arts, educating leaders and training creative minds to think critically. Founded in 1837 by ministers of the Concord Presbytery, today Davidson carries forward its heritage of leadership and service to meet the challenges of a technology-driven, interdependent global community.

Davidson’s 1,650 students come to the historic, picturesque campus from almost every state in the union and many foreign countries. The highly selective admissions process means that students are already proven scholars and leaders when they arrive on campus. About 90 percent rank in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and most have an outstanding record of extracurricular leadership and community service. Here they find the opportunity to work in close collaboration with professors, with a student-faculty ratio of 10.5:1.

They come to Davidson seeking a sound liberal arts background as preparation for careers in industry, banking, management, politics, government service, social science, and the arts. Davidson is particularly strong in laying an educational base for further study in the professions of medicine, law, international affairs, teaching, business, and the ministry.

An active Honor Code sets the tone for the academic and social life of this campus, where self-scheduled examinations, unproctored tests and open library stacks are the norm. Another unique aspect of campus life is students’ intense involvement in intramural and intercollegiate athletics. About 400 students compete at the level of NCAA Division I level in 21 sports.

Johnson & Wales University

A national leader in combining career-focused educational programs with a full university experience established a new campus in downtown Charlotte in the fall of 2004. The Charlotte Campus offers associate and bachelor’s degree programs with its three colleges – Business, Culinary Arts and Hospitality. The campus includes residence and academic facilities, including culinary arts instruction labs, classrooms, administrative offices, and practicum facilities in which students receive hands-on training in areas ranging from retail store management to hospitality and food service. The Charlotte Campus currently has an enrollment of over 2,200 students, with enrollment growing to approximately 4,800 by 2010.

Johnson C. Smith University

A private, four-year liberal arts institution located on a 100-acre campus within blocks of the Charlotte Uptown Zone of Influence. The University offers approximately 1,500 students academically progressive programs in more than 30 fields of study which lead to a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Social Work degree. A student to faculty ratio of 17:1 assures students receive individual attention. Being one of the nation’s oldest and strongest historically black universities, JCSU is noted for its nationally acclaimed technology initiative where every student receives an IBM laptop computer and has complete access to the campus-wide network and Internet services.

Pfeiffer University

Pfeiffer University's main campus is located in Misenheimer, NC, and is home to the institution's Undergraduate College (a residential program with some 900 students 40 minutes northeast of Charlotte).

Pfeiffer's Charlotte campus, located in the Southpark area on Park Rd., is dedicated to the adult learner, offering affordable flexible, convenient degree programs to over 1000 students while they continue with their busy family and professional lives. (Some degrees can be taken entirely online.)

The School of Adult Studies offers undergraduate degree completion programs in Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Healthcare Management, Management Information Systems and Liberal Arts. The School of Graduate Studies offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Health Administration (MHA), dual MBA/MHA, Master of Arts in Christian Education, Master of Science in Elementary Education, Masters of Science in Organizational Change and Leadership (MSL), and another dual degree program - MBA/MSL.

Queens University of Charlotte

Founded in 1857, Queens University of Charlotte is a private, coed, liberal arts university which has close ties to the Presbyterian Church. The University is located near Uptown Charlotte in Myers Park, a beautiful, historic residential area. Queens has over 1,700 students enrolled in its College of Arts & Sciences, Pauline Lewis Hayworth College and The McColl Graduate School of Business.

Degree-seeking students in the College of Arts and Sciences are exposed to an interdisciplinary curriculum, the CORE Program in the Liberal Arts, which after winning praise from the National Endowment for the Humanities serves as a model for other colleges and universities nationwide. More than 90 percent of full-time undergraduate students take advantage of the opportunity to travel and study abroad as part of their tuition through the John Belk International Program, and 100 percent fulfill an internship.

The Pauline Lewis Hayworth College includes programs for graduate and undergraduate students. The undergraduate program is designed for working students who wish to pursue an undergraduate degree in one of a variety of majors by attending evening classes. For students seeking advanced degrees, Hayworth College also offers master’s degree programs in nursing, teaching and organizational communication.

The McColl Graduate School of Business offers a Professional MBA and an Executive MBA as well as non-degree executive leadership training programs.

Wingate University

Founded in 1896, Wingate University ranks among the top Southern liberal arts institutions. U.S. News and World Report has consistently listed it as one of the nation’s best, small colleges. Wingate University is committed to providing truly outstanding and well-qualified faculty with 90 percent of the faculty holding doctorate degrees.

Wingate University has a student to faculty ratio of 13:1, a student body of 1,400 and offers more than 40 majors on the undergraduate level as well as graduate programs in business (MBA) and education (MAT, MAEd).

The Wingate University School of Pharmacy welcomes its inaugural class in the fall of 2003 and is one of three schools of pharmacy in North Carolina. The Wingate University School of Pharmacy is using an innovative approach to learning by incorporating advanced technology as well as classes, which include medical Spanish, geriatrics, pediatrics and herbal solutions.

Winthrop University

Founded in 1886, Winthrop is a national-caliber, comprehensive learning university. Winthrop’s distinctive mission is to offer challenging academic programs to a high achieving, culturally diverse and socially responsible student body. A total of 82 undergraduate and 45 graduate degree programs and options are available in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, and Visual and Performing Arts – all of which are supported by Winthrop’s newest academic division, University College. Winthrop’s 100-acre central campus, complemented by its east campus’ 325-acre athletics and recreational area, provides a setting of exceptional beauty in Rock Hill, S.C.