Funding Priority

The Carolina Edge

The Carolina Edge is the University’s bold commitment to raise $1 billion to support academic excellence and create opportunity through scholarships and fellowships for students at every level — from undergraduate and graduate students to those in our professional schools. The Carolina Edge will ensure that Carolina continues to set the bar for student achievement by recruiting and enrolling the very best scholars from North Carolina and beyond.

Signature Initiatives

    Scholarships Benefit The Entire Campus

    Scholarships enable us to recruit the strongest students from all backgrounds to Carolina. These talented, hard-working students bring a range of life experiences that enrich the education of everyone around them.

    We work hard to keep Carolina affordable while providing excellence at all levels. That record of commitment has enabled us to attract the best students from across North Carolina, the nation and around the globe. To remain true to our commitment, we must offer privately funded scholarships. In every case, we intend to give our students the edge they need.

    Specifically, we aim to raise undergraduate support for the Carolina Covenant, middle income scholarships through the Blue Sky Scholars program, merit scholarships and student-athlete scholarships; and fellowships and grants for graduate and professional students.

    Aid Brings Talent

    Top universities invest in student aid. Not just because it’s a measure of fairness and opportunity, but because it guarantees the strongest possible class of students — the best and brightest who apply, not just the best who can pay.

    That, in turn, drives every other measure of institutional excellence. Faculty are drawn by the chance to work with great students. Graduate students are drawn by the chance to teach and research alongside talented undergraduates.

    And surveys repeatedly show that the strongest students — even those who don’t rely on aid — are drawn by the promise of great classmates. Carolina’s ability to recruit a nationally competitive pool of students depends on our ability to remain need-blind and offer full-need financial aid to those who earn admission.

    Support Drives Graduation Rates

    Targeted aid and scholarships also help improve student success. Programs such as the Carolina Covenant help ensure that low-income students have the resources to focus on their academics and extracurriculars — and achieve on-time graduation.

    Increase in graduation rates from 2003 to 2013 enrolling classes

    Providing Opportunities For Great Students
    To earn any scholarship, a student must first earn admission on the basis of outstanding achievement and potential. Scholarships, including the groundbreaking Carolina Covenant, often require demonstrated financial need. The Blue Sky Scholars program makes it possible for students from middle-income families to call UNC home; other scholarships are awarded on the strength of achievement and potential alone.
    Two first-generation students share an interest in neuroscience
    Extending Opportunity Across Campus
    Schools, units, centers and institutes all provide scholarships. Private support for scholarships, across all areas of campus, gives Carolina the edge we need to compete for the best students. Your gift can benefit, for example, an undergraduate business major at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, a nursing student seeking a B.S.N. or a student in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
    Pogue Scholar pursues pharmacy degree
    Strengthening Historic Resources
    UNC is the nation’s first public university and also home to the first merit-based scholarship program established in the United States — the Morehead-Cain Scholarship. Established in 1945 and inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, the Morehead-Cain provides an undergraduate experience without peer.
    Morehead-Cain scholar making government jobs cool again
    Ensuring Post-baccalaureate Success
    Students’ need for financial support doesn’t end when they earn a bachelor’s degree. Private giving enables the Graduate School and our professional schools to attract the strongest students by providing academic, financial and professional development support for advanced degree completion and career success. Support means that whatever the path, UNC shapes leaders and innovators.
    The critical benefits of a summer research fellowship

    Support Scholarships Through The Carolina Edge

    There is no greater catalyst for opportunity in our society than educating the next generation. By supporting scholarships through the Carolina Edge you will help ensure financial resources do not hinder our ability to fulfill Carolina’s role in this great mission.

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    Other Signature Initiatives