University of North Carolina (UNC)

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was founded in 1793 as the first public state university in the young United States. Since then, it has grown into one of the most renowned teaching and research universities in the country and internationally, and ranks highly on a global scale. Chapel Hill is a small college town with roughly 60,000 residents, of which 18,500 are undergraduate students and 10,000 are graduate students. The area boasts rich cultural, historic, dining, and sports opportunities that allow students to experience college and community life in the United States.

Although Chapel Hill itself is small, Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina is only 30 minutes away, and Washington DC can be reached in around 4 hours. The university is also within close driving distance to the beach and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  

Available exchanges

The University of North Carolina hosts the University-wide exchange and Subject-specific Business and Psychology exchanges.

Restricted subject areas

There are numerous courses that are heavily oversubscribed at UNC and therefore it will be difficult for you to gain access to a full course load of courses in the following subject areas:

Computer Science (highly restricted!)
Psychology
Neuroscience
Biomedical Engineering
Economics
Sports Science

These courses are in high demand, so we suggest that UNC may not be a good choice if you are a single honours student in these subject areas. It could be very difficult to get the courses you want in these fields.

Due to high demand UNC is only open to joint-honours Economics students as students will not be able to gain access to sufficient courses to fulfil single-honours requirements.

Your responsibilities

The information provided here serves as a guide.
It is your responsibility to research whether the partner provides appropriate courses for your degree programme.
Even if there are no restrictions on your degree subject, this does not mean that there are appropriate courses for you.

Students can take courses in most disciplines within the College of Arts and Sciences, access to courses will be subject to availability and you having suitable prerequisites.

Please consult the UNC Course Catalogue.

UNC Course Catalogue

Finding Courses (please scroll to the appropriate section)

**Please be aware, there may not be an up-to-date course catalogue available at this exchange destination. Please use the information available to get an idea about what you can study while on exchange**  

Guaranteed accommodation?

Yes

University accommodation

To learn more about housing options, visit Carolina Housing’s website.

Students are encouraged but not required to purchase a meal plan, and can choose meal plan options that fit both on or off-campus living.

Housing and Dining Options

Private accommodation

International students can reside off-campus.

The Off-Campus Student Life Office is a great resource to help you explore the Off-Campus market.

Students who choose to live off campus are responsible for finding their own housing.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Off-Campus Housing Search

Immigration/Visa requirements

In order to get a visa, you will need to prove you can access the average cost of living at UNC. This is calculated based on how much average costs for accommodation, meals, health insurance etc. will cost. This includes proving access to funds through personal funds, or family or sponsorship funds. This can be across multiple sources. You will need to provide sponsorship letters from personal funds/family members/sponsor funds/Sponsor organisations etc.

Please bear this in mind. If you cannot prove this, you will not be able to get a visa and therefore not be able to go on exchange.

How much it will cost to go on exchange to UNC?

Expenses will vary based on each student’s individual circumstances. Estimated costs are provided.

Review Estimated Expenses

Health insurance

Exchange students on the J‑1 visa must have health insurance that meets the J-1 and UNC System requirements.

They may purchase the BCBS Global Solutions Plan or choose an alternative policy that meets the 2026–2027 UNC System waiver guidelines.

They must then submit a waiver request through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Student Blue portal.

Health Insurance

To find out your semester dates please see below:

UNC Academic Calendar