The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Also known as The University of North Carolina, Carolina, North Carolina, or simply UNC, the university is the oldest institution in the University of North Carolina System. It was the first American public university to open its doors to students, and the only public university to graduate students in the eighteenth century. UNC is one of the original eight Public Ivy’s and is the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System. 

Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on December 11, 1789 and beginning instruction in 1795, the University of North Carolina is known as the oldest public university in the nation. A political leader in Revolutionary America, William Davie led efforts to build legislative and financial support for the University. 

The university opened in a single building, which came to be called Old East. Still in use as a residence hall, it is the oldest public university building in the United States. Its cornerstone was laid October 12, 1793, near an abandoned Anglican chapel which lead to the naming of the town as Chapel Hill. The spot was chosen due to its geographic centrality in the state. The first student, Hinton James, arrived on foot from Wilmington on February 12, 1795. 

The University of North Carolina was the first to hold classes and to graduate students. The University of Georgia was chartered first in 1785 but did not start classes until 1801. The University of North Carolina is the only university in the United States that awarded degrees as a public institution in the eighteenth century. 

The early nineteenth century saw a period of much growth and development with the help of the backing of the trustees. Through this growth, the University began to move away from its original purpose, to train leadership for the state, as it added to the curriculum, first starting with the typical classical trend. By 1815, the University started giving equal ground to the natural sciences. This development continued with the establishment of the first astronomical observatory at a state university in 1831.

During the Civil War, the University was among the few in the Confederacy that managed to keep its doors open. Soon thereafter, however, the University was forced to close during Reconstruction from 1870 until 1875. With a change in political leadership following the close of Reconstruction, and the readmission of North Carolina into the Union, attempts made to control the direction through appointments during Reconstruction were blocked and the University quickly resumed leadership through the addition of programs such as the first summer school in America, and the establishment of regular Medical and Pharmaceutical offerings by 1879. 

In 1932 UNC became one of the three original campuses of the Consolidated University of North Carolina (since 1972 called the University of North Carolina system). During the process of consolidation, programs were moved between the schools to prevent competition between system schools. For instance, the Engineering school moved from UNC to North Carolina State University in Raleigh in 1932. In 1963 the Consolidated University was made fully coeducational. As a result, the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina was renamed the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of North Carolina itself became the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Campus 

UNC’s sprawling and well-landscaped campus is dominated by its two central quads. One of the quads is named Polk Place, after President James K. Polk, a native of North Carolina and an alumnus of the university. Students mill about in a sunken brick courtyard known as the Pit, often engaging in debate with the Pit Preacher. The Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, located in the heart of campus, tolls the hour. In 1999, UNC was one of 16 recipients of the American Society of Landscape Architects Medallion Awards and was identified as one of 50 college or university 'works of art' by T.A. Gaines in his book 'The Campus as a Work of Art'. 

The most enduring symbol of the university is the Old Well, a small neoclassical rotunda based on the Temple of Love in the Garden of Versailles, at the spot of the original well that provided water for the school. It stands at the south end of McCorkle Place, the northern quad, between two of the campus's oldest buildings, Old East and Old West. Also in McCorkle Place is the Davie Poplar tree under which the university's founder, William Davie, supposedly selected the location for the university in 1792. Due to its questionable health from damages caused by severe weather, such as Hurricane Fran in 1996, the university has planted two genetic clones, Davie Poplar Jr. and Davie Poplar III, nearby to ensure the continued livelihood of this important university symbol. The second clone was planted in conjunction with the University's bicentennial celebration in 1993. Another University landmark is Silent Sam, the statue commemorating the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the Confederacy. The statue has become a point of debate on Carolina's campus and within its classrooms, as some claim that it is a monument to racism and slavery, while others take the view that it is simply a piece of the rich heritage of the South, and should be viewed as such. 

As a whole the campus is divided into north, middle, and south campuses. North Campus includes the two quads along with the Pit, Frank Porter Graham Student Union, Student Stores, and the Davis, House, and Wilson libraries. Almost all classrooms are located in North Campus along with the majority of undergraduate residence halls. Middle Campus includes Fetzer and Woollen Gymnasiums along with the Student Recreation Center, Kenan Stadium, the Irwin Belk outdoor track, the Eddie Smith Field House and indoor track, the Cary C. Boshamer baseball field, Carmichael Auditorium for women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's gymnastics, and men's wrestling, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, the School of Government, the School of Law, UNC Hospitals, the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, the Ram's Head complex with a dining hall, parking garage, grocery store, and state of the art gymnasium; and the Carmichael, Parker, Teague, and Avery residence halls. South Campus includes the Dean Smith Center for men's basketball, Kenan-Flagler Business School, the Ram Village and Odum Village Apartment complexes, Baity Hill at Mason Farm Road student family housing complex, the undergraduate apartments of Ram Village, and the undergraduate residence halls of Hinton James, George Moses Horton, Ehringhaus, Ehringhaus South, Morrison, Paul Hardin, Craige and Craige North. 

A new satellite campus, Carolina North, has recently been proposed and is now in the planning stages. This addition is planned to be primarily a research park with new science facilities for the twenty-first century, but will also add residence halls, enabling the continued growth of the student population. 

Academics 

UNC offers 71 bachelor's, 107 master's and 74 doctoral degree programs. Carolina enrolls more than 27,000 students from all 100 North Carolina counties, the other 49 states and 47 other countries. State law requires that the percentage of students from North Carolina in each freshman class meet or exceed 82%. 

At the undergraduate level, students spend their first two years at UNC working to fulfill "perspective" requirements. English, social science, history, foreign language, mathematics, and natural science courses are required of all students, ensuring that students receive a broad liberal arts education. After their sophomore year, students move on to the College of Arts and Sciences, or choose other degree programs in the Schools of Medicine, Business, Pharmacy, Information and Library Science, Public Health, or Journalism and Mass Communication. 

Libraries 

UNC's library system, which is composed of a number of individual libraries housed throughout its campus, holds more than 5.8 million volumes in total. UNC's North Carolina Collection is the largest of its kind among state-oriented collections on campuses nationwide, and the Southern and rare book collections housed in Wilson Library are among the country's finest. The university is home to ibiblio, the third largest WWW Internet website in the world and one of the world's largest collections of freely available information including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. 

Davis Library, situated near the Pit and other central campus landmarks, serves as the university's main library. The R.B. House Undergraduate Library, also popularly frequented, is located in the same general area. Wilson Library, which was the university's main library prior to the construction of Davis, now houses largely special collections, rare books, and temporary exhibits. Among other component libraries of UNC's larger system are the Sloane Art Library, the Couch Biology Libraries, the Carolina Population Center Library, the Kenan Chemistry Library, the Geological Sciences Library, the Global Initiatives K-12 Library, the GrantSource Library, the Health Sciences Library, the Highway Safety Research Center Library, the Information & Library Science Library, the Park Journalism & Mass Communication Library, the Law Library, the Institute of Marine Sciences Library, the Brauer Math-Physics Library, the Music Library (in Wilson), the Odum Institute Data Library, the Chapin Planning Library, the Scholarships Resource Center, the School of Government Library, and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History Library. 

Reputation & Rankings 

Medicine and law have been taught at the University since before the American Civil War. The School of Business' Executive Masters of Business Administration program was ranked 5th in the world in the biannual rankings published by Businessweek. Kenan-Flagler's MBA program as a whole is ranked 10th in the world by Forbes with the only international schools ranked higher being INSEAD of France and IMD of Switzerland. Kenan-Flagler's Master of Accounting program was ranked 7th in the 2004 Public Accounting Report, and boasts 95% to 100% employment for its graduates each year. Moreover, the School of Medicine is ranked second in the nation for primary care and 20th in the nation in research according to US News & World Report. For 2007 US News ranked the School of Information and Library Science first in the nation tied with the University of Illinois for the eighth time in a row. US News ranked the School of Public Health second in the nation tied with Harvard. US News also ranked the School of Pharmacy as third in the nation. The School of Education, School of Law, and School of Nursing were also ranked in the top 30 nationally. The School of Government's MPA Program has the distinction of being the only MPA program in North Carolina nationally ranked: 6th nationally in city management and 10th nationally in Public Affairs and Administration. UNC also offers graduate programs through the School of Social Work, continuously ranked among the top 5 in the Nation. Department of Statistics and Operations Research was also ranked 4th in the Statistics specialty among Mathematical Sciences by US News in its 2007 edition of "America’s Best Graduate Schools", while Department of Chemistry was ranked 1st in the Analytical Chemistry specialty area. 

Overall, the undergraduate program for 2006 is ranked 28th in the nation by US News & World Report, tied with Tufts University in Boston. UNC is consistently ranked 5th among public universities, just behind UC Berkeley, University of Virginia, UCLA, and the University of Michigan based on US News & World Report surveys. For the sixth straight year, Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranked UNC as the number 1 best value public school for in-state students. UNC is 1st among public universities and 9th overall in "Great Schools, Great Prices," based on academic quality, net cost of attendance and average student debt according to US News & World Report in 2006. UNC is also 8th among public universities in "The Top American Research Universities," produced in December 2006 by the Center for Measuring University Performance. UNC also has the highest percentage of undergraduates studying abroad for any public institution. For undergraduates, the university offers one of the nation's most acclaimed Honors Programs in a public institution with a 3-star rating (the highest given). 

Athletics 

The school's sports teams are called the Tar Heels, and the mascot is Rameses the ram. They participate in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision, former I-A) and in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The NCAA refers to Chapel Hill as "University of North Carolina" for athletic purposes, leading to the popular misnomer of the campus itself. 

The University of North Carolina has won 39 team national championships in six different sports, 9th all-time, and 51 individual national championships. The women's soccer team has won 19 national championships since 1981; the men's soccer team won the championship in 2001; the women's basketball team in 1994; the men's basketball team in 1924, 1957, 1982, 1993, and 2005; the men's lacrosse team in 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1991; the women's field hockey team in 1985, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2007. The North Carolina baseball team is also a perennial power, and in 2006 and 2007 made it to the finals of the College World Series, losing both times to Oregon State. In non-varsity sports, the women's team handball team won in 2004; and the men's team handball team has won three National Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The men's crew team won the 2004 ECAC National Invitational Collegiate Regatta in the varsity eight category. 

From 1961 to 1997 the men's basketball team was coached by Dean Smith, who is second for most wins in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball with 879 wins. Coach Smith led the Tar Heels to NCAA championships in 1982 and 1993. In only his second year at UNC, Roy Williams coached his team to a national championship in 2005 and was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 2006. Also, on April 2, 2007, Coach Williams was elected to the Hall of Fame. Its first NCAA men's title was in 1957 under coach Frank McGuire, who coached the Tar Heels to a triple overtime victory in the title game over a Kansas team featuring Wilt Chamberlain, after beating Michigan State in the semi-final game also in triple overtime. 

In 1994, the University's athletic programs won the Sears Directors Cup 'all-sports national championship' which is awarded for cumulative performance in NCAA competition. 

Notable alumni from the varsity athletic programs include Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Mia Hamm, Davis Love III, Eddie Pope, Roy Williams, B.J. Surhoff, Kristine Lilly, Jeff Reed, Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard, Marion Jones, Ivory Latta, Lawrence Taylor, Julius Peppers, Alge Crumpler, Willie Parker, Brian Simmons, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, Nick Monroe, Antawn Jamison, Shalane Flanagan, Raymond Felton and Dré Bly. 

Traditions 

Since the beginning of the athletics department, the school's colors have been Carolina Blue and White. The colors were chosen years before, with the blue (a shade similar to sky blue or Columbia blue) representing the Dialectic society and white representing the Philanthropic society. The school had required participation in one of the clubs; traditionally the "Di"s were from western part of North Carolina, and the "Phi"s were from the eastern part of North Carolina. On public occasions, both groups were equally represented, and eventually both colors were used by processional leaders to signify the unity of both groups as part of the university. In recent years, the teams have also used navy blue as a third, "highlight" color. The team nickname is "Tar Heels", a term that originally referenced the state's 18th century prominence as a tar and pitch producer. The nickname's cultural relevance, however, has a complex history that includes anecdotal tales from both the American Civil War and the American Revolution. The mascot is a live ram named Rameses, a tradition that dates back to 1924, when the team manager brought a ram to the annual game against VMI, inspired by the play of former football player Jack "The Battering Ram" Merrit. The kicker rubbed its head for good luck before a game-winning field goal, and the ram stayed. There is also an anthropomorphic ram mascot who appears at all games. The modern Rameses is depicted in a sailor's hat, a reference to a United States Navy flight training program that was attached to the university during World War II. 

Though the South's Oldest Rivalry between UNC and its first opponent, the University of Virginia, has seen downplayed significance in recent years, it was a major rivalry throughout the 1980s in basketball. The rivalry recently saw the 111th meeting in football between the two teams. The bitterness of this rivalry has been recently replaced by somewhat less historical rivalries with Duke University, North Carolina State University, a state institution of larger size with a greater focus on technical and agricultural sciences, and Wake Forest University, a private university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is traditional to exchange pranks with North Carolina State, including painting their "Free Expression Tunnel" in UNC colors every year before big athletic competitions. In retaliation, North Carolina State University students travel to Chapel Hill to play their fight song and occasionally dye fountains red. For years, Wake Forest men would steal UNC's live animal mascot, Rameses the Ram, before athletic events. 

North Carolina's rivalry with Duke is particularly intense, especially in the realm of college basketball. For several decades, each team has been a frequent contender for the national championship, and, located just eight miles (13 km) apart, the students and fans of the two schools are quite focused in their enmity. The rivalry had led people to use their respective school colors to differentiate between the distinct shadings of blue in daily occurrences, with people referring to the lighter, powder blue hue as "Carolina blue" and the darker blue as "Duke blue." 

After important basketball victories (vs. Duke, tournaments), it has become tradition to rush downtown to Franklin Street, which the police shut down. People converge at and around Franklin and Columbia Streets, near campus, and light bonfires. On occasion, these celebrations have gotten out of hand. One incident, after an 85-83 victory, the celebration led to vandalism and an overturned car. 

Every Halloween is marked by celebration on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. In recent years, an estimated 80,000 costumed students and onlookers have packed into a mile-long section of Franklin Street abutting campus. Students come from Appalachian State, NC State, Duke, Elon, and other schools in the University of North Carolina system. 

UNC has a longstanding honor code known as the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, supplemented by an Honor Court to resolve issues with students accused of academic and conduct offenses against the university community. Faculty are forbidden to punish students caught cheating in any way (such as failing grades), but instead are to report such cases to the Student Attorney General. Only if found guilty in the Honor Court, composed of students, can a student be sanctioned. 

 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Also known as The University of North Carolina, Carolina, North Carolina, or simply UNC, the university is the oldest institution in the University of North Carolina System. It was the first American public university to open its doors to students, and the only public university to graduate students in the eighteenth century. UNC is one of the original eight Public Ivy’s and is the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System. 

Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on December 11, 1789 and beginning instruction in 1795, the University of North Carolina is known as the oldest public university in the nation. A political leader in Revolutionary America, William Davie led efforts to build legislative and financial support for the University. 

The university opened in a single building, which came to be called Old East. Still in use as a residence hall, it is the oldest public university building in the United States. Its cornerstone was laid October 12, 1793, near an abandoned Anglican chapel which lead to the naming of the town as Chapel Hill. The spot was chosen due to its geographic centrality in the state. The first student, Hinton James, arrived on foot from Wilmington on February 12, 1795. 

The University of North Carolina was the first to hold classes and to graduate students. The University of Georgia was chartered first in 1785 but did not start classes until 1801. The University of North Carolina is the only university in the United States that awarded degrees as a public institution in the eighteenth century. 

The early nineteenth century saw a period of much growth and development with the help of the backing of the trustees. Through this growth, the University began to move away from its original purpose, to train leadership for the state, as it added to the curriculum, first starting with the typical classical trend. By 1815, the University started giving equal ground to the natural sciences. This development continued with the establishment of the first astronomical observatory at a state university in 1831.

During the Civil War, the University was among the few in the Confederacy that managed to keep its doors open. Soon thereafter, however, the University was forced to close during Reconstruction from 1870 until 1875. With a change in political leadership following the close of Reconstruction, and the readmission of North Carolina into the Union, attempts made to control the direction through appointments during Reconstruction were blocked and the University quickly resumed leadership through the addition of programs such as the first summer school in America, and the establishment of regular Medical and Pharmaceutical offerings by 1879. 

In 1932 UNC became one of the three original campuses of the Consolidated University of North Carolina (since 1972 called the University of North Carolina system). During the process of consolidation, programs were moved between the schools to prevent competition between system schools. For instance, the Engineering school moved from UNC to North Carolina State University in Raleigh in 1932. In 1963 the Consolidated University was made fully coeducational. As a result, the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina was renamed the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of North Carolina itself became the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Campus 

UNC’s sprawling and well-landscaped campus is dominated by its two central quads. One of the quads is named Polk Place, after President James K. Polk, a native of North Carolina and an alumnus of the university. Students mill about in a sunken brick courtyard known as the Pit, often engaging in debate with the Pit Preacher. The Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, located in the heart of campus, tolls the hour. In 1999, UNC was one of 16 recipients of the American Society of Landscape Architects Medallion Awards and was identified as one of 50 college or university 'works of art' by T.A. Gaines in his book 'The Campus as a Work of Art'. 

The most enduring symbol of the university is the Old Well, a small neoclassical rotunda based on the Temple of Love in the Garden of Versailles, at the spot of the original well that provided water for the school. It stands at the south end of McCorkle Place, the northern quad, between two of the campus's oldest buildings, Old East and Old West. Also in McCorkle Place is the Davie Poplar tree under which the university's founder, William Davie, supposedly selected the location for the university in 1792. Due to its questionable health from damages caused by severe weather, such as Hurricane Fran in 1996, the university has planted two genetic clones, Davie Poplar Jr. and Davie Poplar III, nearby to ensure the continued livelihood of this important university symbol. The second clone was planted in conjunction with the University's bicentennial celebration in 1993. Another University landmark is Silent Sam, the statue commemorating the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the Confederacy. The statue has become a point of debate on Carolina's campus and within its classrooms, as some claim that it is a monument to racism and slavery, while others take the view that it is simply a piece of the rich heritage of the South, and should be viewed as such. 

As a whole the campus is divided into north, middle, and south campuses. North Campus includes the two quads along with the Pit, Frank Porter Graham Student Union, Student Stores, and the Davis, House, and Wilson libraries. Almost all classrooms are located in North Campus along with the majority of undergraduate residence halls. Middle Campus includes Fetzer and Woollen Gymnasiums along with the Student Recreation Center, Kenan Stadium, the Irwin Belk outdoor track, the Eddie Smith Field House and indoor track, the Cary C. Boshamer baseball field, Carmichael Auditorium for women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's gymnastics, and men's wrestling, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, the School of Government, the School of Law, UNC Hospitals, the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, the Ram's Head complex with a dining hall, parking garage, grocery store, and state of the art gymnasium; and the Carmichael, Parker, Teague, and Avery residence halls. South Campus includes the Dean Smith Center for men's basketball, Kenan-Flagler Business School, the Ram Village and Odum Village Apartment complexes, Baity Hill at Mason Farm Road student family housing complex, the undergraduate apartments of Ram Village, and the undergraduate residence halls of Hinton James, George Moses Horton, Ehringhaus, Ehringhaus South, Morrison, Paul Hardin, Craige and Craige North. 

A new satellite campus, Carolina North, has recently been proposed and is now in the planning stages. This addition is planned to be primarily a research park with new science facilities for the twenty-first century, but will also add residence halls, enabling the continued growth of the student population. 

Academics 

UNC offers 71 bachelor's, 107 master's and 74 doctoral degree programs. Carolina enrolls more than 27,000 students from all 100 North Carolina counties, the other 49 states and 47 other countries. State law requires that the percentage of students from North Carolina in each freshman class meet or exceed 82%. 

At the undergraduate level, students spend their first two years at UNC working to fulfill "perspective" requirements. English, social science, history, foreign language, mathematics, and natural science courses are required of all students, ensuring that students receive a broad liberal arts education. After their sophomore year, students move on to the College of Arts and Sciences, or choose other degree programs in the Schools of Medicine, Business, Pharmacy, Information and Library Science, Public Health, or Journalism and Mass Communication. 

Libraries 

UNC's library system, which is composed of a number of individual libraries housed throughout its campus, holds more than 5.8 million volumes in total. UNC's North Carolina Collection is the largest of its kind among state-oriented collections on campuses nationwide, and the Southern and rare book collections housed in Wilson Library are among the country's finest. The university is home to ibiblio, the third largest WWW Internet website in the world and one of the world's largest collections of freely available information including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. 

Davis Library, situated near the Pit and other central campus landmarks, serves as the university's main library. The R.B. House Undergraduate Library, also popularly frequented, is located in the same general area. Wilson Library, which was the university's main library prior to the construction of Davis, now houses largely special collections, rare books, and temporary exhibits. Among other component libraries of UNC's larger system are the Sloane Art Library, the Couch Biology Libraries, the Carolina Population Center Library, the Kenan Chemistry Library, the Geological Sciences Library, the Global Initiatives K-12 Library, the GrantSource Library, the Health Sciences Library, the Highway Safety Research Center Library, the Information & Library Science Library, the Park Journalism & Mass Communication Library, the Law Library, the Institute of Marine Sciences Library, the Brauer Math-Physics Library, the Music Library (in Wilson), the Odum Institute Data Library, the Chapin Planning Library, the Scholarships Resource Center, the School of Government Library, and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History Library. 

Reputation & Rankings 

Medicine and law have been taught at the University since before the American Civil War. The School of Business' Executive Masters of Business Administration program was ranked 5th in the world in the biannual rankings published by Businessweek. Kenan-Flagler's MBA program as a whole is ranked 10th in the world by Forbes with the only international schools ranked higher being INSEAD of France and IMD of Switzerland. Kenan-Flagler's Master of Accounting program was ranked 7th in the 2004 Public Accounting Report, and boasts 95% to 100% employment for its graduates each year. Moreover, the School of Medicine is ranked second in the nation for primary care and 20th in the nation in research according to US News & World Report. For 2007 US News ranked the School of Information and Library Science first in the nation tied with the University of Illinois for the eighth time in a row. US News ranked the School of Public Health second in the nation tied with Harvard. US News also ranked the School of Pharmacy as third in the nation. The School of Education, School of Law, and School of Nursing were also ranked in the top 30 nationally. The School of Government's MPA Program has the distinction of being the only MPA program in North Carolina nationally ranked: 6th nationally in city management and 10th nationally in Public Affairs and Administration. UNC also offers graduate programs through the School of Social Work, continuously ranked among the top 5 in the Nation. Department of Statistics and Operations Research was also ranked 4th in the Statistics specialty among Mathematical Sciences by US News in its 2007 edition of "America’s Best Graduate Schools", while Department of Chemistry was ranked 1st in the Analytical Chemistry specialty area. 

Overall, the undergraduate program for 2006 is ranked 28th in the nation by US News & World Report, tied with Tufts University in Boston. UNC is consistently ranked 5th among public universities, just behind UC Berkeley, University of Virginia, UCLA, and the University of Michigan based on US News & World Report surveys. For the sixth straight year, Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranked UNC as the number 1 best value public school for in-state students. UNC is 1st among public universities and 9th overall in "Great Schools, Great Prices," based on academic quality, net cost of attendance and average student debt according to US News & World Report in 2006. UNC is also 8th among public universities in "The Top American Research Universities," produced in December 2006 by the Center for Measuring University Performance. UNC also has the highest percentage of undergraduates studying abroad for any public institution. For undergraduates, the university offers one of the nation's most acclaimed Honors Programs in a public institution with a 3-star rating (the highest given). 

Athletics 

The school's sports teams are called the Tar Heels, and the mascot is Rameses the ram. They participate in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision, former I-A) and in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The NCAA refers to Chapel Hill as "University of North Carolina" for athletic purposes, leading to the popular misnomer of the campus itself. 

The University of North Carolina has won 39 team national championships in six different sports, 9th all-time, and 51 individual national championships. The women's soccer team has won 19 national championships since 1981; the men's soccer team won the championship in 2001; the women's basketball team in 1994; the men's basketball team in 1924, 1957, 1982, 1993, and 2005; the men's lacrosse team in 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1991; the women's field hockey team in 1985, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2007. The North Carolina baseball team is also a perennial power, and in 2006 and 2007 made it to the finals of the College World Series, losing both times to Oregon State. In non-varsity sports, the women's team handball team won in 2004; and the men's team handball team has won three National Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The men's crew team won the 2004 ECAC National Invitational Collegiate Regatta in the varsity eight category. 

From 1961 to 1997 the men's basketball team was coached by Dean Smith, who is second for most wins in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball with 879 wins. Coach Smith led the Tar Heels to NCAA championships in 1982 and 1993. In only his second year at UNC, Roy Williams coached his team to a national championship in 2005 and was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 2006. Also, on April 2, 2007, Coach Williams was elected to the Hall of Fame. Its first NCAA men's title was in 1957 under coach Frank McGuire, who coached the Tar Heels to a triple overtime victory in the title game over a Kansas team featuring Wilt Chamberlain, after beating Michigan State in the semi-final game also in triple overtime. 

In 1994, the University's athletic programs won the Sears Directors Cup 'all-sports national championship' which is awarded for cumulative performance in NCAA competition. 

Notable alumni from the varsity athletic programs include Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Mia Hamm, Davis Love III, Eddie Pope, Roy Williams, B.J. Surhoff, Kristine Lilly, Jeff Reed, Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard, Marion Jones, Ivory Latta, Lawrence Taylor, Julius Peppers, Alge Crumpler, Willie Parker, Brian Simmons, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, Nick Monroe, Antawn Jamison, Shalane Flanagan, Raymond Felton and Dré Bly. 

Traditions 

Since the beginning of the athletics department, the school's colors have been Carolina Blue and White. The colors were chosen years before, with the blue (a shade similar to sky blue or Columbia blue) representing the Dialectic society and white representing the Philanthropic society. The school had required participation in one of the clubs; traditionally the "Di"s were from western part of North Carolina, and the "Phi"s were from the eastern part of North Carolina. On public occasions, both groups were equally represented, and eventually both colors were used by processional leaders to signify the unity of both groups as part of the university. In recent years, the teams have also used navy blue as a third, "highlight" color. The team nickname is "Tar Heels", a term that originally referenced the state's 18th century prominence as a tar and pitch producer. The nickname's cultural relevance, however, has a complex history that includes anecdotal tales from both the American Civil War and the American Revolution. The mascot is a live ram named Rameses, a tradition that dates back to 1924, when the team manager brought a ram to the annual game against VMI, inspired by the play of former football player Jack "The Battering Ram" Merrit. The kicker rubbed its head for good luck before a game-winning field goal, and the ram stayed. There is also an anthropomorphic ram mascot who appears at all games. The modern Rameses is depicted in a sailor's hat, a reference to a United States Navy flight training program that was attached to the university during World War II. 

Though the South's Oldest Rivalry between UNC and its first opponent, the University of Virginia, has seen downplayed significance in recent years, it was a major rivalry throughout the 1980s in basketball. The rivalry recently saw the 111th meeting in football between the two teams. The bitterness of this rivalry has been recently replaced by somewhat less historical rivalries with Duke University, North Carolina State University, a state institution of larger size with a greater focus on technical and agricultural sciences, and Wake Forest University, a private university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is traditional to exchange pranks with North Carolina State, including painting their "Free Expression Tunnel" in UNC colors every year before big athletic competitions. In retaliation, North Carolina State University students travel to Chapel Hill to play their fight song and occasionally dye fountains red. For years, Wake Forest men would steal UNC's live animal mascot, Rameses the Ram, before athletic events. 

North Carolina's rivalry with Duke is particularly intense, especially in the realm of college basketball. For several decades, each team has been a frequent contender for the national championship, and, located just eight miles (13 km) apart, the students and fans of the two schools are quite focused in their enmity. The rivalry had led people to use their respective school colors to differentiate between the distinct shadings of blue in daily occurrences, with people referring to the lighter, powder blue hue as "Carolina blue" and the darker blue as "Duke blue." 

After important basketball victories (vs. Duke, tournaments), it has become tradition to rush downtown to Franklin Street, which the police shut down. People converge at and around Franklin and Columbia Streets, near campus, and light bonfires. On occasion, these celebrations have gotten out of hand. One incident, after an 85-83 victory, the celebration led to vandalism and an overturned car. 

Every Halloween is marked by celebration on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. In recent years, an estimated 80,000 costumed students and onlookers have packed into a mile-long section of Franklin Street abutting campus. Students come from Appalachian State, NC State, Duke, Elon, and other schools in the University of North Carolina system. 

UNC has a longstanding honor code known as the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, supplemented by an Honor Court to resolve issues with students accused of academic and conduct offenses against the university community. Faculty are forbidden to punish students caught cheating in any way (such as failing grades), but instead are to report such cases to the Student Attorney General. Only if found guilty in the Honor Court, composed of students, can a student be sanctioned.