Research

Research at UNC-Chapel Hill, a billion-dollar venture, has quadrupled over the past 15 years, firmly establishing Carolina as one of America’s top-ranked research universities.

Rene Lopez holds solar cells

Collaborative approach, world-renowned research

Cures and treatments for disease. New technologies. New industries for North Carolina and the world.  At Carolina, we tackle tough challenges with multidisciplinary teams of top scientists and students whose diverse perspectives deliver creative, unprecedented solutions. As one of America’s top research universities, we conduct roughly $1 billion in research annually. We provide dedicated service to our sponsors and unprecedented opportunities for graduate students, postdocs and undergraduates.

Read more.

Facts & Figures

  • 11thlargest U.S. research university (research volume & annual expenditures)
  • 6thin the U.S. for federal research among public and private universities
  • $1.05 billionin annual research activity
  • 61%of all UNC system research performed by UNC-Chapel Hill
  • For every $1of state funding, research centers & institutes attract $9 from external sources

Serving North Carolina,
Changing the World

Carolina is a world-class research university where great ideas and creativity flow, innovations are put to the test, and discoveries are made.

  • Accelerating autism research

    The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has long been one of the world’s premier autism research universities, taking on the disorder from every angle — genetics, developmental, biomedical and cognitive. Currently, nearly 100 faculty members, students and postdoctoral researchers from 32 departments within five schools work on autism-related research.

  • Transporting corals in southern Belize

    Graduate students from Carolina's Department of Marine Sciences spent 10 days transplanting corals on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in southern Belize. The data they collect from this research could impact coral reef conservation efforts in the future.

  • Why a fly?

    The genome of a fruit fly is strikingly similar to that of a human — so much so that scientists have been studying these tiny insects for over 100 years, in search of treatments for diseases like spinal muscular atrophy and neurological disorders. Carolina geneticist Bob Duronio is one of those scientists.

Around Campus