The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1789, UNC is one of the three oldest public universities in the United States and one of the original eight Public Ivy schools that provide an Ivy League experience for a public schooling price. The school has a total undergraduate enrollment of 18,500. It has a 729 acre suburban campus and utilizes a semester-based academic calendar.

UNC is divided into 14 schools and colleges, the largest of which is the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences. Graduate programs include the highly ranked Kenan—Flagler Business School, School of Education, School of Law, School of Medicine, Gillings School of Global Public Health, School of Social Work, Eshelman School of Pharmacy and School of Government. All undergraduates receive a liberal arts education and have the option to pursue a major within the professional schools of the university or within the College of Arts and Sciences from the time they obtain junior status. At least 82 percent of each freshmen class must be from North Carolina, as dictated by state law. With over 270,000 living former students, UNC has one of the largest alumni groups in America. Notable alumni include James K. Polk 11th President of the United States, William R. King, the thirteenth Vice President of the United States, Paul Wellstone and Thomas Lanier Clingman, U.S. senators, and Michael Jordan, former basketball player.

UNC offers a rich student life through its popular student organizations that include The Daily Tarheel, UNC's student newspaper, and WXYC, the student-run radio station. More than 3,000 students are members of Greek life. Chapel Hill, which surrounds UNC, is considered one of the best college towns in the country, offering music, restaurants, shopping and other social activities. Almost half of all undergraduates live on campus in residence halls and apartment complexes. UNC's sports teams are known as the Tar Heels and compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Their men's basketball team, which maintains a storied rivalry with nearby institution Duke University, is one of the most successful programs in college basketball.