Secondary education in the Triangle is arguably among the best in any region of the country, with the close proximity of Duke University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University, the three prestigious schools that make up the Research Triangle. Much other public and private universities also serve the area in a variety of interests and goals.
The state’s 16 public universities are maintained by the multi-campus University of North Carolina system. While each of the public campuses is its own entities and award individual degrees, the system is led by a single president and a board of governors. This makes it easier to acquire and transfer credit throughout the universities in North Carolina.
Duke University is the lone private university amongst the big three in this area and is located in downtown Durham. The 8,600-acre campus serves around 14,000 students and is internationally ranked for research, medical, and teaching work.
North Carolina State University is the largest school of the three, with 34,000 students. Located near downtown Raleigh, NCSU is a land, sea, and space-grant university, and is best known for its engineering, agriculture, and textiles programs.
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is located in Chapel Hill and is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. All UNC students graduate with a liberal arts education, and a degree within the professional schools of the university. The university has nationally ranked media programs and is well known for its medical education opportunities.
Durham is also home to North Carolina Central University, a public historically black university. NCCU is consistently ranked as one of the top historically black universities in the country and offers a variety of different degrees to its students.
A full list of secondary education in the area includes:
- Central Carolina Community College
- Duke University
- Durham Technical Community College
- Louisburg College
- Meredith College
- North Carolina Central University
- Piedmont Community College
- Shaw University
- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- The College At Southeastern
- Saint Augustine’s College
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Vance-Granville Community College
- Wake Technical Community College
- William Peace University
