Get to Know the University of Northern Colorado
Student-focused. Service-oriented. Approachable. Driven. Nestled between the Rocky Mountains and Colorado’s stunning high plains, the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public, doctoral research and educational institution that is home to about 9,000 students and more than 200 undergraduate and graduate programs, many of which are nationally recognized.
Founded as a teacher’s college in 1889, we graduated generations of educators, more than any other Colorado university. Our culture is marked by academic excellence in education, health sciences, business, the humanities and performing and visual arts.
UNC is committed to supporting our students and providing them with a high-quality education, hands-on experiences and a community where they can thrive. We are a welcoming, inclusive campus and proud to be Colorado’s newest Hispanic Serving Institution. UNC is more than a place to earn a degree. It’s a place where students build meaningful connections that last a lifetime.
Our community says everything about who we are.
Recognized as a top university for social mobility, UNC is proud to be a Hispanic Serving Institution and to serve more than 42% of our undergraduates who are the first in their family to attend college. The university’s just-right size, expert faculty, and tradition of research and hands-on learning gives students exceptional opportunities and a personalized education.
Once a bear, always a bear. UNC graduates join a strong network of over 140,000 alumni living and working in 50 states and 90 countries who help build communities that save and transform lives.
Accreditation
UNC has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1916. The HLC is an institutional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education and is one of seven regional accrediting bodies in the country.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the grounds upon which our university stands are inextricably tied to the history and culture of indigenous peoples. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future, and to those who have stewarded this land throughout the generations. The University of Northern Colorado occupies the lands in the territories of the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota peoples. Further, we acknowledge the 48 tribes that are historically tied to the state of Colorado. We challenge ourselves to be better stewards of the land we inhabit, as well as learn the stories and practices of Indigenous people’s history and culture.
14:1 Student-to-Faculty Ratio
with 686 total faculty
(441 of which are full-time)
Undergraduate Snapshot
91%
Full-time students
Average full-time course load: 14 credit hours
42% of incoming first-year students are first generation
5,182 In-state students
Graduate Snapshot
68% Masters Students
21% Doctoral Students
5% Specialist Students
3% Licensure/Certificate Students
3% Unclassified Students
- Masters - 68%
- Doctoral - 21%
- Specialist - 5%
- Licensure/Certificate - 3%
- Unclassified - 3%
Graduate and Undergraduate Ethnicity
- 60% White
- 26% Latinx/Hispanic
- <1% Not Reported/Unknown
- 5% Multi-racial
- 4% African American
- 2% Asian
- <1% Native American
- <1% Hawaiian
UNC Athletics
A member of the NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference since 2006, UNC fields 17 intercollegiate teams. Since joining the Big Sky, UNC has won three volleyball championships and a women’s soccer championship, and the women’s basketball team recently won the Big Sky championship and an NCAA berth.
Our athletes aren’t just succeeding on the playing field though – the NCAA often recognizes UNC teams for high academic performance and our student athletes have posted a cumulative GPA of 3.21 as of fall semester 2023. It's the 22nd consecutive semester the Bears have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
82%
of incoming first-year students are awarded grants or scholarships
*Last year, UNC students received over $30.8 million in scholarships and institutional aid
Cultural and Resource Centers
Students learn and grow in a spirit of multiculturalism with support services that include:
Our People
Alumni
Our alumni often say the connections they made with faculty made a huge difference not only when they were at UNC, but long after, as they traveled their career and life paths. That partnership and community is something we take great pride in – a university culture that is welcoming, collaborative, supportive and committed to student success, service and education.
Meet Bears who go beyond.
Students
Our students are diverse and hard-working, and there’s no one “label” that defines them. More than 42% of undergraduates are the first in their family to go to college. More than 36% identify as students of color, 26% of whom identify as Hispanic/Latinae.
Faculty
UNC faculty are experts in their fields who are extraordinary teachers. They are scholars who go out of their way to connect with their students in research and bring new knowledge into the classroom.
Biology Professor Scott Franklin says, “We have our faculty teach almost all upper division labs. Because of the high interaction with faculty, there is a lot of research potential for undergrads. There are very high quality faculty here doing great research and teaching.”
UNC is a place where faculty will know your name. That’s unique!
42%
of all UNC Students are
first-generation
(which means they're among the first in their family to attend college)
Bears Go Big
UNC Bears go out into the world to do BIG and significant work. Meet Tangier Barnes Wright, BA Africana Studies, 2005 and Director of Transportation Programs at Groundwork Colorado.
[UNC] had opportunities to connect with a multicultural student body
