Public Graduate Good 62/100

North Carolina Central University

See admissions data, costs, student outcomes, and academic programs, all verified from official US government sources.

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Durham, North Carolina

About North Carolina Central University

Thinking about North Carolina Central University, a college in North Carolina where more students graduate in Public Administration than anything else? The four things worth knowing are what it actually costs after aid, whether you would get in, whether students finish, and what they earn after they do.

North Carolina Central University is a public institution offering graduate degrees based in Durham, North Carolina. It enrolls 6,081 students (a large student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.

Acceptance
87%
Graduation
51.8%
Net Price
$15,359
Median Earnings (10yr)
$42,968
Enrollment
6,081
Student : Faculty
16:1

Accreditor Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Academic Calendar Semester

How It Measures Up

These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Selective), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.

Good
62/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes 29
Value 54
Affordability 82
Selectivity 19

Admissions & Acceptance Rate

North Carolina Central University admits 87% of applicants, which makes it open to most qualified applicants, so admission is unlikely to be the hurdle.

Acceptance Rate
87%
Easy
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
19 – 22
Cumulative composite
Test Policy Not Considered Standardized test scores are not used in admissions decisions.

5-Year Admission Trend

Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether North Carolina Central University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.

Becoming less selective ↑ 22.5 pts since 2019
68%201987.4%202076%202184.4%202290.5%2023

Cost & Financial Aid

Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $15,359 a year on average, it sits below what public colleges charge nationally. That still leaves most families a gap to cover, but a manageable one. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.

The average hides a wide spread by household income, so it is worth estimating what a family at your income would actually pay before treating this as the price.

Average Net Price
$15,359
Per year, after typical aid
Receive Pell Grants
59%
Need-based federal aid
Receive Federal Loans
63%
Borrowing to attend

Full Cost Breakdown

Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.

Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$6,699
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$19,735
Room & Board (on-campus)
$13,450
Room & Board (off-campus)
$11,213
Books & Supplies
$1,500
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$6,416
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$6,816
Total Cost of Attendance
$26,556

Application fee: $50 (one-time, due at submission)


Net Price by Family Income

Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.

  • Under $30,000
    $13,032
  • $30,001 – $48,000
    $13,882
  • $48,001 – $75,000
    $17,527
  • $75,001 – $110,000
    $22,401
  • Over $110,000
    $23,658

Debt at Graduation

Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.

$5,383
10% percentile
$10,250
25% percentile
$28,250
Median percentile
$35,500
75% percentile
$44,848
90% percentile

Median Debt by Student Type

Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.

GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $23,250 ↓ $5,000
No Pell $16,750 ↓ $11,500
Dependent students $21,733 ↓ $6,517
Independent students $22,393 ↓ $5,857
Female students $23,099 ↓ $5,151
Male students $19,540 ↓ $8,710
Pell recipients: 18.3% (5,181 students)No Pell: 13.2% (3,733 students)Dependent students: 17.1% (4,843 students)Independent students: 17.7% (4,990 students)Female students: 18.2% (5,148 students)Male students: 15.4% (4,355 students)Overall Median$28,250
Worth knowing: Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $12,000, less than completers ($28,250), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.

Graduation Rate & Retention

52% of students who start here finish within six years, and 74% come back after first year. Roughly half finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.

Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.

6-Year Graduation Rate
52%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
74%
Returning for their second year

After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes

Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $42,968 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.

Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$42,968
Earning > $25K
71%
10 yrs after entry

Earnings Growth After Graduation

Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.

$35,000$37,000$39,000$42,000$44,0006 yrs8 yrs10 yrs

Earnings by Demographic

Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.

By Gender

Female graduates
$34,200

Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.

Male graduates
$37,200

Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.


By Family Income at Entry

Family income (lowest third)
$32,100

Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.

Family income (middle third)
$37,200

Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.

Family income (highest third)
$40,700

Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.

Loan Repayment Progression

Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.

Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑ 20.5 pts across 6 years
22.7%1yr31.6%3yr36.7%5yr43.2%7yr
What this signals: Concerning. Only 43% of graduates are actively reducing principal even seven years out.

Who Studies Here

Who you would actually be sitting next to: 6,081 students, a large student community. Worth knowing: 33% are the first in their family to go to college.

Total Enrolled
6,081
Part-Time
12%
First-Generation
33%

Race & Ethnicity Breakdown

Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.

GroupShareStudents
Black 84.1% 5,113
Hispanic 5.7% 349
Other 4.3% 258
White 3.8% 233
Asian 0.8% 49
International 0.4% 25
Black: 84.1% (5,113 students)Hispanic: 5.7% (349 students)Other: 4.3% (258 students)White: 3.8% (233 students)Asian: 0.8% (49 students)International: 0.4% (25 students)Total6,081

Student Life & Campus Culture

Where students live, learn, and connect at North Carolina Central University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.

Setting
Large City Durham, North Carolina
Housing
Mostly residential 3,375 beds on campus
Adult Learners
15% of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NCAA athletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semester scheduling structure
Designation
Historically Black College / University (HBCU)

What You Can Study

After that comes the national picture for Health graduates, which shows what the field pays across every college rather than just this one.

North Carolina Central University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 53 distinct programs across 21 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.

3 Programs
5 Programs
4 Programs
1 Program
  • Law $143K ($74K–$297K)
5 Programs

Faculty & Resources

There are 16 students for every instructor here: about average, so expect a mix of small seminars and big lectures.

Student : Faculty
16:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$16,263
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$58M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$84,637
9-month equivalent across all ranks

Faculty by Rank

333 instructional faculty across 6 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.

Rank Faculty Count Share Avg Salary
Full Professors 74 22% $110,150
Associate Professors 103 31% $88,521
Assistant Professors 88 26% $81,062
Instructors 21 6% $55,726
Lecturers 43 13% $55,917
No Rank 4 1% $58,400

Pros & Cons of North Carolina Central University

No college is right for everyone. Here is where North Carolina Central University is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.

Read against a single profile these cut both ways, which is why it helps to put two colleges side by side on the same measures rather than judging one in isolation.

PROS
  • Below-average net price
  • Accessible admissions for most applicants
  • Reasonable class sizes
  • Wide reach of need-based federal aid
CONS
  • Below-average completion rate
  • Modest first-year retention
  • Higher than typical student debt at graduation
Best for: Based on the data, North Carolina Central University is a fit for students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier.

Frequently Asked Questions about North Carolina Central University

The questions families ask most about North Carolina Central University, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.

Is North Carolina Central University hard to get into?
Not especially. North Carolina Central University admits most qualified applicants, with an acceptance rate of 87%. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at North Carolina Central University?
87% of applicants are admitted. Most applicants who meet the basic requirements are admitted. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What ACT score do you need for North Carolina Central University?
Aim for 22 or better. Half of admitted students scored between 19 and 22 on the composite, so the upper half of that band is where you want to land. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
How much does North Carolina Central University cost?
Budget around $15,359 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is North Carolina Central University worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $42,968 a year against a net price of $15,359, about 2.8 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is North Carolina Central University known for?
Mostly Law, Social Sciences, Criminal Justice. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do North Carolina Central University graduates earn?
About $42,968 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is North Carolina Central University accredited?
Yes. North Carolina Central University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
How many students attend North Carolina Central University?
6,081 students. Big enough for a wide course catalogue without feeling anonymous. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at North Carolina Central University?
52% finish within six years. That leaves a meaningful share who do not finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is North Carolina Central University a public or private college?
It is Public. Public, so in-state students usually pay materially less than everyone else.
Where is North Carolina Central University located?
North Carolina Central University is located in Durham, North Carolina.
What programs does North Carolina Central University offer?
53 different programs, most commonly Law, Social Sciences, Criminal Justice. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at North Carolina Central University?
16 students per instructor. About average, so a mix of seminars and larger lectures. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.

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