About the Area

See this slideshow for more information about the School, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the surrounding area

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is widely recognized as one of the preeminent schools in the nation in pharmacy education and in pharmaceutical science. The faculty and students pursue all aspects of pharmaceutical research, including medicinal chemistry and natural products, molecular pharmaceutics, pharmacotherapy and experimental therapeutics, and pharmaceutical outcomes and policy.

The School maintains close ties to the UNC-Chapel Hill medical school, to the other basic- and health-sciences programs on campus, and to the companies and institutes in RTP to create a unique culture of collaboration and opportunity.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chartered by the N.C. General Assembly on December 11, 1789, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first state university in the nation. Today, the campus is a hotbed of learning and research. Buoyed by a $3.1 billion bond package for higher education—the largest in the nation—UNC is undergoing a dramatic transformation that has helped provide its students with a modern environment spanning everything from renovated recreational facilities to brand new research buildings with state-of-the-art equipment.

UNC-Chapel Hill is among the top U.S. public universities in research support, as well as in creating jobs through new products and spin-off businesses. The University's research grants and contracts totaled $716 million in fiscal year 2009, the largest amount to date. That total is up 5.6 percent over the $678 million received in 2008 and more than double the amount from a decade ago. The bulk of the University’s funding comes from the National Institutes of Health. The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy was fourth among the nation’s pharmacy schools in NIH funding in 2008.

Carolina boasts a library system that perennially ranks among the best research libraries in North America according to the Association of Research Libraries. The collection features more than 5.8 million volumes and more than 54,000 serial subscriptions.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill combines a college town atmosphere with the traditions and vibrancy of the University and the southern hospitality of the state of North Carolina. Home to 51,000 people, the town boasts an outstanding public school system, theaters, museums, concerts, street fairs, and restaurants. Chapel Hill is frequently cited for its wonderful living environment, having been selected by several prominent magazines as one of the best places in the United States in which to live.

Research Triangle Park

Created in 1959 and spanning 7,000 acres, the Research Triangle Park is the largest research park in the United States. It is home to more than 170 companies employing more than 42,000 full-time knowledge workers and an estimated 10,000 contract employees. More than ninty-seven percent of the employees in the RTP work for research- and development-related organizations, and more than eighty percent work for multinational corporations.

Situated between Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Durham, the RTP is in close proximity to a host of higher education institutions, including major research campuses at Duke University and North Carolina State University.