When NC State University was founded in 1887, the school embodied ideals that were rapidly transforming the field of higher education. Chief among them was the belief that colleges should not be reserved for a select few and that the children of farmers, mechanics and other workers should have access to the opportunities and benefits of higher education.
With 12 colleges representing all major academic disciplines, more than 34,000 students and more than 2,300 faculty, NC State is the largest university in North Carolina. This is a pre-eminent research enterprise where undergraduate and graduate students learn from award-winning faculty.
Wherever it starts — in a lab on campus, in a field in rural North Carolina, on an island in the Pacific — NC State research finds the same destination: the real world. Our faculty and students engage with real problems, and they find real solutions. Our researchers have developed energy-saving smart transformers and life-saving bomb sensors, handheld radiation detectors and cancer-killing nanodaisies.
We’re a leader in big data, biomedical engineering, materials science, food safety, translational medicine and more.
We’re a leader in big data, biomedical engineering, materials science, food safety, translational medicine and more.
We are leading the field in producing the graduates America needs, according to U.S. News & World Report. NC State and the city of Raleigh are integral parts of North Carolina’s vibrant Research Triangle region, which is home to many of the country’s leading research and technology companies. Of the 400+ employers who visited NC State University in 2017, the ones with the highest documented levels of recruiting activity among our students were Amazon, Cisco, Deloitte, Duke Energy, Eaton Corporation, IBM, Pfizer, SAS, and NetApp.
NC State offers students housing options that range from traditional residence hall living to campus-based village communities to on- and off-campus apartment complexes owned and operated by the university for upperclassmen and graduate student residents.
NC State's library system is composed by several libraries. The D. H. Hill Library is NC State University's main library, located on the north campus. The Hunt Library is the university's second main library, located on Centennial Campus.The Harrye B. Lyons Design Library is another important asset to design research developed in the CRDM program.
Provide assistance in creating universally usable IT resources, including:
NC State Student Health Services is designed to meet the health needs of NC State students. Highly qualified professionals provide top quality care and can assist with referrals to on and off campus resources. As a part of tuition and fees, the health fee at NC State covers routine visits to providers (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners).
NC State is home to 34,000 students, most of whom are North Carolina residents. It’s our job to prepare all of them for successful careers after college, and Centennial Campus is essential to that mission.
In sports, the final score isn’t the only important number. Try these figures on for size: 70 intramural and club sports programs, 23 Division I varsity teams and two recreation complexes encompassing 350,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor fitness space. That’s not to mention an Outdoor Adventure program that puts North Carolina’s mountains and waterways at your disposal.
North Carolina State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 201 | 201 | 201 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By U.S. News & World Report
Climbed 1 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 262 | 269 | 268 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
Dropped 48 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 311 | 272 | 320 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 251 | 301 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Based on 48 reviews
Great atmosphere, extremely diverse a lot of different cultures. If you are planning to go into engineering this is definitely the school for you and there are a lot of programs offered! My professors were great and helped me a lot during my educational journey.
I really loved the campus experience and ambience. Employees were also very nice and helpful for the most part. Bathrooms were a bit dirty sometimes but overall the facilitites were in very good confition
Future students will like the social life and scene overall. The campus can be a bit dull but overall the professors are great. Average is a good word to describe it. A normal person would have fun here but if you have mental health issues, you probably won't.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
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