It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrolls 18,848 undergraduate and graduate students each year.

The school became a four-year liberal arts college in 1963, following legislation from the North Carolina General Assembly.

At the time, it operated as a junior college offering freshman-level courses to 238 students during the first school year, 77% of whom were veterans returning from military service following World War II.

The Fiske Guide to Colleges, U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review are among the publications that have included UNCW in their rankings of universities.

[16] The expansion added study spaces, computing stations, the data Visualization and Analysis Lab, an expanded MakerStudio, an exhibit gallery and other resources.

[17] The expansion project started construction in May 2022 and resulted in a three-story addition of roughly 80,000 square feet.

Some notable Lumina events included a multi-part, high-definition screening of BBC's Planet Earth series over the span of several weekends, and a yearly 24-hour movie marathon called Hawk-In.

[25][26] Loggerhead and Terrapin Halls were completed in 2021 and consist of 775 bed spaces, mainly for first- and second-year students in semi-suite style.

Adjacent to Schwartz Hall are the University Suites, and the Fraternity and Sorority Village, which consist of seven pod-style buildings housing 400 students.

[36] Seahawk Landing contains similar two, three, and four bedroom apartments, with a combined 662 students living in seven buildings.

Seahawk Landing contains a pool, accessible only to residents, with a convenience market open to the public.

[38] Fraternities and sororities have continued to grow at UNCW with membership now around 9.8% percent of the overall student population,[39] falling slightly below the national average.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council has 6 historically black organizations, three fraternities and three sororities.

They are NCAA's Division I members fielding 18 teams, 8 varsity athletic teams for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field) and 10 for women (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball, beach volleyball).