UNC Asheville is the designated liberal arts institution in the University of North Carolina system.

[7] In 1936, the name changed to Asheville-Biltmore College, and control was transferred to the Asheville City Schools.

[7] In 1949, the college relocated to the 20,000-square foot Overlook Castle, also known as Seely's Caste, which included 29 acres on the crest of Sunset Mountain.

[8][9] The house, no longer part of the college, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

[13] UNC Asheville desegregated its faculty in 1981, along with all schools in the University of North Carolina.

[14][15] It is one of three baccalaureate colleges within the University of North Carolina System, and has been classified as a Liberal Arts I institution since 1992.

[27] Noteworthy campus features include: UNC Asheville operates on a semester calendar.

[27] UNC Asheville founded the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and has hosted the event five times.

[29] Located on campus, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute has some 220 faculty and offer more than 350 classes each year.

[29][28] UNC Asheville had 222 full-time faculty members the fall of 2022, with 87% holding terminal degrees in their field.

[27][37] As of fall 2020, students came from 43 states and seventeen countries; 12% of the current study body was from outside of North Carolina.

[38] It includes the Media Design Lab and the crAFT (Creativity, Art, Fabrication, and Technology) Studio.

[38] The library's holdings include Special Collections and University Archives which started in 1977 as the Southern Highlands Research Center and focuses on the history Asheville and Western North Carolina.

[28] The North Asheville Tailgate Market is open Saturdays, April through November, and features around 40 local vendors.

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, and both indoor and outdoor track and field.

[37] Women's sports include basketball, cross country, diving, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball.