The University of North Carolina Wilmington has been named in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2023, an annual collection of information about 300 of the nation’s “best and most interesting” colleges and universities. 

UNCW has landed on the list consistently since 2017, according to a university press release Friday. 

Authored by New York TImes’ education editor, Edward Fiske, the Fiske Guide has functioned as a “leading resource” for four decades, according to the release. 

Published Wednesday, this year’s guide “noted UNCW’s convenient proximity to the ocean and its spate of new construction, including the addition of four new residence halls and a dining hall since 2020,” the release states. 

The guide highlighted the university’s Georgian architecture, “old-fashioned Southern charm” and areas of campus conservation that protect “significant zones of natural beauty with their longleaf pines, oaks, dogwoods, and native magnolias.”

UNCW’s marine biology, film studies, creative writing, respiratory therapy, digital arts, and coastal engineering programs also received a shoutout. 

The Support Opportunity Access Responsibility (SOAR) program, which offers high-achieving low-income students scholarships, also received a mention. 

UNCW was one of four UNC System schools included on the list.

“As UNCW continues its trajectory of success, we are pleased to once again be included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges,” Chancellor Aswani Volety said in the release. “We are a student-focused university with outstanding opportunities for students to thrive within a campus culture that values academic success, applied learning opportunities, cutting-edge research, career readiness and community engagement. When prospective students are considering where they want to attend college, we want them to choose UNCW.”

UNCW is ranked 187th in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 best national universities ranking; 96th for top public schools; and 26th for best online bachelor’s programs. ​