Messaging Playbook

With 37 undergraduate majors and 10 pre-professional programs, you’ll have plenty of options to find your passion and explore new interests at Wingate. Our students strive to exceed expectations and make a difference in the world. Our close-knit campus community and nurturing faculty provide an ideal environment in which students can learn and become difference makers. With our commitment to experiential learning, you can expect to develop leadership skills, secure an internship, study abroad, volunteer for community organizations and more.

Each of these academic experiences will contribute to the outcome of your Wingate education and prepare you for success after college. Expect your classes to challenge you and shape your perspective. Ninety-seven percent of this year’s senior class said they were challenged by their courses – just another indicator of how you’ll be better prepared for the real world. You’ll graduate with invaluable skills, life-long relationships and real-world experiences that launch you into your first job or graduate school.

Cannon College of Arts and Sciences

• Biology
• Chemistry and Physics
• Communication and Art
• English and Modern Languages
• History and Political Science
• Mathematics
• Music
• Psychology
• Religion and Philosophy
• Sociology

Porter B. Byrum School of Business

• Accounting
• Finance
• Management
• Marketing

Levine College of Health Sciences

• Department of Occupational Therapy
• School of Pharmacy
• Department of Physical Therapy
• Physician Assistant Studies program
• Nursing program

College of Professional Studies

• Thayer School of Education
• School of Sport Sciences

Wingate offers students a private-university education at a public-university price. The average cost of attendance is $18,000, and most graduates finish in four years. Nearly all students leave Wingate with manageable debt and are either employed or in grad school within six months of graduating.

It’s our hope that finances never prevent a student from attending Wingate. Our admissions and financial-planning teams work with families to help them understand their options for financing a Wingate education. We provide students with estimated financial aid awards upon admission. That means you’ll have your out-of-pocket cost, scholarship amounts and any loans for which you qualify as early as possible to help with financial planning.

LendEDU ranked Wingate #1 in financial aid in NC and #49 in the nation.

Nearly 1 in 4 Wingate undergraduate students are collegiate athletes. Our combination of athletic and academic success is unsurpassed in NCAA Division II. We’ve won the Echols Athletic Excellence Award, which goes to the top overall athletics program in the South Atlantic Conference, 14 years in a row. We’ve had more Division II All-Americans than any other school in North Carolina, and have won 48 individual and team national championships. Also, since 2000 we’ve had the most Academic All-America honorees in all of Division II – and more than any other school in North Carolina, including Duke and UNC – which speaks to the success of our athletes inside the classroom. There’s no better way to experience Wingate’s team spirit than attending a Bulldog sporting event. We also have more than a dozen intramural sports that offer our student body year-round opportunities for competition and camaraderie.

Athletics Teams

Women’s sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, softball, lacrosse, field hockey, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, cross country, volleyball, swimming, triathlon and acrobatics and tumbling.

Men’s sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, baseball, lacrosse, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, cross country, football and swimming.

The University’s branding was given an overhaul in 2018. The Wingate “flag” features alternating dark- and light-blue stripes, four dark ones (Wingate Blue) representing Wingate’s four stages of growth (school, junior college, four-year college, university) and three light ones (Mission Blue) representing “Faith, Knowledge, Service,” the University motto. The easily accessible branding hub gives everyone on campus access to the guidelines, logos and templates they need to create posters, T-shirts, mugs and other swag that are on-brand and make Wingate University stand out.

Our Collaborative for the Common Good is Wingate’s way of addressing the economic, social and ecological issues facing the underserved community of eastern Union County. This overarching initiative unites our campus and provides all students the opportunity to volunteer and serve those most in need in our community while also gaining an academic benefit and growing as leaders. During the 2019-2020 school year, the Collaborative provided 399 students an opportunity to learn while serving others.

Wingate appeals to students from all walks of life who strive to make things better for themselves, their community and the world around them. Seventy-two percent of our students come from North Carolina. During 2019-2020, we had 132 international students from 42 countries. Students of color account for 42% of our student body, and half of our students are the first in their family to attend college. Our students come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, so it’s likely you’ll find other students like you here. You’ll also benefit from the experiences of classmates who come from different cultures and backgrounds than you. That’s important to know as you consider your ideal college “fit” and envision yourself on campus.

Our $99.1 million endowment is greater than those of many institutions our size. The endowment has grown substantially over the past decade, thanks to generous gifts from donors. Most of our financial resources are directly invested in our students in the form of need-based scholarships that help make a Wingate education possible.

Wingate faculty members focus on teaching and on providing one-on-one personal attention to create meaningful experiences in and out of the classroom. Most of our professors have Ph.D.s, and none of our classes are taught by graduate or teaching assistants. Our student-to-faculty ratio is 17:1, and average class size is 21 students, so you will know your professors well. As you progress in your major, you’ll feel comfortable reaching out to them about internships and research opportunities. And they’ll know you well enough to write letters of recommendation for jobs and graduate school.

Students at Wingate are encouraged to explore faith as part of the greater search for truth and meaning in life. Our motto, “Faith, Knowledge, Service,” reflects faith’s place in a fulfilling life experience. Perhaps this stems from our founding as a Baptist institution. Although we’re no longer affiliated with the Baptist denomination, Wingate extends Christian hospitality to all members of our community. In many ways, faith plays a role in life at Wingate and in our respect for one another: the warm welcomes visitors receive when they get to campus, our caring faculty and staff, and various opportunities for worship. Regardless of where you are on your faith journey, at Wingate you’ll find opportunities for faith development, including required religion courses and six faith-based student organizations.

When more is needed on Faith

Wingate students give of themselves and grow in their faith by serving the local community as well as areas abroad. Wingate students make a difference in the lives of others in many ways: mission work, feeding the poor, traveling to Jamaica to serve the mentally and physically challenged, and much more. Last year alone, more than 2,500 students participated in Faith & Character Development Lyceum programs that explore faith’s role in developing individual and cultural perspectives. From Convocation to Baccalaureate and the annual Faith Summit on campus, Wingate affords students numerous opportunities to foster leadership and teamwork through the service of others in the exploration of faith.

Our six-year graduation rate is 47 percent, which, although lower than we would like, is higher than expected by the Higher Education Research Institute, which takes into consideration a variety of factors that influence student success. Eighty-three percent of our graduates finish in four years.

Wingate is the fastest-growing private doctoral university in North Carolina. That means we’re in demand. At the same time, we work hard to maintain the nurturing campus environment our students love. That means keeping class sizes small so your professors know you by name. Our student-to-faculty ratio is only 17:1, and the average class size is 21 students, so you can also expect to know your classmates.

In the past decade, Wingate has become a leading healthcare-education provider. Students studying health sciences gain hands-on experience through innovative partnerships with hospitals, clinics and health professionals in the Charlotte region. With Atrium Health’s flagship hospital and headquarters in Charlotte, our nursing, physician assistant, psychology, pharmacy, occupational therapy and physical therapy graduates are in high demand. Our physical therapy graduates have a 100 percent first-time pass rate on licensing exams, with nursing and physician assistant rates in the upper 90s, well above national averages.

We like to think of Wingate as a “laboratory of difference-making,” a place where students can explore, create and experiment, where they are challenged to engage and collaborate, where they find support from mentors and where they sometimes get their hands dirty. Our programs in and out of the classroom are experiential and life-changing. Our motto is “Faith, Knowledge, Service,” which reflects how our diverse student body strives to make things better for themselves and the world around them. As a laboratory of difference-making, Wingate helps students discover their strengths, talents and passions: strengths that help them win, both on and off the field; talents they can use to serve others in meaningful and exciting ways so that they graduate with prospects and purpose, transformed and prepared to improve the human condition.

Wingate’s residential campus is 30 minutes southeast of downtown Charlotte. The campus is easily accessible from Interstates 485, 85 and 77. The new Monroe Expressway provides easy access to all Charlotte has to offer. Wingate has two other campuses: one in south Charlotte (Ballantyne), for MBA and MAC students; and one in Hendersonville, NC, for pharmacy and physician-assistant students.

Wingate graduates experience uncommon success. Our most recent graduating class saw 87% of graduates employed or attending graduate school within 12 months of graduation. When it comes to social mobility of students after graduation, Wingate ranks among the top national universities and #1 in NC among private universities.

Our retention rate (freshman to sophomore year) is 67%, which is in line with other North Carolina universities. Students who succeed at Wingate are strivers and hard workers. To enable them to succeed, Wingate offers a host of support services, including the Writing Center, free tutoring in every subject, disability support and solid academic advising.

Wingate is ranked No. 1 among private, doctoral granting universities in North Carolina and among the top national universities for social mobility by US News & World Report. Their ranking recognizes schools that do a good job of graduating students from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds (those who receive Pell Grants), and we’re proud to be at the top of their list in the state. Social mobility has become a criteria for measuring the value of a college education and is an indicator of improved status in society. Our ranking is evidence of the impact of a Wingate education on student success after college.

Campus life is rich and fun, with 1 out of 4 students taking part in intramural team sports and most getting involved in a variety of clubs, organizations and other activities outside of class, including Greek organizations, which recently celebrated their 25th anniversary at Wingate. Our students strive to make a difference for themselves and for the world around them while on campus and after graduation. Difference-making opportunities include internships, research with faculty members, service projects and study abroad, with costs offset by the university. You’ll also find intellectual and cultural enrichment opportunities outside the classroom through our Lyceum lecture series, fine arts presentations and performances, and seminars that explore personal and professional development.