University of New Hampshire - Overview
A Comfortable, Vibrant Campus Nestled in a Small Town Setting
The University of New Hampshire features a beautiful and vibrant campus where students are free to learn, grow, and socialize. With the small town of Durham as its backdrop, this quintessential New England university provides its' 12,500 undergraduate students with every conceivable manner of service right on campus, though Durham and the nearby towns of Newington, Portsmouth, and Dover are easily accessible via Wildcat Transit and the Amtrak train stops right on the UNH campus.
Since the university first located in Durham, there has been a close and deep connection between the school and the town, and students are always made to feel welcome. With well-maintained on-campus housing that features all the necessary amenities, the University of New Hampshire is truly a place that students can call home.
Activities, Organizations, and Groups Abound, Offering Limitless Possibilities for the Active Students of UNH
With a thriving NCAA Division I athletic program; over 200 student clubs, organizations, groups, and honor societies; a popular intramural sports program; and state-of-the-art academic, technology, and athletic facilities, the University of New Hampshire provides students with a wide variety of activities in which to engage. There is an ongoing emphasis on active lifestyles to go along with a dedication to scholarly pursuits. UNH backs up this principle by providing students with a means to exercise their minds, bodies, and social skills.
The Hamel Student Recreation Center, a 104,000-square-foot on-campus facility, is one of the most popular destinations for students looking to engage in fitness, recreational, and competitive sports activities. Attached to the recreation center is the Whittemore Center, where students may enjoy skating and cheering on UNH's often nationally-ranked men's and women's ice hockey teams, while the UNH Outdoor Recreation Area on Mendums Pond features swimming areas, canoe and kayak rentals, and a sailing center.
NCAA sports teams at the University of New Hampshire include both men's and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, indoor and outdoor track, skiing, soccer, and a host of others that include football as well as women's lacrosse, gymnastics, field hockey, and volleyball. The UNH intramurals program is one of the most popular activities on campus and includes athletics ranging from badminton to archery and fencing to rugby.
For those with a passion for the outdoors, the New Hampshire Outing Club serves to provide the students of UNH an opportunity to truly experience the outdoors, offering trips throughout the year to the White Mountains, among the most scenic mountains in the Northeast, as well as to other destinations in the area. Activities include hiking, backpacking, canoeing, rock climbing, and skiing.
UNH also features a thriving Greek system, with a number of fraternities and sororities that have a rich history of contributing to the community and strengthening the ideals instilled at the university.
Going Beyond the Classroom for Academic Excellence
The University of New Hampshire combines the living and learning environment of a New England liberal arts college with the breadth, spirit of discovery, and civic commitment of a land-grant research institution.
UNH features small class sizes (84 percent of classes have less than 50 students) and a highly-dedicated faculty that place an emphasis on individual attention to students. Students develop close and supportive learning relationships with a world-class faculty, and the ongoing, highly-regarded research that takes place at UNH helps to shape the university's curriculum.
There are also a variety of special academic programs offered by UNH, including the University Honors Program, the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research, and the UNH Center for International Education (CIE).
Every year, hundreds of University of New Hampshire students head for destinations all over the world to engage in classes, internships, research, and experiential learning. Study abroad is considered to be an important educational experience at UNH and is therefore an important offering of the university. The study abroad programs at UNH are personally and professionally enriching and intended to prepare a new generation of decision-makers for the challenges and tribulations of the global world.
Affording UNH
Financial aid, student loans, and merit-based scholarships are widely available at UNH and assist students in meeting the financial obligations of attending the university. Among the types of need-based financial aid available to students are grants in-aid, student loans, and work study. UNH administrators strive to continue to maintain affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students.