Grants and Writing Resources for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In April 2026 two UNC-Chapel Hill juniors were named Goldwater Scholars. One, a physics and biology double major, has done research at the Gemini Observatory in Chile and is first author of a paper in The Astrophysical Journal. The other studies partial differential equations as a mathematics major and earned the highest Putnam Competition placing of any Tar Heel since at least 2010.
Where Students Present
The 27th annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research took place on April 22, 2026, in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center. Undergraduates stood with their posters and explained their research in person. The provost and the chancellor came to hear from them.
Honors Theses and Summer Research
A senior honors thesis calls for a cumulative GPA of 3.300 or higher and a project in the student's major; Creative Writing minors are the exception. The thesis ends in an oral defense before a faculty panel. Students who pass graduate with Honors or Highest Honors.
Honors Carolina's thesis research awards of up to $500 pay for lab supplies, software, travel, art supplies, and books or periodicals the library doesn't hold. Students apply through their department's honors director or faculty advisor. Several of the awards carry donor names, among them the Gillian T. Cell Senior Thesis Research Award and the William F. Little Prize for Creative Research in Honors. Summer work has a separate source: Taylor Summer Research Fellowships grant $4,000 for a faculty-mentored project, which can give a student a head start on the thesis or pay for travel to distant archives.
Fellowships and Distinguished Scholarships
Burch Fellows pursue a project that goes well beyond the scope of an academic course or a summer internship. Seven students were named for 2026. Among the other Honors Carolina fellowships, the Robinson Honors Fellowships fund projects on the history and culture of Europe and the Mediterranean, and the Weir Honors Fellowship in Asian Studies pairs Mandarin study with independent work in China.
The Office of Distinguished Scholarships works with undergraduates, graduate students and recent graduates. Students can make an appointment to talk through an application or ask for feedback. Awards such as the Rhodes, Marshall and Goldwater require UNC endorsement.
Graduate Funding
The University Catalog lists several Graduate School awards. The Graduate Student Transportation Grant helps with travel costs to present dissertation research at a regional, national or international conference. The Graduate Tuition Incentive Scholarship helps cover the remaining in-state tuition for students whose thesis or dissertation research has outside funding. For small, unexpected academic expenses there is the Graduate Student Opportunity Fund.
Six doctoral students in fields from Africana studies to epidemiology joined the Royster Society of Fellows in fall 2026. In May 2026, 23 UNC-Chapel Hill students received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships: 10 doctoral students, two master's students and 11 undergraduates.
Help With Writing and Theses
A January 2024 UNC news story placed the Writing and Learning Center in the Center for Student Success in the College of Arts and Sciences. At that time students could make appointments with academic coaches and peer tutors, and the center's workshops covered topics such as application essays and effective reading.
University Libraries keeps a guide to finding UNC theses and dissertations. Most from 2006, and all from 2008 on, are free to read online, and the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library holds paper copies of most. Since fall 2013, honors theses have gone into the Carolina Digital Repository, where the library catalogs them for public access.
Once an honors thesis, fellowship essay or dissertation chapter is drafted, our editors can check it for grammar, consistency and format before it reaches your advisor. See our University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dissertation and thesis editing and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.
From Our Writing Guides
Compiled by James Peterson Brown, PhD, Managing Editor of Editors For Students. Links checked October 2026.
Editors For Students is an independent editorial service and is not affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your UNC-Chapel Hill writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.