UNC Charlotte is a distinguished university participating in high research activity. Among the 196 public doctoral-granting research universities in the United States, only 39 hold both the Carnegie Community Engaged University classification and the APLU's Innovation and Economic Prosperity classification.
The APLU (Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities) designation recognizes that UNC Charlotte has demonstrated a meaningful, ongoing and substantial commitment to economic and community development, growth, and economic opportunity.
Carnegie’s community engagement classification signifies that UNC Charlotte collaborates with our larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in the context of partnership and reciprocity.
UNC Charlotte focuses a majority of its research endeavors through these centers and initiatives:
- Center for Applied Geographic Information Science
- Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER)
- Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications
- Center for Precision Metrology
- Center for Professional and Applied Ethics
- Charlotte Research Institute
- Charlotte Visualization Center
- Childress Klein Center for Real Estate
- Complex Systems Institute
- Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC)
- Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability Center (IDEAS)
- Institute for Social Capital
- Integrated Design Research Lab
- NC Motorsports and Automotives Research Center (NCMARC)
- Urban Institute