University of North Texas
Discover the power of ideas is how the University of North Texas (UNT) describes what it is engaged in; and rightly so, considering the impressive list of alumni it presents. The history of the institution dates back to 1890, when it made a modest beginning as Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute. Keeping pace with the growth of the institution, the name of the institution has changed six times since its establishment.
UNT TODAY:
UNT is a public (state-supported) university. UNT is the flagship of the University of North Texas System, which also includes University of North Texas Health Science Centre at Fort Worth, University of North Texas Research Park and the University of North Texas at Dallas. It is a state supported co-ed university. It runs 11 colleges and schools where there are 99 bachelors, 111 masters and 50 doctoral degree programs on offer. Given below is a list of colleges and schools run by the university:
• School of Visual Arts
• College of Engineering
• Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science
• Emergency Administration and Planning
• Department of Public Administration
• College of Business Administration
• School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• School of Library and Information Science
• Toulouse School of Graduate Studies
• College of Music
U.S. News ranks the university as a national university of fourth tier. It awards approximately 50 doctoral
degrees annually across 15 disciplines. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is also a member of the Federation of North Texas Area Universities. It offers graduate degrees in coordination with Texas Womans University and Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Aamission:
Academic programs follow semester system. Admission difficulty in the UNT is considered to be moderate, with around 69% of applicants getting admission into the university. Undergraduate enrolment and total enrolment during 2004-05 stood at over 24000 and 31000 respectively. There are over 1200 faculty members including both full time and part time. The university has a healthy teacher-student ratio of 1:16.
The university doesnt have any religious affiliation. For a thoroughly detailed overview of fee structure of the UNT, log on to www.zope.unt.edu.
Conditional Admission to unt without toefl/gre
The student body in UNT is a mix of local and international students. UNT is a panacea for international students:
• Who apply to U.S. Universities without TOEFL scores
• Who have a low TOEFL or GRE score
This is made possible through the conditional admission granted by the university to all undergrad programs and many masters and doctoral programs through its Intensive English Language Institute. Students without a TOEFL score or a low TOEFL score are required to take up a course with IELI. IELI offers AAIEP (American Association of Intensive English Programs) member programs and UCIEP (University and College Intensive English Programs) member programs. The university has professional student counselors and immigration advisors on roll. In addition to housing assistance, students can also avail the services of latitude 33, which provides orientation programs about living in Denton. Once the aspirants complete the course at IELI, they become eligible for entering UNT. Students can choose from one of the five 8-week terms offered by the Institute annually. Similarly, aspirants can complete Graduate Preparation Course (GPC) and enter UNT without a GRE verbal score.
Location and Facilities:
Denton is a university-centered town with a population of 1,00,000. The university is housed in an 860 acre campus with quite, suburban environment. Warm weather of the region is yet another inviting factor that the university enjoys. Its proximity to Dallas, Fort Worth and DFW international airport is an added advantage for the entire student community. Lodging and boarding facilities within the campus are priced around $5000/- and above per academic year. Rooms and apartments around the campus are available at affordable rates.
UNT students can avail medical services such as immunization, screen tests, medical imaging and pharmacy at the Student Health and Wellness Centre. The library, with more than 5.8 million catalogued holdings has been designated as one on the major research libraries in the U.S by the U.S. Department of Education. UNT was the first U.S University to offer degree in Jazz studies. One of the largest music schools in the U.S, the College of Music in UNT is undoubtedly the most sought after destination for jazz enthusiasts. As members of Sun Belt Conference, students of UNT compete at Division-IA level in sports. Meangreens, as theyre referred to, have made their mark in soccer, softball, basketball, tennis, volleyball. The meangreens also host a forum at www.gomeangreen.com.
Financial Aid:
Pell Grants and other federal aids like direct loans are arranged for eligible students. Federal Pell grants are given only to undergraduate students based on established financial needs. Amount of award is based on Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The award may vary between $400/- amd $4050/-. Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is yet another grant given to undergraduate students only. Average award in this case is $1000/- or unmet end. Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program (LEAP), Texas Public Education Grant (TPEG), Towards Excellence, Access and Success (TEXAS) grant program and University of North Texas Grant (UNTG) are some of the other financial aids available.
In all the cases, students are required to maintain satisfactory academic progress requirements to continue to be eligible for the aid. Repayment in all the cases is based on the universitys repayment policy.
Financial aid office needs to be intimated before a student plans to drop a class or withdraws from the university as this may reflect on their standing w.r.t financial assistance in future.
For exhaustive information regarding different financial aids available at UNT, visit www.essc.unt.edu/finaid/grants_texas. www.essc.unt.edu/finaid/glossary has a glossary of frequently used terms w.r.t financial aid at UNT.
Publications:
University of North Texas brings out North Texas Daily published tuesday-friday during fall/spring semesters and weekly during summer. This can be accessed at www.north_texas_daily.com. It covers the entire gamut of activities held under the auspices of the university under different heads like news, life, sports, arts, opinion, classifieds etc. It also includes a poll section where students can voice their opinion about the question of the day. North Texas Review is a student-maintained literary journal. Aerie is the Student year book of UNT. Alumni of UNT bring out a magazine by name The North Texan.
University of North Texas runs a radio channel primarily on jazz format and a 24 hour cable TV channel with student-centered programs.
The UNT has been striving to epitomize its vision statement of being a diverse and inclusive institution that creates the knowledge and innovations to shape its future while cultivating excellence in the next generation of scholars and leaders for the global community. The vision, followed by a zealous mission has empowered the university to make its presence felt in areas beyond its geographical boundaries and, THE EAGLES (the mascot of UNT) ARE SET TO SOAR TO GREATER HEIGHTS IN FUTURE!
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