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Global Partnerships at Carolina

Global Partnerships at Carolina

Carolina partners with institutions in more than 100 countries around the globe to further student engagement, research and teaching, and to pursue solutions to shared global challenges. 

We in the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs (OVPGA) support the development and growth of mutually beneficial partnerships that build on the strengths of both institutions and that generate new joint activities, exchanges and research across multiple disciplines.

We serve as a facilitator, strategist and enabler for Carolina faculty and staff to develop, maintain and grow relationships with international peers. By surveying the landscape both on campus and abroad, we identify opportunities for collaboration to build bridges and ultimately amplify our impact.

Strategic Partners

Strategic partnerships typically involve multi-layered collaborations spanning a number of disciplines as well as faculty and student exchanges, joint research and sustained institutional investment. Carolina’s strategic partners have developed over the course of many years or even decades.

Carolina’s strategic partners include:  

UNC-Chapel Hill also has a number of flourishing school-level partnerships with institutions around the globe, most rooted in faculty relationships or student exchanges.

•   The Eshelman School of Pharmacy PharmAlliance with Monash University in Australia and University College London in England.

•   The Adams School of Dentistry DentAlliance with King’s College London, the National University of Singapore and the University of Melbourne.

•   The Gillings School of Global Public Health has close ties to Cambridge University in England.

•   A number of departments and centers in the College of Arts and Sciences collaborate with Universität Bremen in Germany.

•   The Eshelman School of Pharmacy, the School of Medicine, and the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, along with several College of Arts and Sciences departments, have relations with Fudan University in China.

•   The College of Arts and Sciences and Gillings School of Global Public Health has a history of work with Universidad de Habana.

•   There are numerous connections in the College of Arts and Sciences with Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Find an International Partner

Carolina has more than 625 known international partnerships across all departments and units. If you are a member of the Carolina community seeking to initiate an international collaboration, our existing global connections are a great place to start. We can help faculty and staff make new global connections or advise where connections already exist.

Are you from an international university seeking a partnership with UNC-Chapel Hill? Contact Melissa McMurray, associate director of global partnerships.

Global Partnership Awards

Partnerships have the power to enrich research and teaching for faculty in every discipline. Our Global Partnership Awards provide funding for Carolina faculty and departments to explore or expand collaborations with institutional partners in other countries.

International Collaboration Agreements

Strong global partnerships often start with individual faculty relationships based on shared interests. Once a foundation is established, we can facilitate the execution of any agreements required to enable exchanges and collaborative activity.  

A common starting point is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which provides a general commitment to establish a partnership. MOU’s and other types of international collaboration agreements establish expectations and responsibilities for all parties involved in collaborative activity. Learn more about international collaboration agreements.

Campus Visits 

We serve as a resource for units hosting international visitors at Carolina and for administrators and faculty visiting a partner in another country, especially from our partner institutions and foreign governments.  

International visitors to our campus inform and enrich our teaching, research and student engagement. Protocol guidance for visiting delegations is available, covering topics such as practices and customs, meetings to engage appropriate administrators and faculty, briefings and other materials, logistics, gift exchange and campus tours. 

Similar guidance is also available for international visits. 

Contact Us

Krista Northup, Director of Global Partnerships | knorthup@unc.edu

Melissa McMurray, Associate Director of Global Partnerships | melissa_mcmurray@unc.edu