Our mission: Advancing public education
The mission of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, an innovative and collaborative leader in secondary STEM education, is to advance our state, nation, and world by creating opportunities for broad access to exemplary public education that fosters, challenges, inspires, and empowers students and communities to design their future.
Explore Our Programs
Residential Programs
Some 980 students live and learn in our Residential program on our Durham and Morganton campuses
Durham Residential
Each year, 680 students live and learn in the two-year Residential program as high school juniors and seniors taking rigorous math, science, and humanities courses at NCSSM-Durham, situated among historic in-town neighborhoods within walking distance of Duke University in this mid-size city. The campus was founded in 1980 to create the nation’s first public, residential high school featuring STEM education.
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11th- and 12th-graders
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Durham, NC
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Free
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All faculty have master’s/doctorate
Morganton Residential
NCSSM’s two-year Residential high school experience with rigorous math, science, and humanities courses is now offered at our newest campus composed of new and newly renovated historic buildings on a ridge-top setting. In this picturesque western North Carolina town surrounded by natural beauty and outdoor recreation, each year we serve 300 juniors and seniors from across NC in a life-changing living-learning community.
Learn MorePrograms At A Glance
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11th- and 12th-graders
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Morganton, NC
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Free
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All faculty have master’s/doctorate
Virtual
A growing number of North Carolina high school students are finding that staying enrolled in their current school while also taking challenging courses virtually at NCSSM is a great option — and one that catches the eyes of college admissions officers. NCSSM offers virtual learning options that could be the perfect way to design your future.
NCSSM Connect
Semester-long distance education courses offered virtually via videoconference during the school day at a student’s home school which is an NCSSM Connect partner school. These tuition-free, honors-level and AP courses in STEM and humanities expand the curriculum offered at North Carolina schools.
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Ninth- through 12th-graders
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Virtual from home high school
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Free
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Contact a school counselor
NCSSM Online
A supplemental, sequenced two-year honors program that provides the NCSSM experience virtually through evening webinars and asynchronous assignments to students across the state who remain in their home community. Students completing the program receive a certificate of completion, with the option to dual enroll for local school course credit.
Learn MorePrograms At A Glance
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11th- and 12th-graders
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Virtual
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Free
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Application required
Summer Programs
For rising 5th through 12th graders who seek academic challenge, growth, and like-minded peers
Accelerator
Tuition-based courses available to students from anywhere in the world that offer students academic growth through engaging, challenging STEM courses on topics they can relate to. Students learn with like-minded peers and are taught by scientists, university professors, engineers, and others who bring real-world experience and activities to the Accelerator learning experience.
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Rising 7th- through 12th-graders
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Residential programs in Durham and Morganton; online courses
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Various week sessions, June-July
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Cost: $495 – $695 (virtual); $1,495 – $1,925 (residential)
Early Accelerator
Summer academic programs that offer younger students exciting and innovative ways to explore STEM concepts. Through interactive and hands-on activities, students will embark on a series of STEM adventures. These non-residential, day programs are held on NCSSM’s Durham and Morganton campuses.
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Rising 5th- and 6th-graders
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Day programs in Durham and Morganton
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Various week sessions, June-July
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Cost: $350
INSPIRE
INtroducing STEM Pathways through Inquiry and Research Experiences is a free, one-week residential summer program for rising 11th graders who live in NC designed for, but not limited to, students from underrepresented groups. The weeklong residential program at NCSSM-Morganton pairs students with mentors to work on project offering experiences in STEM research and in solving complex, real-world problems.
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Rising 11th-graders who live in NC
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NCSSM-Morganton
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One-week session in June
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No cost
Step Up to STEM
An innovative interdisciplinary academic program that uses exciting real-world subjects to challenge rising 9th and 10th graders across North Carolina and build their skills in science, math, technology, and communications.
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Rising ninth- and 10th-graders who live in NC
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Residential program at NCSSM-Durham and ECSU
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Various week sessions, June-July
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No cost
Summer Ventures
A a no-cost, state-funded program for academically talented North Carolina students who aspire to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. You will have the opportunity to engage in research with faculty and get hands-on experience at a university.
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Rising 11th- and 12th-graders who live in NC
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Residential program, hosted at various UNC System universities
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Four-week session
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No cost
Teamship
NC Teamship Showcase welcomes students who have participated in a Teamship Experience at schools or organizations hosting the Teamship program. This includes the many districts participating in the Spark Teamship Program.
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Rising 9th- through 12th-grade NC students who have completed a local District C Teamship experience
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Residential program at NCSSM-Durham
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8-day session (with 2 days virtual)
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No cost; includes a small stipend
I’m Not Sure
Read her storyI was fortunate enough to be able to go to North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. This was the first time I got a taste of something that I’ve tried to hold onto: using intimidation or feeling scared to actually fuel your success, to turn it around and use that as motivation to achieve what you might not have thought was possible before.
Latest News
Read stories of the transformative impact of NCSSM on students, our state, nation, and world:
Innovation. It’s in our school’s DNA.
Our school’s three founders — former North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt Jr., senator and Duke University President Terry Sanford; and academician and author John Ehle — envisioned an institution that would invest in the state’s human and intellectual capital to build leadership and economic progress.
In 1980, during Governor Hunt’s first administration, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics opened on the grounds of the former Watts Hospital in Durham with 150 high school juniors. It was the first school of its kind — a public, residential high school welcoming students from across the state to study a specialized curriculum emphasizing science and mathematics but also offering humanities courses, athletics, and extracurricular opportunities.
The founders’ early vision has matured into a vital institution that models and advocates for excellence in public education. Eighteen similar schools have sprung from our model, in the U.S. and abroad.
A pioneering school evolves
1978 The North Carolina General Assembly establishes North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics to provide challenging educational opportunities for students with special interests and potential in the sciences and mathematics.
1980 The first class of 150 juniors enters the school, on the grounds of the former Watts Hospital in Durham.
1988 Together with peers at a handful of similar schools, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics leaders helps found the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science and Technology, now the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools.
1994 NCSSM offers its first distance education classes, broadcasting on public television channels.
2007 NCSSM becomes the 17th constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system.
2008 The first cohort, the Class of 2010, enters NCSSM Online, earning certificates of completion by supplementing their education at local high schools with virtual courses.
2011 NCSSM sets the Guinness World Record for largest food drive in a single location in 24 hours, collecting 559,885 pounds of food to benefit the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, which serves 34 counties in our state.
2016 The Connect NC Bond package is approved by North Carolina voters, including $58 million toward a new second campus for NCSSM in Morganton, NC.
2019 NCSSM Foundation launches the historic Ignite + Transform fundraising campaign, seeking to raise more than $50 million to improve the NCSSM student experience in all programs on both campuses.
2022 NCSSM’s Morganton campus opens to the first class of 150 residential juniors with a second class of 150 following in 2023 to reach its capacity of 300 residential students.
2023 NCSSM embarks on a multi-year renovation of its historic Durham campus, including residence hall refurbishment, dining hall upgrades, and the addition of an Academic Commons.
Launching our Morganton campus
NCSSM is committed to raising the bar, once again, on public education in North Carolina. After marking a huge milestone in 2022 by officially opening our doors to the first class of the residential program at NCSSM-Morganton, we have welcomed our second class and reached full capacity of 300 students. With this new campus, we double down on fostering talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship that will ignite and transform our state’s economic prosperity for decades to come.
How did we get here? In 2016, North Carolina voters passed the Connect NC bond package which included $58 million to grow a second campus of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Morganton (NCSSM). Planning commenced in late 2016 with the hiring of an architectural firm, educational program design consultants, and a planning director, Kevin Baxter, who now serves as Vice Chancellor and Chief Campus Officer for NCSSM-Morganton.
Expanding to our second campus in Morganton was accomplished with deep support from the region, state and UNC System leaders, NCSSM board leadership, Team NCSSM staff and faculty, and many others. Here are key milestone documents from that journey:
- Overall Project Summary: The Road to Morganton
- Educational Program Vision Report
- Educational Program Vision Report – Executive Summary
- Master Plan Report
- Master Plan Report – Executive Summary
- Final Report: NCSSM-Morganton Academic Steering Team
- Final Report: NCSSM-Morganton Student Experience Steering Team
We are grateful for the support of North Carolina voters in passing the Connect NC bond package. For NCSSM, bond funding meant the start of a new chapter in our history of offering innovative STEM education. Expanding our school to a second campus allows us to offer the transformative NCSSM experience to hundreds more bright, young North Carolinians each year.
