Residential | North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

A world-class education for high school juniors and seniors, tuition-free, in Durham or Morganton, NC

Accept the Greater Challenge

For more than 40 years, NCSSM has opened doors and created opportunities for promising students across North Carolina like you. As part of the University of North Carolina System, we’re a public, two-year residential high school where talented juniors and seniors live on our campuses in Durham and Morganton in a supportive, close-knit learning community to capitalize on their potential, grow as leaders, and discover limitless possibilities. NCSSM students are thinkers, makers, and doers. Your classes, taught by experienced teachers with advanced degrees, will challenge and excite you.

Program at a glance

11th- and 12th-graders who live in NC
Durham or Morganton, NC
No cost for tuition, room, and board
Application required

$0

Explore our campuses

More than 980 students live and learn in our Residential program in Durham and Morganton.

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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Programs At A Glance

11th- and 12th-graders
Durham, NC
Free
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.

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Programs At A Glance

11th- and 12th-graders
Morganton, NC
Free
All faculty have master’s/doctorate

Life at NCSSM

Students live in residence halls on campus, fostering independence with support from full-time Community Coordinators. The residence hall is more than where you put your head at night – it’s a gathering place for late-night study sessions or movie marathons with a shared sense of community.