The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College & State University (founded 1873) and Gainesville State College (founded 1964). Campus locations include Dahlonega, Oakwood (Gainesville Campus), Watkinsville (Oconee Campus), Blue Ridge, and Cumming.
With nearly 20,000 enrolled students, the University of North Georgia is the sixth-largest public university in the state of Georgia. Within UNG, there are five colleges which collectively offer over one hundred bachelor's and associate degrees, as well as thirteen master's degrees and one doctoral degree. Over 600 students are involved in the university's ROTC program in any given year, which has given it the designation as The Military College of Georgia. The university is one of six senior military colleges in the United States.
North Georgia College and State University began in 1873 as North Georgia Agricultural College. It was originally an offsite branch of the University of Georgia's College of Agriculture and Mechanical, and was created with funds from the Morrill Act. William Pierce Price, a local congressman, persuaded officials at UGA to use part of the funds to establish a branch of the newly created college in Dahlonega, Price's birthplace and home. The college opened classes in 1873 with 177 students, 98 males and 79 females, making it the first coeducational college in the state.Classes were originally held in the old U.S. mint building that was shut down during the Civil War. After the college was awarded the power to grant degrees in 1876, the first graduating class received degrees in 1879. The first graduating class of four consisted of three men and one woman, making North Georgia the first public institution in the state to award a degree to a female.
The college had always had a military presence, since land-grant schools were required to teach military tactics, but it was not until World War I when the military programs began to grow. The National Defense Act of 1916 that created the ROTC also helped establish the military presence that is felt on the campus today. In 1929 the designation of Agricultural was dropped from the name and the school became North Georgia College. By 1932 the college was reduced to a two-year junior college. World War II saw a decline in enrollment because of the number of male students joining the war effort. This changed when an Army Specialized Training Program was placed at the college to train junior officers. After the war the college grew because of young servicemen and veterans using their GI bill benefits to attend school. By 1946 the college was reinstated as a four-year college. In the 1950s, Dahlonega provided gold for the leafing of the capitol building. It was also at this time that similar efforts to gold leaf Price Memorial Hall were begun, a project that did not see fruition until 1973. It was granted university status in 1996.
Meanwhile, Gainesville Junior College was founded in Oakwood, Georgia in 1964 and began holding classes in 1966. The school originally was a two-year college and for many years had an open-access mission, meaning that it accepted all applicants who held a high school diploma. Over time, the school expanded, opening branch campuses in Watkinsville, Georgia and Cumming, Georgia (which was a joint venture with North Georgia College and State University called University Center 400 that opened August 2012 then renamed to Cumming Campus in January 2013 at consolidation), and changing its name to Gainesville College and then Gainesville State College. Before consolidation with the North Georgia College and State University, the school had already begun to shift towards allowing four-year baccalaureate programs.
On January 10, 2012, the University System of Georgia approved the consolidation of North Georgia College and State University and Gainesville State College to form a new institution, the University of North Georgia in January 2013.
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