North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, widely known as NCSSM, occupies a distinctive place in both North Carolina education and the history of Durham. The school was established by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1978 to give academically talented students from throughout the state unusually challenging opportunities in science and mathematics. Two years later, in 1980, NCSSM welcomed its first class of 150 juniors to a residential campus created on the grounds of the former Watts Hospital. That beginning was nationally significant. NCSSM became the first public, residential high school of its kind, combining an advanced academic program with a statewide mission and a full residential-school experience.

The Durham campus at 1219 Broad Street still reflects that layered history. Students live and learn among buildings associated with the old hospital campus, century-old trees, residence halls, laboratories, classrooms, performance spaces, and athletic facilities. NCSSM-Durham now serves roughly 680 residential juniors and seniors during each academic year. Students come from communities across North Carolina, bringing different experiences and interests into a setting designed around collaboration. Although the school is best known for mathematics, science, engineering, technology, research, and innovation, its curriculum has always included the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, world languages, and interdisciplinary study.

Growth from a Durham Experiment to a Statewide Institution

NCSSM’s founders imagined more than a single specialized campus. They intended the school to strengthen public education across North Carolina. Over time, that statewide mission expanded through distance education, teacher development, summer programs, partnerships, and online learning. NCSSM began broadcasting distance-education classes in 1994. In 2007, it became the seventeenth constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System, an unusual status for a high school and one that emphasized the institution’s statewide responsibilities. NCSSM Online welcomed its first cohort in 2008, allowing students to remain at their local high schools while adding advanced courses and other opportunities.

The institution entered another major chapter when the NCSSM-Morganton campus opened to its first residential juniors in 2022. Even with the addition of a second campus, Durham remains the historic home of the school. A multi-year renovation program launched in 2023 to renew residence halls and dining facilities and add an Academic Commons. These projects continue the long pattern of adapting the former hospital grounds to the needs of new generations of students while preserving the character of the Durham campus.

Unicorn Athletics and Student Wellness

Athletics have been part of the NCSSM experience from the school’s early years. The Durham teams are known as the Unicorns, a mascot that fits a school created to be unusual, ambitious, and imaginative. NCSSM-Durham fields 21 varsity teams and competes as a 3A school in the Diamond Nine 1A/2A/3A Conference of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. The program includes baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.

The official athletics program notes a proud championship tradition. NCSSM-Durham teams have won state championships in men’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s swimming, and both men’s and women’s cross country. Recent seasons have continued that tradition. The Unicorns’ athletic news has highlighted state-title performances, deep playoff runs, conference championships, and numerous all-conference honors. In the 2025 fall season, for example, the men’s cross-country team captured the NCHSAA 3A state championship, while other teams and individual athletes earned prominent finishes and postseason recognition.

The importance of sports at NCSSM extends beyond trophies. Students manage demanding coursework, laboratory assignments, research, residential responsibilities, clubs, service projects, and college planning. Practices and competitions provide structure, physical activity, teamwork, and a change of pace from the classroom. The Charles R. Eilber Physical Education Center—usually called the PEC—supports varsity teams and recreational activity with workout facilities and open-gym opportunities. A popular intramural program broadens participation through basketball, soccer, dodgeball, flag football, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee.

A School Community with a Broad Definition of Achievement

NCSSM’s story is often told through academic achievement, scientific research, notable alumni, and educational innovation. Those accomplishments are central to the institution, but they are only part of the campus experience. Concerts, theater, visual arts, service learning, student government, publications, clubs, athletics, and residence-hall traditions all help turn a rigorous two-year program into a community. The school’s motto, “Accept the Greater Challenge,” applies as naturally to a difficult research problem as it does to an athlete preparing for a championship race or a student learning to live and work with peers from across the state.

From its 1980 opening on the Watts Hospital grounds to its current role within a two-campus and statewide institution, NCSSM-Durham has remained an important Durham landmark and a model for specialized public education. The historic campus combines serious academic purpose with residential life, creative expression, community service, fitness, and competitive sports. That combination explains why the Unicorn identity carries meaning beyond a team nickname. It represents a school community built to pursue difficult goals, support talented young people, and encourage them to use their abilities in service to North Carolina and the wider world.