Education
The area is home to a University and Community College System that boast nationally acclaimed programs for bioscience, research, nursing, business, and others. The area’s educational system is the pride of eastern North Carolina.
East Carolina University, the state’s third largest institution of higher education, offers over 100 undergraduate and 99 graduate degree programs in concentrations such as Engineering, Technology, Business, Medicine, and Dental Medicine. ECU was recognized with the Carnegie Foundation’s Classification for Community Engagement in 2008 and 2014. In 2017, ECU’s Economic Development and Engagement Council was created to promote and facilitate faculty and student programming based on innovation, entrepreneurship and engagement. Faculty representatives from each college spearhead the university’s efforts to bring positive changes in economic development to rural North Carolina.
Pitt Community College provides access to dynamic learning opportunities designed to foster successful career preparation, higher education transfer, community involvement, and global engagement. As the sixth largest in North Carolina’s 58 campus community college system, PCC awards associate degrees, diplomas and certificates for more than 60 programs and provides adult basic education, literacy training and occupational extension courses. Serving more than 23,000 credit and non-credit students annually, the college also offers special training programs specifically designed to meet the start-up and up-grade skill needs of industry, regardless of the type of operation or employment size of the facility.
The Pitt County School System, accredited by AdvancED as a Quality School System. receives extensive local support, reflected in modern classroom facilities, a wide range of extra-curricular activities, and student performance above state and national averages on standardized achievement tests. PCS currently serves more than 24,000 students in 38 schools and is continuing to see annual growth in both its student population and programming such as the Health Sciences Academy, a high school curriculum program designed to expose and prepare students who wish to pursue healthcare related careers upon graduation, Middle School STEM Labs and the Pitt County Schools Early College High School, an AVID School with a STEM focus located on the campus of Pitt Community College.
