The Missing Men of UNC

Walk into almost any undergraduate classroom in the UNC System today, and one thing becomes immediately apparent: Men are often a minority. This is not something announced in orientation materials or highlighted in strategic plans, but it is visible in lecture halls, student organizations, and group projects across campus. What once felt like a subtle shift has become harder to ignore, raising a basic but surprisingly under-asked question about public higher education in North Carolina: Where have all the male students gone?

Only after stepping back did I realize that this pattern extended far beyond one campus. When I arrived at UNC-Chapel Hill freshman year, I wasn’t thinking much about gender ratios, nor did anyone suggest I should. But, over time, in lecture halls, student organizations, and study groups, the imbalance became harder to ignore. It was discussed, mostly, in terms of dating. My friends would talk about the 60:40 ratio of female to male students, complaining there weren’t enough guys to go around. Male students were fewer, often more dispersed, and sometimes less engaged with campus life. At first, I assumed this was simply a quirk of my own experience. Only after stepping back did I realize that this pattern extended far beyond one campus, reflecting instead a broader and largely unexamined shift within North Carolina’s public universities.

That sense of imbalance is confirmed when enrollment data across the UNC System are examined more closely. At many universities, women now account for more than 60 percent of the undergraduate population, a proportion that would have been difficult to imagine even a generation ago. Of the 16 institutions in the UNC System, only three are not majority female, and even there the undergraduate populations are roughly evenly split between men and women. That short list of exceptions—Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina State University, and UNC Charlotte—underscores how widespread the imbalance has become across the system. Regardless of geography, mission, or student-body size, most UNC campuses are moving in the same direction. This shift is not the result of a single admissions cycle or a short-term disruption but is part of a longer-term trend that has quietly reshaped campus culture. The more pressing question is not whether the imbalance exists but what has changed in the pathways to college and why those changes appear to be affecting young men so pronouncedly.

Male and female enrollment was not always so uneven. For much of the 20th century, men outnumbered women at most public universities, particularly on flagship campuses and in pre-professional programs. Over the past two or three decades, however, that balance has shifted dramatically. Women’s participation in higher education has steadily increased, while men’s enrollment has stagnated or even declined in some areas. Researchers first began flagging this trend in the early 2000s, noting that boys were falling behind in high-school achievement, college preparation, and degree completion. As the Atlantic reported in 2021, women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than men since the mid-1980s every year. Today, the cumulative effect of these trends is visible across the UNC System: More women are enrolling, persisting, and graduating, while men are increasingly underrepresented in public higher education.

The reasons appear to be a mix of cultural, educational, and economic changes rather than a single explanation. The reasons appear to be a mix of cultural, educational, and economic changes rather than a single explanation. Over the past few decades, high schools have increasingly emphasized classroom behaviors such as following instructions, completing assignments on time, and demonstrating strong organizational skills, areas where girls tend to excel. At the same time, alternative pathways, such as trade schools, apprenticeships, or family-run businesses, have become more accessible and appealing to young men, sometimes pulling them away from traditional college tracks. Broader cultural messages have also evolved: Society now actively encourages girls to pursue higher education and professional careers, while similar emphases on boys’ academic success are less pronounced. Together, these trends may help explain why male students are enrolling in college at lower rates and why women are becoming the dominant undergraduate population in the UNC System.

Society now actively encourages girls to pursue higher education, while similar emphases on boys’ academic success are less pronounced. There are also plenty of alternatives pulling men away from four-year colleges. For some, careers in the military, law enforcement, firefighting, or other public-service roles offer a clear path, steady pay, and a sense of direction without the cost or uncertainty of a traditional university. Community colleges have leaned into this by expanding technical and trade-focused programs that feel more practical and job-oriented, often at a fraction of the price. Other young men go straight into the workforce, especially in fields where experience matters more than a degree. Faced with these options, it is not hard to see why a traditional four-year degree holds less appeal for many young men.

In her forthcoming report “Where Are All the Men?: A Look at Male vs. Female Postsecondary Enrollment in North Carolina,” my colleague Shannon Watkins points to several other factors that help explain the widening gender gap in college. The pandemic, for one, seems to have amplified a trend that was already underway. Between 2019 and 2021, overall enrollment fell sharply, but nearly four out of five of those missing students were men. Watkins also highlights the fact that many young men question the value of a traditional college degree, especially with rising costs and uncertain career returns. Meanwhile, women often have easier access to campus resources and support programs, leaving men with fewer tailored avenues for both academic help and social engagement. Some observers cited in the report suggest that the tone and culture of college life—including in debates over gender dynamics and campus priorities—can make the university environment feel less welcoming to male students.

When I arrived at UNC-Chapel Hill, the campus already felt noticeably skewed toward women. In my first-year lectures and study groups, it was common to see a room of 30 or 40 students with only 10 or so men. The imbalance wasn’t just a number; it shaped the energy and dynamics in classes, clubs, and social spaces. During the height of Covid, campus life was disrupted, but when in-person classes resumed, the gap seemed even more pronounced: Some male students had delayed enrollment or taken time off, while female enrollment remained steady. Socially, the imbalance showed up in casual ways, too. Friends often joked about the limited pool of men when it came to dating. The guys on campus seemed to all have similar majors: business, computer science, economics, or biology (often pre-med). The women were spread across a wider range of majors and often gravitated toward more creative or artistic fields. Even in my own major, media and journalism, the classes were overwhelmingly female. From my experience, the men who chose to go to college often had a more focused career goal in mind. The gender discrepancy was never an obvious problem, but the pattern was unmistakable: Men were fewer, often clustered in certain majors.

Fewer men in college could shift the workforce, leaving certain industries with a smaller pool of degree-holding employees and reinforcing gendered patterns in career paths. This could ultimately contribute to wage gaps and a concentration of men in jobs that don’t require a degree, while women dominate fields that have historically offered broader career advancement. Socially, it may influence relationships and family dynamics, as colleges can serve as spaces where men and women meet, date, and form marriages. People are already marrying later in life, and educational and economic disparities between men and women can complicate these patterns further. Many women prefer to marry a man who makes more money than she does or is more successful in his career. A continuing gender imbalance risks narrowing perspectives, reducing men and women’s understanding, and shaping the next generation’s sense of who participates in higher education and leadership.

Addressing the gender imbalance will require intentional effort from universities. Campuses could start by creating environments where men and women feel equally valued, whether in classrooms, clubs, or student organizations. Academic support for male students, including mentoring, tutoring, or study groups within fraternities or in male-heavy majors such as business and computer science, could be helpful. UNC schools could also look upstream, partnering with high schools to get boys thinking about college early and seeing it as a worthwhile path. Even small steps could help build a more balanced, engaged, and thriving student body. For institutions meant to educate the whole population, restoring that balance is not optional—it is part of the mission.

Reagan Allen is the North Carolina reporter for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.