Winston-Salem state university

Winston-Salem State University is a bold, vibrant and diverse academic community that fosters the creative thinking, analytical problem-solving, and depth of character graduates need to transform themselves and their world. These values embody our motto, “Enter to Learn. Depart to Serve.”

Founded in 1892, WSSU enjoys a distinguished reputation as a historically black constituent institution of the University of North Carolina that offers a rich curriculum rooted in a high-quality, liberal education. Our undergraduate and graduate students can choose from many innovative areas of study designed to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to develop creative solutions to today’s—and tomorrow’s—complex problems.

Winston-Salem State University was founded as the Slater Industrial Academy by Simon Green Atkins on September 28, 1892. Atkins had an audacious vision to create an institution where every student would meet the challenges of the day equipped with an education designed to intellectually prepare the “head, hand, and heart.” Twenty-five students attended classes in a one-room frame structure and were taught by a single instructor.

In 1925, the General Assembly of North Carolina recognized the school’s curriculum above high school, changed its name to Winston-Salem Teachers College, and empowered it under authority of the State Board of Education to confer appropriate degrees. Winston-Salem Teachers College thus became the first black institution in the nation to grant degrees for teaching the elementary grades.