The University

The University of North Texas is a thriving university with a legacy of excellence in a broad range of academic areas. UNT is a student-centered research university and is the flagship of the UNT System.

The Carnegie Foundation ranks UNT in the top 4 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. The university stands as the most comprehensive in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, offering 97 bachelor's, 101 master's and 49 doctoral degree programs, many nationally recognized. UNT has been selected as one of US News & World Report's Top 100 Best College Buys for 14 consecutive years, and UNT also provides more than 50 centers and institutes which serve the public good.

UNT is also one of the largest universities in Texas, enrolling over 36,000 students. Founded in 1890, UNT takes pride in its outstanding faculty, high academic standards and diverse student body. Recently, the university was named US News and World Report "Top Up-and-Coming School" and Princeton Review "Best of the West."

The university is committed to academic excellence, to student success and to serving as an intellectual resource for the community, state and nation. Offering a traditional college experience at an affordable cost, UNT boasts a 19:1 student-faculty ratio and Division 1-A athletics. The university provides abundant opportunities for its constituents to discover the power of ideas.

The Debate Team

The University of North Texas debate team, supported by UNT's Department of Communication studies, has more than a half-century of competitive success in Policy Debate, having won the second National Debate Tournament in 1949. Recent awards include Top Speaker at the National Debate Tournament, the Dartmouth Round Robin, and the Kentucky Round Robin.

UNT reached the finals of the CEDA National Tournament in 2004. As of 2012, UNT advanced a team to NDT elimination rounds 9 of the last 14 years and qualified a team to the NDT in 27 of the last 30 years. UNT has accumulated multiple NDT First Round At Large bids over the last several years, and North Texas debaters have won and seen late elimination rounds at virtually every major competitive event in the country. 

UNT Debate has attracted numerous students whose academic success speaks for itself, including National Merit Finalists and Valedictorians. Graduates have gone on to win prestigious awards including the CSIS internship and the Kennedy Center internship to Latin America. UNT debaters have attended graduate school at some of the finest graduate programs in rhetoric, international relations, philosophy, and other disciplines. Recently, UNT debate alumni have gone on to attend Northwestern, University of Pittsburgh, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins (to name a few).

Supported by a thriving Communication Studies Department and accompanied by the University's award-winning undergraduate Honors College, UNT Debate offers a unique opportunity to attend a decorated national university and compete in the most rigorous Policy Debate events in the nation.