Locations

Founded in 1891, Lenoir-Rhyne University is a co-educational, private liberal arts institution with 45+ undergraduate degree programs and 20+ graduate degree programs.

LR enrolls more than 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students. LR’s main campus is in Hickory, North Carolina, where both undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered.

The university also offers graduate degree programs online and at locations in Asheville, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina.

LR is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and welcomes students from all religious backgrounds.

One University, Multiple Locations

Discover our campuses, visit or connect with us and see for yourself all that LR has to offer.

Two students take a selfie at end of commencement ceremony

2,300⁺

Student enrollment across locations

Professor delivers lecture in front of class

$30M

Financial aid awarded to students annually

Three students in classroom listening to professor lecture

Two counseling students working on assignment in class

Students works with table-based tablet in classroom

News & Events

Where poetry lives: Scott Owens named Hickory’s first poet laureate

Owens teaches creative writing at Lenoir-Rhyne and has mentored hundreds of student writers. Now he brings that same commitment to his new role as Hickory’s first poet laureate.

LR biology professor’s “The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog” named a “Top Read of 2025”

Carly Anne York’s celebration of “silly science” has garnered national media attention, most recently earning a spot on Science News’ 2025 book list.

December 13 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM / P.E. Monroe Auditorium

Undergraduate Open House

January 19 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM / Cromer Center

4th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast