The Senate

Re-established in 2017, the Senate of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has undergone some drastic changes since its establishment in 1918. Formerly Student Congress, the legislative branch where both graduate and undergraduate students served, the Senate is now comprised of undergraduate student Senators elected from nine (9) districts to represent roughly about 18,000 undergraduate students here at UNC. Today, graduate and undergraduate students have divided into separate branches to better represent our constituency (both Governments with an Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch).

Led by the Speaker, the Senate is composed of three standing committees: Finance, Rules and Judiciary, and Oversight and Advocacy. A special standing committee also exists: the Ethics Committee.

Senators are elected in an annual campus-wide election held every February. Senators serve for a one-year term. When classes are in session, the Senate meets every other Tuesday with committee meetings in the alternate week. During the summer, the Senate meets at the discretion of the Speaker.

Mission Statement

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Undergraduate Senate is the Legislative Branch of the Undergraduate Student Government. The Senate serves to maintain and review the Student Code so as to accommodate our changing campus.

Senators are districted in proportion to major enrollment, which reflects our university’s interdisciplinary environment. Our mission is to empower and network university organizations and represent the diverse voice of the student body.

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