The Kenan-Flagler Business School was founded in 1919 as University of North Carolina's department of commerce. The school was renamed Kenan-Flagler after two prominent benefactors (Mary Lily Kenan Flagler and Henry Morrison Flagler) in 1991. Today, the school is known for its strong marketing and entrepreneurship programs, though it has well-respected academic departments across the board. Kenan-Flagler administers one full-time and three executive MBA programs, as well as master of accounting and doctoral degrees.

The MBA curriculum is broken into modules, with most core classes completed in the first two. Students can also participate in two summer pre-curriculum programs to ease them back into academia after years in the workforce. In the first year, students complete a mandatory integrative exercise, based around a case competition. Students then choose one or two out of the eight available career concentrations (corporate finance, customer and product management, entrepreneurship, global supply chain management, investment management, management consulting or real estate). Classes at Kenan-Flagler are graded on a pass/fail system, which, students say gives the school a less competitive atmosphere. The student body is collegial and university,related activities dominate the MBA social scene.

Kenan-Flagler draws recruiters from a mix of industries, and the school has connections with national corporations as well as local start,up companies. The UNC name opens doors for graduates nationally, but it is particularly respected in the Southeast.