Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public institution that was founded in 1889. It has over 12,000 students in a rural mountainous setting with a campus size of 682 acres. WCU also has a special tuition scheme whereby students’ annual tuition is $5,000. 

WCU offers over 50 undergraduate degrees and majors from its different colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Allied Professions, Engineering and Technology, Fine and Performing Arts, and Health and Human Sciences.

As Western North Carolina’s regional comprehensive university, Western Carolina University is dedicated to academic excellence, affordability, and access. WCU inspires student learning through innovative teaching, nationally recognized programs, exceptional support, and a robust connectedness with surrounding communities in Southern Appalachia, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Through a broad range of scholarly activities, the faculty and students seek to better understand our region, state, nation, and world. With an emphasis on engaging students both inside and outside the classroom, WCU’s bachelor’s, master’s, and professional doctoral programs in Cullowhee, Asheville, and online aim to improve lives and promote economic prosperity throughout Western North Carolina and beyond.

As the westernmost institution in the University of North Carolina System, WCU attracts students from around the globe for its nationally ranked programs, affordability through NC Promise and exceptional student support. Recognized as a top adventure college and surrounded by the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, students can explore the region’s vast natural diversity through unrivaled experiential learning and recreational activities. Offering residential, hybrid and online programs for undergraduate and graduate degrees at our main campus in Cullowhee, WCU in Asheville located at Biltmore Park, and wherever students are through distance learning.