Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NCHighway 107, Cullowhee, NC 28723-9646
828-227-7100
Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. WCU was founded to serve the people of the western North Carolina mountains, and has about 11,000 students. The school's athletic teams, collectively known as the Catamounts, compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference.
The school was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1889 as Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School. It opened to students in 1891. The name was changed to Cullowhee State Normal School in 1925, Western Carolina Teachers College in 1929, and Western Carolina College in 1953. The school became Western Carolina University in 1967, when it was granted university status.
The main campus is located in Cullowhee, on a site that once belonged to the Jackson County Fairgrounds. The university also operates instructional sites in Asheville, Charlotte, and Cherokee, and runs the Biltmore Park Graduate and Professional Center in Asheville. The university's graduate programs include business, education, and engineering.
Western Carolina University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. The school is home to the Cullowhee campus of the University of North Carolina system, and is the only state-supported university in the western part of the state.
The school's mascot is the Catamount, a mythical creature that is said to inhabit the mountains of western North Carolina. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference, and are members of the Football Championship Subdivision. The school's colors are purple and gold.
Western Carolina University is a public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The school was founded in 1889 and has an enrollment of about 11,000 students. The university offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's athletic teams, known as the Catamounts, compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference.
Quick Facts
Enrollment: 12243
Acceptance Rate: 48.48%
Type: Public, 4-year or above
Main Website: https://www.wcu.edu/
Financial Aid: https://www.wcu.edu/apply/financial-aid/index.aspx
Annual Costs
Total Cost In-State On-Campus: $18874
Total Cost Out-State On-Campus: $22874
Return on Investment Rating
The estimated cost for four years as an undergraduate at Western Carolina University is $76872.03. This includes the average cost of attendance for four years plus the interest on the average loan over a ten year repayment minus the average of grants and scholarships per student.
We then contrast this figure with average early-career and mid-career average incomes of graduates of four year programs at Western Carolina University. For graduates of Western Carolina University, we saw an average early-career income of $48700.00 and mid-career income of $79100.00. We then ranked the school's value based on how many years of mid-career income it takes to repay the educational costs.