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, our 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.
Western Carolina University will be a national model for public comprehensive universities serving rural regions and an innovative driver for the social and economic mobility of its students. WCU will break barriers to student access and opportunity, and leverage the expertise of its faculty, staff, and students in confronting the complex health, educational, social, and economic challenges in its region and state.