Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC · Public · 10,024 undergrads (medium, town) · website ↗

Test-optional
$65 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$8,816
$30,000 – $48,000	$10,012
$48,000 – $75,000	$12,605
$75,000 – $110,000	$17,060
Over $110,000	$17,992
All incomes (average)	$13,315

Sticker tuition and fees: $4,630 in-state, $8,630 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Western Carolina University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$12,535
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,535
Books and supplies	$1,592
Other expenses, on campus	$3,569
Other expenses, off campus	$3,569

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,914 of them) in 2022–23; 99% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	99%	$5,442
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	38%	$5,063
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	69%	$3,058
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	51%	$4,858

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 82%
Average SAT: 1157
Median ACT: 22
Students with Pell grants: 35%
Graduation rate (6yr): 60%
Freshman retention: 79%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $49,458
Median debt at graduation: $21,868
International undergrads: 182 (1.8%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $65
Students per faculty member: 16 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 74%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 560–660
SAT Math: 520–610
ACT composite: 19–25

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Considered if submitted
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 18,183
Admitted: 15,758
Enrolled: 2,103

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing22%

Business20%

Education7%

Psychology6%

Criminal Justice5%

Visual & Performing Arts5%

Physics & Chemistry3%

Social Sciences3%

Biology & Life Sciences3%

Kinesiology & Sports Science3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (46)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	270	$46,375	$57,713national $68,257	$17,823
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	266	$75,592	$79,533national $88,910	$15,193
Psychology, General	163	$34,534	$48,350national $50,706	$20,380
Criminal Justice and Corrections	158	$42,604	$55,903national $55,378	$19,288
Marketing	158	$44,191	$56,568national $69,303	$20,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	127	$43,757	$47,105national $47,382	$19,339
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	121	$36,294	—national $61,296	$20,261
Public Administration	112	$56,514	$70,331national $65,093	$18,450
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	94	$62,216	$65,010national $70,786	$16,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	78	$50,769	$58,076national $83,343	$18,615
Biology, General	74	$37,828	$50,180national $57,214	$21,218
Chemistry	74	$43,593	$51,213national $65,120	$24,605
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	55	$43,523	$48,232national $51,389	$25,000
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	53	$67,639	$83,954national $93,843	$23,215
Social Work	51	$43,655	$50,025national $51,790	$23,320
Communication and Media Studies	48	$40,651	$43,322national $56,359	$19,000
Music	46	$39,595	$44,014national $42,892	$27,750
Fine and Studio Arts	44	$34,090	$43,029national $41,367	$19,500
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General	42	$64,722	$78,801national $80,526	$22,620
English Language and Literature, General	42	$31,686	$45,079national $48,590	$21,950
Anthropology	40	$32,379	$45,809national $46,676	$24,000
Engineering, General	37	$68,048	$82,500national $89,359	$25,000
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	36	$38,717	$50,761national $54,562	$21,720
Management Information Systems and Services	35	$50,204	$62,128national $83,290	$20,722
Accounting and Related Services	33	$46,607	$61,346national $76,194	$15,375
History	33	$30,763	$42,698national $50,680	$22,200
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management	31	$35,458	$41,786national $50,468	$20,250
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	31	—	$34,516national $39,775	$25,000
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy	27	$38,903	$49,834national $56,185	$19,763
Political Science and Government	27	$36,388	$52,077national $63,293	$23,000
Sociology	27	$40,218	$46,195national $52,657	$21,655
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	27	$28,394	$52,183national $58,928	$17,750
Computer Science	23	$72,951	$86,853national $107,009	$20,518
Design and Applied Arts	22	$41,982	$58,467national $51,490	$25,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	19	$39,414	$49,898national $55,792	$20,750
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	17	—	$43,954national $50,497	$25,000
Mathematics	17	$60,560	$59,885national $69,562	$21,954
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	16	$35,697	$40,831national $55,012	$19,391
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	16	$74,403	—national $100,647	$19,500
Hospitality Administration/Management	16	$39,130	$49,798national $56,726	$18,653
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	14	$42,921	$40,744national $55,000	$18,838
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	14	—	$53,622national $55,753	—
Special Education and Teaching	13	$47,374	$47,031national $50,499	$24,937
Public Health	11	—	$61,698national $58,808	—
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians	10	$64,202	$79,441national $84,599	$26,000
Security Science and Technology	—	$35,646	$54,246national $57,805	$23,071

Master's degrees (16)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Social Work	65	$52,233	$58,911national $65,123	$35,682
Business Administration, Management and Operations	51	$85,783	$100,807national $103,485	$23,828
Human Resources Management and Services	50	$67,325	$77,673national $83,558	$27,901
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	43	$46,221	$51,558national $60,111	$40,495
Education, General	40	$50,631	$54,249national $65,824	$32,980
Educational Administration and Supervision	35	$66,024	$68,241national $71,685	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	35	$102,535	$122,811national $120,193	$31,584
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	31	$51,288	$77,046national $62,033	$15,246
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	27	$59,376	$56,344national $67,030	$41,000
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	25	$102,324	—national $96,304	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	21	$63,486	$63,641national $89,981	$24,001
Public Administration	18	—	$72,948national $81,408	$35,533
Accounting and Related Services	15	$64,633	$75,418national $95,833	—
Marketing	12	$100,745	$58,995national $79,106	—
English Language and Literature, General	4	—	$46,104national $55,512	—
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	—	—	$71,161national $100,487	—

Doctoral degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	16	$86,083	—national $100,573	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	$71,587	$77,060national $82,893	$49,619
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$209,047	—national $138,131	$73,675

Graduate certificates (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	49	$58,407	—national $94,506	—
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	0	$51,644	—national $60,655	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 39 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: Highway 107, Cullowhee, NC 28723-9646
Phone: (828) 227-7100
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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