Western Carolina University

Helpful Links:

International Students: http://www.wcu.edu/learn/office-of-international-programs-and-services/

Exchange Students: https://www.wcu.edu/learn/office-of-international-programs-and-services/international-students/index.aspx

College Portrait: https://www.wcu.edu/discover/index.aspx

Western Carolina University was founded in 1889 to bring higher education and career opportunities to the western region of North Carolina. A member of the University of North Carolina System, WCU now educates more than 11,000 students from 48 states and 35 countries. WCU’s main campus sits in Cullowhee, North Carolina, near the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains, fifty-two miles west of Asheville. The location in the rural mountains amidst incredible biodiversity and unique communities creates an opportunity for academic discovery service. The campus covers approximately 600 acres.

Our academic programs span more than 120 specialties—including the nation’s highest-ranked entrepreneurship and project management programs, a national award-winning teacher education program, a criminal justice program used as a model for North Carolina’s criminal justice education accreditation program, and the nation’s first accredited four-year emergency medical care program.

Our distinguished faculty includes national award-winning authors, nationally and internationally recognized experts, and winners of Emmy, O. Henry, and National Endowment for the Arts awards—to name a few.

Western Carolina University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (http://www.sacscoc.org/) to award bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist, and doctor’s degrees. Also, the university holds 21 special program accreditations and is a member of more than 30 state and national associations and organizations to which its professional programs are related.