A comprehensive university offering programs at the baccalaureate, master's, intermediate, and doctoral (education) levels. Its instructional programs are organized in four undergraduate colleges (applied sciences, arts and sciences, business, and education and psychology ) and a graduate school. Offers resident-credit, undergraduate, and graduate-level courses and programs in Cherokee and Asheville. In Asheville, some of the undergraduate programs are offered in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Western Carolina University is committed to equality of opportunity. To further racial integration, the University actively seeks to recruit and enroll a greater number of black students.

History
Founded in 1889 and chartered in 1891; became Cullowhee State Normal and Industrial School in 1905. Designated Western Carolina Teachers College in 1929. Renamed Western Carolina College in 1953 and designated a regional university in 1967. Merged into the University of North Carolina in 1972.

Location
Cullowhee (population: 6,500), located in a valley near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, 52 miles southwest of Asheville and 6 miles south of Sylva. Its setting at the southern end of Cullowhee Valley along the Tuckasegee River is unusually attractive.