For the academic year 2024-2025, Western Carolina University has a total enrollment of 11,686 students, including 10,112 undergraduate and 1,574 graduate students.
Compared to similar public Doctoral / Research University - which average 13,360 - Western Carolina's body is relatively small.
Explore complete student demographics below, including gender ratio, race and ethnicity, age distribution, and distance learning statistics.
By gender, 4,769 male (40.81%) and 6,917 female (59.19%) students are attending Western Carolina University. The number of male students per 100 females students (male-to-female ratio) is 68.95.
By class level, 10,112 (86.53%) are undergraduate students and 1,574 (13.47%) are graduate students. Among undergraduates, 42.36% are male and 57.64% are female, while among graduate students, 30.88% are male and 69.12% are female.
| Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 11,686 | 10,112 | 1,574 |
| Men | 4,769 | 4,283 | 486 |
| Women | 6,917 | 5,829 | 1,088 |
By race/ethnicity, 8,795 White, 800 Black, and 149 Asian students out of a total of 11,686 are attending at Western Carolina University. Comprehensive enrollment statistic data by race/ethnicity is shown in the chart below (academic year 2024-2025 data).
Western Carolina University is somewhat diverse with a diversity index of 42% measured by Census Bureau Diversity Index. The institution shows moderate representation of multiple racial and ethnic groups.
| Race | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Native American | 100 | 35 | 65 |
| Asian | 149 | 59 | 90 |
| Black | 800 | 367 | 433 |
| Hispanic | 984 | 389 | 595 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| White | 8,795 | 3,562 | 5,233 |
| Two or more races | 512 | 203 | 309 |
| Race Unknown | 98 | 53 | 45 |
| Race | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Native American | 89 | 33 | 56 |
| Asian | 129 | 50 | 79 |
| Black | 672 | 327 | 345 |
| Hispanic | 885 | 354 | 531 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| White | 7,586 | 3,202 | 4,384 |
| Two or more races | 452 | 184 | 268 |
| Race Unknown | 90 | 47 | 43 |
| Race | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Native American | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| Asian | 20 | 9 | 11 |
| Black | 128 | 40 | 88 |
| Hispanic | 99 | 35 | 64 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| White | 1,209 | 360 | 849 |
| Two or more races | 60 | 19 | 41 |
| Race Unknown | 8 | 6 | 2 |
By age, Western Carolina has 97 students under 18 years old and 5 students over 65 years old. There are 8,555 students under 25 years old, and 3,131 students over 25 years old out of 11,686 total students.
In undergraduate programs, 97 students are younger than 18 and 4 students are older than 65. Western Carolina has 8,067 undergraduate students aged under 25 and 2,045 students aged 25 and over.
It has 488 graduate students aged under 25 and 1,086 students aged 25 and over.
| Age | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 97 | 66 | 31 |
| 18-19 | 3,712 | 2,199 | 1,513 |
| 20-21 | 3,054 | 1,737 | 1,317 |
| 22-24 | 1,692 | 907 | 785 |
| 25-29 | 951 | 594 | 357 |
| 30-34 | 684 | 433 | 251 |
| 35-39 | 537 | 335 | 202 |
| 40-49 | 677 | 451 | 226 |
| 50-64 | 277 | 191 | 86 |
| Over 65 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Age | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 97 | 66 | 31 |
| 18-19 | 3,711 | 2,199 | 1,512 |
| 20-21 | 2,997 | 1,691 | 1,306 |
| 22-24 | 1,262 | 604 | 658 |
| 25-29 | 617 | 368 | 249 |
| 30-34 | 457 | 284 | 173 |
| 35-39 | 380 | 230 | 150 |
| 40-49 | 421 | 265 | 156 |
| 50-64 | 166 | 118 | 48 |
| Over 65 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Age | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-19 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20-21 | 57 | 46 | 11 |
| 22-24 | 430 | 303 | 127 |
| 25-29 | 334 | 226 | 108 |
| 30-34 | 227 | 149 | 78 |
| 35-39 | 157 | 105 | 52 |
| 40-49 | 256 | 186 | 70 |
| 50-64 | 111 | 73 | 38 |
| Over 65 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Distance learning, also called online education, is very attractive to students, especially those who want to continue education and work in the field. At Western Carolina University, 2,836 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 3,047 students are enrolled in some online courses.
2,599 students who live in North Carolina or the jurisdiction in which the school is located are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 237 students live in another State or outside of the United States.
| All Students | Enrolled Exclusively Online Courses | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Students | 11,686 | 2,836 | 3,047 |
| Undergraduate | 10,112 | 2,207 | 2,675 |
| Graduate | 1,574 | 629 | 372 |
| North Carolina Residents | Other States in U.S. | Outside of U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Students | 2,599 | 233 | 4 |
| Undergraduate | 2,041 | 162 | 4 |
| Graduate | 558 | 71 | 0 |
Among 10,112 enrolled in undergraduate programs, 1,003 students have transferred-in from other institutions. The percentage of transfer-in students is 9.92%.638 students have transferred in as full-time status and 365 students transferred in as part-time status.
| Number of Students | |
|---|---|
| Regular Full-time | 7,652 |
| Transfer-in Full-time | 638 |
| Regular Part-time | 1,457 |
| Transfer-in Part-time | 365 |
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