| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Native American Studies | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
It offers 45 graduate programs - 30 Master's, 5 Doctorate, 8 Post-bachelor's, and 2 Post-master's. The 2025 average graduate tuition & fees is $7,876 for in-state and $18,595 for out-of-state students.
A total of 1,574 students is enrolled in graduate schools out of total 11,686 students at Western Carolina. Western Carolina offers online graduate programs and 629 out of 1,574 graduate students have enrolled online exclusively.
For the academic year 2024-2025, the average graduate school tuition & fees is $7,876 for North Carolina residents and $18,595 for out-of-state students. It offers forty-five (45) graduate programs and some programs are offered through distance learning.
| School Name | Western Carolina University |
|---|---|
| Type | Four-year, Public |
| Address | Highway 107, Cullowhee, NC |
| Graduate School Students | 1,619 students 629 students enrolled online exclusively |
| Tuition & Fees (2024-2025) | In-State$7,876 Out-of-State$18,595 |
| Student to Faculty | 16:1 (6.25%) |
| Number of Graduate Programs | Total 45 Graduate Programs 30 Master's, 5 Doctorate, 10 Post graduate certificates |
The following tables describe 2024-2025 graduate tuition & fees at Western Carolina University with tuition changes over the last 5 years. Each cost is an average amount over the offered programs. For North Carolina residents, the tuition & fees are $7,876 and $18,595 for non-North Carolina residents.
The tuition per credit hours for part-time students (or full-time students who taking extra credits) is $443 for North Carolina residents and $1,214 for out-of-state students.
| In-State | Out-of-State | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $4,568 | $15,287 |
| Fees | $3,308 | $3,308 |
| Cost per Credit | $443 | $1,214 |
| Books & Supplies | $800 | |
| Room & Board | $12,354 (On-Campus) / $12,854 (Off-Campus) | |
| Personal Expenses | $3,381 (On-Campus) / $3,381 (Off-Campus) | |
| On-Campus Total | $24,411 | $35,130 |
| Off-Campus Total | $24,911 | $35,630 |
| 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-State | $7,414 | $7,480 | $7,566 | $7,778 | $7,876 |
| Out-of-State | $17,821 | $17,887 | $17,973 | $18,497 | $18,595 |
Western Carolina University offers Masters, Doctorate, Post-Bachelor's Certificate, Post-Master's Certificate graduate degree/certificate programs through 45 major areas - 30 Master's (13 online programs), 5 Doctorate (1 online programs), 8 Post-Bachelor's (6 online programs), 2 Post-Master's (2 online programs). 502 students have been conferred Master's degree and 115 students have received Doctorate degree last year.
The following table summarizes the total number of completers by degree and gender.| Master's | Doctorate | Post-Bachelor's | Post-Master's | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 502 | 115 | 81 | 4 |
| Men | 153 | 31 | 43 | 1 |
| Women | 349 | 84 | 38 | 3 |
Below, you can check major programs and concentration for each area of study with offered degrees and completers. ONLINE denotes the program offered by distance learning (online degree). You may want to see all graduate schools offering a major program by following the link on the title of the program.
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Native American Studies | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Education and Teaching | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | 4ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Education/Teaching of the Gifted and Talented | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language and Literature | NOT OFFER | 2 | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics and Statistics | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | |
| Adult Health Nurse/Nursing | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (other) | ONLINE | NOT OFFER | 75ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 23ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Educational Leadership and Administration | 21ONLINE | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | |
| Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision | 24 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | 9 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services | 6 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| College Student Counseling and Personnel Services | 20 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Oth (other) | 25ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Technology/Technician | 1 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician | 14ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language and Literature | 11 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology/Biological Sciences | 9 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | 32ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Outdoor Education | 12ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | 6 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 4 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| School Psychology | 4 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Administration | 17 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Social Work | 71 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine/Studio Arts | 3 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Sciences and Disorders | 33 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Health/Health Care Administration/Management | 26ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Athletic Training/Trainer | 8 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | 11ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration and Management | 25ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (other) | 17ONLINE | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER |
| Accounting | 13ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration | 40ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Marketing (other) | 6ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | 5 | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Leadership and Administration | ONLINE | NOT OFFER | 4ONLINE |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | ONLINE |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Leadership and Administration | ONLINE | NOT OFFER | ONLINE |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Psychology | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
| Program | Master's | Doctorate | Post-BS | Post-MS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Therapy/Therapist | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER | |
| Nursing Practice | NOT OFFER | ONLINE | NOT OFFER | NOT OFFER |
By attending status, there are 827 full-time and 792 part-time students in graduate schools. It offers distance learning for graduate programs, and 629 students enrolled through online exclusively and 372 students are taking some online graduate courses.
By race/ethnicity 1,223 White, 124 Black, and 23 Asian students are attending at Western Carolina University. The detail graduate enrollment distribution by race is shown in the below chart.
58 grad students are younger than 22 and 368 students are older than 65. It has 764 students aged between 22 and 30 and 384 students aged 30 to 40.
| Total | 1,619 |
|---|---|
| Men | 493 |
| Women | 1,126 |
| Total | 1,619 |
|---|---|
| Full-time Students | 827 |
| Part-time Students | 792 |
| Total | 1,619 |
|---|---|
| American Indian / Native American | 7 |
| Asian | 23 |
| Black | 124 |
| Hispanic | 106 |
| White | 1,223 |
| Two or more races | 46 |
| Un-Known | 3 |
| Total | 1,619 |
|---|---|
| 21 & Under | 58 |
| 22-24 | 430 |
| 25-29 | 334 |
| 30-34 | 227 |
| 35-39 | 157 |
| 40 & Over | 368 |
At Western Carolina University graduate schools, 629 students enrolled online exclusively and 372 students enrolled in some online courses.
| Total Enrollment | 1,574 |
|---|---|
| Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses | 629 |
| Enrolled in Some But Not All Online Courses | 372 |
| Not Enrolled In Any Online Courses | 573 |
| Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses | 629 |
|---|---|
| North Carolina Resident | 558 |
| Other State In U.S. | 71 |
| Outside of U.S. | 0 |