Graduate Programs | Western Carolina University

2024 Graduate Tuition & Fees

The following table and chart describe 2023-2024 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 $7,778 and $18,497 for non-North Carolina residents. The tuition per credit hours for part-time students (or full-time students who taking extra credits) is $441 for North Carolina residents and $1,276 for out-of-state students.

Data source: IPEDS (integrated Postsecondary Education Dta System)

Updated with 2023-2024 tuition (Last update: 03/01/2024)

2024 Graduate School Tuition, Fees, and Living Costs
	In-State	Out-of-State
Tuition	$4,568	$15,287
Fees	$3,210	$3,210
Cost per Credit	$441	$1,276
Books & Supplies	$693
Room & Board	$11,764 (On-Campus) / $12,322 (Off-Campus)
Personal Expenses	$3,330 (On-Campus) / $3,330 (Off-Campus)
On-Campus Total	$23,565	$34,284
Off-Campus Total	$24,123	$34,842

Graduate Program Tuition Changes (2020-2024)
	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024
In-State	$7,414	$7,414	$7,480	$7,566	$7,778
Out-of-State	$17,821	$17,821	$17,887	$17,973	$18,497

Graduate Program Overview

Western Carolina University is a four-years, public school located in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It offers graduate degree programs as well as undergraduate degree programs.

For the academic year 2023-2024, the average graduate school tuition & fees is $7,778 for North Carolina residents and $18,497 for out-of-state students.

It offers forty-four (44) graduate programs and some programs are offered through distance learning.

Graduate Programs Key Facts
School Name	Western Carolina University
Type	Four-years, Public
Address	Highway 107, Cullowhee, NC
Graduate School Students	1,732 students 690 students enrolled online exclusively
Tuition & Fees (2023-2024)	In-State$7,778 Out-of-State$18,497
Student to Faculty	16:1 (6.25%)
Number of Graduate Programs	Total 44 Graduate Programs 30 Master's, 4 Doctorate, 10 Post graduate certificates

Conferred Degrees and Graduate Programs by Major

Western Carolina University offers Masters, Doctorate, Post-Bachelor's Certificate, Post-Master's Certificate graduate degree/certificate programs through 44 major areas - 30 Master's (11 online programs), 4 Doctorate (1 online programs), 7 Post-Bachelor'(3 online programs), 3 Post-Master'(2 online programs). 614 students have been conferred Master's degree and 79 students have received Doctorate degree last year.The following table summarizes the total number of completers by degree and gender.

Total Number of Conferred Graduate Degree
	Master's	Doctorate	Post-Bachelor's	Post-Master's
Total	614	79	56	8
Men	206	28	30	-
Women	408	51	26	8

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.

Natural Resources and Conservation

what is Natural Resources and Conservation program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Land Use Planning and Management/Development	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED

Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies

what is Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
American Indian/Native American Studies	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED

English Language and Literature

what is English Language and Literature program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
English Language and Literature	-	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED

Mathematics and Statistics

what is Mathematics and Statistics program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Mathematics and Statistics	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

what is Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED

Business

what is Business program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Business Administration, Management and Operations (other)	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	56^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED
Marketing (other)	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED

Education

what is Education program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Education	54^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Educational Leadership and Administration	33^ONLINE	-	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE
Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision	33	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services	13	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
College Student Counseling and Personnel Services	23	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Oth (other)	11^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Engineering Technology

what is Engineering Technology program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Industrial Technology/Technician	2	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	20^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

English Language and Literature

what is English Language and Literature program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
English Language and Literature	6	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

what is Biological and Biomedical Sciences program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Biology/Biological Sciences	8	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies

what is Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Science, Technology and Society	-	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies

what is Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management	39^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Outdoor Education	18^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Physical Sciences

what is Physical Sciences program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Chemistry	15	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Psychology

what is Psychology program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Psychology	12	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
School Psychology	-	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-

Human Services

what is Human Services program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Public Administration	8	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Social Work	52	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Visual and Performing Arts

what is Visual and Performing Arts program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Fine/Studio Arts	4	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

what is Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Communication Sciences and Disorders	27	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Health/Health Care Administration/Management	40^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Athletic Training/Trainer	-	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse	39^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE

Business

what is Business program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Business Administration and Management	29	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Business Administration, Management and Operations (other)	39^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED
Accounting	13	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration	42^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Marketing (other)	17^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED

History

what is History program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
History	8	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Education

what is Education program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Educational Leadership and Administration	-^ONLINE	-	NOT OFFERED	1^ONLINE

Psychology

what is Psychology program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
School Psychology	-	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	7

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

what is Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE

Education

what is Education program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Educational Leadership and Administration	-^ONLINE	-	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE

Psychology

what is Psychology program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Clinical Psychology	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

what is Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences program?

Program	Master's	Doctorate	Post-BS	Post-MS
Physical Therapy/Therapist	NOT OFFERED	-	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED
Nursing Practice	NOT OFFERED	-^ONLINE	NOT OFFERED	NOT OFFERED

Graduate Student Population

Total 11,877 students enrolled in Western Carolina University including both undergraduate and graduate programs, with full-time and part-time status.

In graduate school, 1,732 students are enrolled to earn graduate degrees. By gender, it has 556 male and 1,176 female graduate students. By attending status, there are 932 full-time and 800 part-time students in graduate schools.

It offers online degree programs and 690 students enrolled to earn their graduate degree through online exclusively and 409 students are taking some online graduate courses.

Graduate Students Gender Distribution
Total	1,732
Men Students	556
Women Students	1,176

Graduate Students Attending Status Distribution
Total	1,732
Full-time Students	932
Part-time Students	800

By race/ethnicity 1,390 White, 117 Black, and 22 Asian students are attending at Western Carolina University. The detail graduate enrollment distribution by race is shown in the below chart.

Graduate Students Race Distribution
Total	1,732
American Indian / Native American	17
Asian	22
Black	117
Hispanic	110
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	1
White	1,390
Two or more races	46
Un-Known	2

45 students are younger than 22 and 414 students are older than 65. The school has 794 students aged between 22 and 30 and 426 students aged 30 to 40.

Graduate Students Age Distribution
Total	1,732
21 & Under	45
22-24	388
25-29	406
30-34	231
35-39	195
40 & Over	414

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, 690 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 409 students are enrolled in some online courses.

Graduate Distance Learning Enrollment Distribution
Total Enrollment	1,679
Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses	690
Enrolled in Some But Not All Online Courses	409
Not Enrolled In Any Online Courses	580

Graduate Distance Learning Enrollment By Student Location
Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses	690
North Carolina Resident	612
Other State In U.S.	76
Outside of U.S.	2

Graduate School Tuition at Western Carolina University