Quad
Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee, NC · Public

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (12% of graduates). 16 students for every faculty member, more than at 72% of colleges. 74% of faculty are full-time. Spends $9,410 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

2,391 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 38% of graduates; 63 programs in 23 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.380112% 292
    Graduates in this field earn $79,533 4 years out
  2. Business Administration and Management, General 52.02019.4% 224
    Graduates in this field earn $57,713 4 years out
  3. Psychology, General 42.01016.1% 145
    Graduates in this field earn $48,350 4 years out
  4. Criminal Justice/Safety Studies 43.01045.0% 119
    Graduates in this field earn $55,903 4 years out
  5. Public Administration 44.04014.9% 117
    Graduates in this field earn $70,331 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Business, 16% → 20% of graduates since 2014–15 (490 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Computer Science$86,853 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $28,892

    4 years after completion$86,853
    National median: $107,009Below typical

    Median federal debt: $27,000 · 43 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Construction Engineering Technology/Technician$83,954 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $63,401

    4 years after completion$83,954
    National median: $93,843Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $76,230 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $26,000 · 91 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Engineering, General$82,500 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $62,244

    4 years after completion$82,500
    National median: $89,359Below typical

    Median federal debt: $25,550 · 95 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$79,533 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $68,774

    4 years after completion$79,533
    National median: $88,910Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $65,717 · Non-Pell: $67,773(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $17,500 · 488 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians$79,441 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $67,003

    4 years after completion$79,441
    National median: $84,599Below typical

    Median federal debt: $22,457 · 31 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college16 to 1
16 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 72% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 16 to 1 in its Common Data Set (9,865 students, 628 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

34%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 4% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–917612%
10–1931022%
20–2941729%
30–3928320%
40–4918813%
50–99453%
100+70%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Programs & curriculum

  • Accelerated program
  • Distance learning
  • Double major
  • Dual enrollment
  • English as a Second Language
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Student-designed major
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad
  • Undergraduate research

Requires coursework in arts, English composition, history, physical education, humanities, math, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty74%
National median: 67%Above typical
Average faculty salary

$81,749

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other public colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable. Many public universities' endowments sit mostly in a separate foundation this survey doesn't count, so this likely understates what's actually available.

Instruction spending per student$9,410
$9,410
← Lessmore than 36% of 557More →
Endowment per student$12,994
$12,994
← Lessmore than 52% of 537More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;Western Carolina University Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2024;Western Carolina University Common Data Set 2024–25, 2024–25;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)