Welcome to Western Carolina University

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H.F Robinson Admin Building

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Hello and welcome to our virtual tour of Western Carolina University, home of the Catamounts! Here you will discover some of the many reasons why we love to call WCU home in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. As we begin our tour today from the main entrance of campus, we are excited to show you our ever growing campus as well as some of the surrounding areas that you will be able to explore once you become a Catamount! We're excited that you have decided to join us for this awesome virtual tour experience.

Rock Halls - New First-Year Residence Halls

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If you are going to be a first-year student when you enroll at WCU… Welcome home! Most of our first-year students will have the opportunity to live in one of our three newest residence halls. Whether you are living in Black Rock, Shining Rock, or Water Rock Hall, you are in for an exciting adventure. These residence halls, located on our lower campus, are just a short walk away from the Campus Recreation Center, Courtyard Dining Hall, and most academic buildings. All great adventures need a strong foundation, and we're excited for the Rock Halls to be this foundation for you!

Bell Tower (from UC Side)

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The Alumni Tower, standing proudly in the center of campus, was built in 1989 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WCU. The area around the Alumni Tower is home to countless events throughout the year including our Valley Ballyhoo Festival at the start of the school year and our Fall Carnival. Moving to the right of the Alumni Tower you will see our Campus Recreation Center that houses one of the tallest climbing walls in Western North Carolina! Next to the CRC, and directly in front of the Alumni Tour, is the University Center. The UC is home to the Office of Campus Activities, Intercultural Affairs, and much more!

Academic Quad

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Here in the Academic Quad, the sound of music can be heard coming from the Coulter building throughout the day as music students, and members of our award-winning Pride of the Mountains Marching Band practice and perform! In our Killian building, students are continuing the founding purpose of WCU as we strive to educate the next generation of teachers. You'll also find services such as Academic Advising, Accessibility Resources, and Tutoring in Killian Annex. Completing the Academic Quad is Forsyth building, which is the home of the College of Business, which offers programs in 17 different disciplines such as Entrepreneurship, Hospitality and Tourism, and Sport Management.

Apodaca Science

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The Apodaca Science building is the newest academic building on campus. In the Apodaca building, students will continue to be prepared to meet the ever-growing regional workforce demands. Fields such as health care, high-tech manufacturing, and product development offer economic development for the region. The Apodaca Science Building at Western Carolina University increases capacity to serve foundational STEM courses, the required gateway coursework for degree programs in health sciences, engineering, and more. One of the many amazing features of the building is this rooftop plaza that is used for astronomy observations throughout the year.

Noble Hall (Main Street Cullowhee)

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Located on one of the most active corners of campus, Noble Hall is centrally located. The air-conditioned, co-ed residence hall has five floors of both single rooms with their own bath and double rooms with a shared bath between two rooms. Community kitchens and lounges are scattered throughout the building. There are also light-filled study lounges on each floor along with a large multipurpose room on the first floor. The first floor of Noble Hall is mixed use, with private businesses including a convenience store, coffee shop/bookstore, and restaurants.

Brown Hall

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The hillside plaza that we're in right now is conveniently located between Brown Hall and several different residence halls on our upper campus. Brown Hall is one of two dining locations on campus for students and it features a dining hall area, a rooftop terrace, the Cats Den seating area indoors, and a full service Starbucks. In the distance, you can see some of the six different residence halls located on this part of campus. Allen Hall, Albright and Benton Halls, Buchanan Hall, Harrill Hall, and Judaculla Hall each offers a different residential options for our upperclassmen students.

Allen Residence Hall

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As a part of our historic Upper Campus, the Levern Hamlin Allen Residence Hall is located between Judaculla Residence Hall and Brown Hall. Designed with the need for study and community space in mind, the building has both types of space to offer. Housing over 600 students in a combination of double occupancy and single occupancy suite-style rooms. There are sixteen small study spaces located throughout the building that offer excellent private or small group gathering spaces. There are eight larger lobby spaces throughout the building that provide gathering space for larger groups. The building also has five kitchens and kitchen/living room spaces, as well as, four laundry rooms.

The Courtyard

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Welcome to the Catafount area of campus! This active area is the home of countless student activities throughout the year. In our Courtyard Dining Hall, local farms stock the all-you-can-eat options, you'll also find familiar favorites like Chick-fil-A, Freshens, Moe's Southwest Grill, Panda Express, Starbucks, and Which Wich. Next to Courtyard Dining Hall is Balsam and Blue Ridge Residence Halls. Balsam Residence Hall is home to the Brinson Honors College, which provides an academic community in which high-achieving students challenge themselves to meet and exceed their own academic goals and to carry that success beyond graduation.

CAT Building

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The Center for Applied Technology is home to a state-of-the-art digital TV and recording studio that serves the audio and music recording needs of the university and the community at large. Also located in the CAT building is the Rapid Center, a research and development center whose primary mission is to partner with businesses, industry and entrepreneurs to develop new products and processes. At the same time, our engineering, technology, and construction students, working with faculty mentors, work with The Rapid Center to address real-world problems for project sponsors while gaining applied experiences during their senior capstone project.

Bardo Arts Center

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Lights, camera, action! From live performances to cinema experiences, the Bardo Arts Center Performance Hall provides the campus and community with access to internationally acclaimed artists and regional favorites. In addition, the space serves as a dynamic venue for educational symposiums, campus events, and student performances from the David Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts. Additionally, promoting and facilitating meaningful engagement with contemporary works of art and artists, the WCU Fine Art Museum features four galleries, a growing permanent collection, and rotating exhibitions highlighting regional, national, and international artists.

HHS (Health and Human Services) Building

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Nestled into the mountainside, the four-story, 160,000 sq foot Health and Human Sciences building is home to more than 1,200 undergraduate students and some 300 graduate students. State of the art technology and expanded labs and classrooms are designed specifically for health-related teaching and learning. Eleven instructional classrooms and seminar rooms spread throughout the building are devoted to the creation of modern student instructional environments. Multiple simulation labs are designed to provide opportunities for students to practice their clinical skills using patient simulators. The College of Health and Human Sciences provides award-winning professional programs in a wide variety of health care fields.

Campus Opportunities

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At WCU, we strive to ensure that you have boundless opportunities to grow inside and outside of the classroom! Whether you and your friends are participating in one of the many intramural sports that are offered throughout the year or expanding your educational career beyond our campus with our study abroad programs, we strive to ensure your college career is as memorable as possible. However, the fun doesn't have to end once you graduate! We offer a wide array of graduate and doctoral programs for students both in an on-campus setting, and a virtual setting. Let us help you to continue your educational pursuits.

Cherokee Center

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The WCU Cherokee Center, founded in 1975, has become the headquarters for all outreach and involvement in the Cherokee community. We provide many services to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians students and the surrounding region. These services include the application process, transcript request, scholarships, internships placement, high school recruitment, and much more. The Cherokee Center runs many activities and services for the local community including application workshops, educational campus performances and demonstrations, tours of local and historical sites, alumni engagement, and much more.

Mt. Top (Wayah Bald)

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Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains, the outdoor opportunities for students are boundless. Whether you want to go rafting down the Nantahala River or skiing at the Cataloochee Ski Resort, all that you need to do is stop by our Base Camp Cullowhee. WCU has been named the Top Adventure College by the Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine numerous times, and we're excited to share this beautiful setting that we call home with you as you continue your own adventure with us.

Sylva

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Founded in 1889, the same year that WCU was founded, the Town of Sylva has been connected to WCU from the very start. Located right down the road from Cullowhee, Sylva is home to many local restaurants, stores, galleries, bookshops, and breweries. The historic Jackson County Courthouse on Main Street is considered to be the "most photographed courthouse" in North Carolina. Each year students and alumni fill main street for the annual Homecoming Parade. Just a few miles west of Sylva, is Dillsboro, which is filled with studios, shops, and galleries. You are going to love exploring all that these two towns have to offer.

Catamount Athletics

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On Saturday's we wear purple! As a first-year student, you will have the opportunity to lead the Catamount football team onto the field at the start of the season during our Freshman Run! When there is a break in the action, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy our award-winning Pride of the Mountains Marching Band! As one of only two universities in the nation with Catamounts as our mascot, our players exhibit the fierce spirit of a catamount each time they are on the court or field of play. We can't wait for you to join us in the stands cheering on our teams throughout the year.

The Village

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The Village is comprised of six buildings, arranged into several single-gender "houses", as well as a few co-ed "houses." Rooms are double occupancy and each has a private bath and is air conditioned. Each house has a large common living space with full kitchen and appliances. The Commons Building has meeting rooms as well as vending and laundry facilities for use by Village residents. Volleyball and basketball courts are available for recreational activities. The Village is also home to WCU's residential Greek organizations and themed communities.

Catamount Athletic Complex

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The Catamount Athletic Complex is home to our women's soccer team, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field teams, and women's tennis team. With a beautiful mountain view behind the action, fans will not want to miss a chance to cheer on our Catamount teams! While cheering on the teams, don't forget to take a selfie with our lovable mascot Paws! He can always be seen around the action and around campus spreading catamount spirit whenever possible!

Catamount Gap

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As we conclude our virtual tour of Western Carolina University, we hope that you have been able to learn a little bit about what WCU has to offer. We look forward to seeing you on campus for an actual, weekday campus tours soon or at one of our four Open House events! We are excited to welcome you to Catamount Country!

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