Appalachian State University is located in Boone. It was founded in 1899 as Watauga Academy by the Dougherty brothers with its primary purpose of educating teachers. It became the Appalachian State Teachers College in 1929 and transformed into a university in 1967. Over the years, other areas of studies were added, and today it offers a school of music and colleges in the fields of arts and sciences, business, education, fine and applied arts, and health sciences.
In 2010, Appalachian received a total enrollment of 17,222 students, 15,137 for undergraduate studies and 2,085 for graduate degrees. The university campus spans 1,300 acres accommodating 19 academic buildings, 20 residence halls and various student facilities. The 2010 to 2011 annual tuition and fees for undergraduates cost about $5,460 for in-state students and $16,772 for out-of-state students.
In 1889, Western Carolina University was founded in Cullowhee, near the mountain ranges of Great Smoky and Blue Ridge. Western Carolina University today has a graduate school, an honor school, a school for construction management and technology, and five colleges in the areas of health and human sciences, fine and performing arts, education and allied professions, business, and arts and sciences.
Western Carolina University houses the largest library in North Carolina, the Hunter Library. Its enrollment for 2010 reached a total of 9,429 students including international students from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. In-state annual tuition and fees for full-time undergraduates cost about $6,000 for the year 2010 to 2011, while out-of-state annual tuition and fees cost about $15,600.
The University of North Carolina has two campus sites -- one in Pembroke and the other in Asheville. The University of North Carolina Asheville started in 1927 with the name Buncombe County Junior College. It was changed to University of North Carolina Asheville in 1969 when it became a member of the University of North Carolina system. University of North Carolina Asheville's primary focus is the establishment of an undergraduate liberal arts education. It offers more than 30 specializations in the areas of arts and sciences, including literature, psychology, environmental studies, and art and history.
The University of North Carolina Asheville has an average population of 3,700 students. For academic year 2010 to 2011, tuition and fees cost about $4,772 for in-state undergraduates and $17,544 for out-of-state undergraduates.
Students also can choose from several private colleges and universities in the western North Carolina area, the oldest of which is Mars Hill College. Mars Hill College started as the French Broad Baptist Institute in Madison County in 1856, but was soon changed to its current name based on a Bible verse.
Mars Hill College offers several courses classified into five divisions --- Division of Business, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Division of Education; Division of Fine Arts; Division of Humanities; and Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.