WCU earned 17 ranking badges in the 2027 College Factual rankings: 0 in the top 1%, 3 in the top 5%, 10 in the top 10% and 4 in the top 15% of the schools in each ranking. Its highest placement is #43 of 1,187 in Most Popular for Chemistry, a top 5% award.
Key facts
Badges earned: 17 (2027 edition)
In the top 1% / top 5%: 0 / 3
Highest placement: #43 of 1,187, a top 5% award
Fields of study with a badge: 7
Placements this edition: 296
Badge cutoff: a top 15% placement in a ranking
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
How Many Ranking Badges Has Western Carolina University Earned?
Western Carolina University holds 17 ranking badges across 7 fields of study, 3 of them in the top 5% or better; each badge is an award for placing in the top 15% of a ranking. It has no placements this edition in College Factual’s online-program rankings. College Factual re-runs each ranking as fresh data is published. These badges come from the 2027 edition. Each row marks the highest award tier reached in that ranking. Learn more about our data sources and methodologies. To use these badges in your college’s communications, administrators can contact us.
Count by Award Level
Award Level
Badges
Top 1%
0
Top 5%
3
Top 10%
10
Top 15%
4
Total
17
What Is Western Carolina University Known For?
Western Carolina University is best known for Public & Social Service: 3 of its 16 traditional-student awards are in that field. Its top-ranked majors include Chemistry, Public Administration and General Engineering Technology.
How Does Western Carolina University Rank in Athletics?
Western Carolina University earned no athletics badge in the 2027 edition; its highest placement in College Factual’s sports rankings is #238 of 846 in Softball (top 29%).
How Does Western Carolina University Rank for Veterans?
In College Factual’s 2027 veterans rankings, Western Carolina University earned 1 badge; its highest placement is #717 of 4,939 in Best for Veterans.
Each ranking here is drawn from U.S. Department of Education data, 2027 edition. Western Carolina University appears in 296 of the College Factual rankings covered on this page.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
by our College Data Analytics Team