Appalachian State University
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northwestern North Carolina, Appalachian State University has built a national reputation for outstanding academics. With a student/faculty ratio of 16:1 and an average class size of 25, faculty members are able to take a personal interest in student progress, often becoming mentors, advisers, and friends - even tennis partners. That can only happen in a close-knit community. The university's athletic programs are as nationally significant as its academics and App State's teams inspire spirited passion and attendance from locals and alums alike. App State football games have been popular events for regional college sports fans since the 1930s when "Tweetsie," the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad, ran excursion trains to Boone with fans from far and wide.
Nestled at the base of Howards Knob, the university flanks downtown Boone, NC (year-round pop.19,000), a small town that thrives as one of the Southeast's premier year-round tourism and outdoor recreation destinations. The nearby Blue Ridge Parkway, the nation's most popular unit of the national park system, and Pisgah National Forest, provide a beautiful natural setting with unlimited possibilities for outdoor adventure. Winter skiing at the Deep South's biggest ski areas is always a popular sidelight to an Appalachian State education.
But it's the university's educational environment that shines, with annual accolades from national magazines for the quality and value of an ASU education. That includes highly regarded programs for campus energy efficiency and even international visibility for its solar and sustainable building programs. All of that and more is why ASU is one of the top campuses in the University of North Carolina, the nation's earliest state-sponsored university system.
SOLID ACCOLADES
Appalachian State University's consistent quality is reflected by high rankings in these national publications:
- One of the "Best Colleges" for 2022 according to US News & World Report
- The Princeton Review's 2022 edition of "America's Best 387 Colleges"
- App State Among Forbes magazine's "America's Best Colleges" rankings list
- Ranks #2 for Undergraduate Teaching in 2022 according to US News & World Report
COMPREHENSIVE DEGREE CHOICES
Appalachian offers more than 150+ undergraduate and graduate major programs within the four academic colleges (Arts and Sciences, Fine and Applied Arts, Education and Business) and the School of Music. Additionally, Appalachian offers a doctorate of education.
INTERNATIONALLY CONNECTED
Over 200 exchange programs on almost every continent make Appalachian part of the global academic family.
CONTRIBUTORS TO KNOWLEDGE
Appalachian encourages faculty/student collaboration on research and creative endeavors, so many projects generate special opportunities for undergraduates.
ENGAGED AUDIENCES
The University Forum Lecture Series brings nationally prominent speakers to campus. Their views enliven campus dialogue on a variety of issues. In Spring 2008, the series hosted visits by writer and feminist activist Gloria Steinem and award-winning scholar and historian Nell Painter.
ATHLETIC CHAMPIONS
Appalachian offers intercollegiate varsity sports for men and women. The Mountaineers have earned both the Southern Conference's Commissioner's Cup and German Cup for best all-around men's and women's sports two years in a row. In football, the Mountaineers have won three consecutive NCAA Division I FCS national championship titles.
