Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University is a large private university in North Carolina. This school is a comprehensive university because it offers undergrad degrees as well as graduate programs. Founded in 1899 as a small learning academy called Watauga Academy for the town surrounding the campus. Locals donated money, land and time to build a small wood structure that served as its primary building. When the academy opened, it offered classes for just three grades and had fewer than 60 students. An act of state legislature led to the academy becoming the the Appalachian Training School for Teachers in 1903. This new school offered certificate programs and prepared teachers for working in the rural schools across the state that desperately needed help. The school also served as a normal school and a state teachers college before becoming Appalachian State University.

Also called ASU, App State and just Appalachian, the university is now home to nine colleges that offer more than 170 undergrad degree programs and more than 30 majors for graduate students. Those colleges include the College of Arts and Sciences, Reich College of Education, Walker College of Business and Cratis D. William Graduate School. To meet the needs of older and working students, the university established several extension centers in three North Carolina cities. These centers allow students to work on their degree requirements while working full-time. TIME Magazine picked App State as the College of the Year for 2001, and Consumer Digest ranked it among the most affordable colleges. Princeton Review also named the university as a Best Value College.

Appalachian State University Accreditation Details

App State has regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). While this may not seem important to you, SACS accreditation comes in handy when you want to take classes at another college over the summer or spend a semester abroad and transfer credits back to your program. This type of accreditation lets you know that the college passes an extensive review and evaluation in the recent past because colleges must renew their accreditation every decade. The university also has program accreditation from 17 different organizations too that include:

• Office of Social Work Accreditation
• National Recreation and Park Association
• American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
• Council for Interior Design Accreditation

Appalachian State University Application Requirements

It's helpful to take a look at the App State application before you apply to get an idea of the information that you need. You will need to have your current address, social security number and date of birth handy. When you start the application, it asks you to create a user name and pick a password. When you start the application, it will save all the information you enter on the current screen. If you lose your Internet signal or need to stop for any reason, you can log back in later and go back to work. You'll also need to provide an email address, the names of any references you list and the name(s) of any college(s) you attended.

Though Appalachian State accepts both personal and professional references, you will need to list a name, phone number, physical address and email address for each of those references. The university will then contact those individuals and ask them for a reference or recommendation letter. App State also asks for a college transcript, resume and official test score. You may need to supply a letter of intent that lists the program you want to study as well as your reasons for choosing that program.

Tuition and Financial Aid

As a Best Value College, Appalachian State University works hard to keep its tuition rates as low as possible. Tuition for North Carolina residents starts at $605 per credit hour, but when you factor in the cost of all university fees, this amount rises to $1,006 per credit hour. As a full-time graduate student, you will pay just under $4,000 per semester. Part-time nonresidents pay around $2,740 per credit hour. If you do not live in North Carolina and enroll as a full-time graduate student, you'll pay close to $10,700 a semester. Distance education programs, which include online programs and those available through the university's extension centers, charge $266.51 per credit hour for residents and $925.01 for nonresidents.

No matter where you live or how you take classes, you should find out if you qualify for any financial aid before signing up for classes. App State recommends filing the FAFSA at least one semester before you want to start classes. The type of aid you get will vary based on whether you are a dependent or an independent student and whether you take a full course load or not. You may qualify for some combination of grants and loans that are available from the federal government as well as the North Carolina state government. Appalachian also has some on-campus jobs open to graduate students.

Master of Library Science

Unlike other schools that require you major in a specific field to enroll in a library science program, the library science program that Appalachian State University offers is open to all undergrads with a college degree. Students take 12 courses that are each worth three credits for a total of 36 credits. Three of those credits will come from an internship that lets you work in a library. You'll work under the supervision of a school librarian or a media coordinator. Students have the option of doing a practicum in lieu of an internship. Many of the courses in this program are only available during certain semesters, but you'll take classes like collection development and management, strategic administration of library resources and services, critical issues in literature and media and building connections through community and culture.

Related Resource: Top 30 Affordable Online Master's in Library Science Degree Programs

App State also has two programs that let you get your ITC or M Level license while working on your degree. Its ITC license program requires that you take 18 courses in instructional technologies, but you can take some or all of those courses online. To earn your M Level license, you'll do an internship and take three additional classes. Appalachian State University offers this license program for those who want to work as librarians and as teachers.