Everyone who visits the campus of Appalachian State University immediately notices something special about the campus, the st ... udents, the faculty, and staff. We have the facilities, resources, and opportunities often associated with larger schools, while maintaining the sense of community usually expected of smaller schools... the best of both worlds! This is a university where graduate students are valued as teachers, scholars, and students, and where everyone is welcomed to be part of the "Appalachian Family." At Appalachian State University, Masters’ Matter! The Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies offers more than 60 graduate degree and certificate programs to help you achieve whatever goals or dreams you have! More than 500 of Appalachian’s faculty members teach at the graduate level. Known for their quality teaching and personal attention to students, these faculty include award winners Dr. Gary Walker in the Department of Biology, who received the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ 2010 Award for Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Graduate Students. Appalachian’s signature programs at the graduate level include: accounting, Appalachian studies, exercise science, expressive arts therapy, engineering physics, and industrial/organizational psychology. Other notable programs focus in the areas of K-12 education, sustainability and green technologies, business, the helping professions, and the arts and humanities. read more