About Lees-McRae College

Founded in 1900, Lees-McRae College is a small, private, liberal arts college located in the mountains of western North Carolina. Lees-McRae offers a stimulating and caring academic environment with small class sizes and dedicated faculty. Primarily a residential campus, Lees-McRae enrolls nearly 900 students from more than thirty states and twenty-five other countries.

Lees-McRae College offers 23 major programs of study and 14 minors from which to choose. The College is dedicated to service learning and service to the community. Students, faculty, and staff are often in service to others and become engaged in meaningful outreach projects in the immediate communities, as well as farther-reaching destinations, through international mission trips and alternative semester breaks. Recent trips include India, Mexico and Guatemala.

Located in the town of Banner Elk, North Carolina, Lees-McRae has the highest elevation of any college campus east of the Rocky Mountains. Situated 4,000 feet above sea level in the Blue Ridge Mountains, our 400 acre campus is surrounded by Grandfather Mountain and the Pisgah National Forest and is nine miles from the Appalachian Trail. The average summer temperature of 65˚F makes Banner Elk an excellent summer resort. The winter is bracing, and winter sport opportunities abound, with Ski Beech and Sugar Mountain ski resorts just minutes from the campus. Ample opportunities exist in the areas for natural recreational activities such as hiking, whitewater rafting, canoeing, fishing, mountain biking, and camping.