Central Washington University Overview
Central Washington University is a public institution situated in Ellensburg, Washington. The location of CWU is a good match for students who are interested in living in a college town while they pursue their degree.
What Is Central Washington University Known For?
- Although it may not be available for every major, the post-master's certificate is the highest award a student can attain at CWU.
- For the 2017-2018 academic year, 63% of the faculty were full-time.
- Students who graduate from CWU with a bachelor's degree make about $46,500 a year. That's 14% more than those who graduate from other schools.
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Central Washington University Rankings
CWU landed the #456 spot in our 2022 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,587 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking.
These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at CWU.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards CWU has earned from around the web.
| Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Best Pre-Nursing Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools | College Factual |
| #82 | Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Schools | College Factual |
| #100 | Best Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Schools | College Factual |
| #102 | Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools | College Factual |
| #145 | Best Teaching Schools | Teaching Degree Search |
| #160 | Best Education Schools | College Factual |
Where Is Central Washington University?
Contact details for CWU are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 400 East University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926-7501 |
| Phone: | 509-963-1111 |
| Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/cwu.wildcats |
| Twitter: | http://twitter.com/CentralWashU |
How Do I Get Into CWU?
You can apply to CWU online at: www.cwu.edu/programs/online-learning
Admission Requirements for CWU
| Submission | Required? |
|---|---|
| High School GPA | required |
| High School Rank | neither required nor recommended |
| High School Transcript | recommended |
| College Prep Program | considered but not required |
| Recommendations | recommended |
| SAT or ACT Scores | required |
| TOEFL | neither required nor recommended |
How Hard Is It To Get Into CWU?
Approximately 40% of accepted students are men and 60% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 85%, and the acceptance rate for women is 87%.
Average Test Scores
About 69% of students accepted to CWU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 470 and 580. Math scores were between 460 and 570.
Can I Afford Central Washington University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At CWU, approximately 58% of students took out student loans averaging $6,315 a year. That adds up to $25,260 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at CWU is 6.9%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you'll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans.
Central Washington University Undergraduate Student Diversity
There are also 656 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 9,235 full-time undergraduates at CWU, 46% are male and 54% are female.
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Central Washington University students is as follows.
| Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
|---|---|
| Asian | 413 |
| Black or African American | 393 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,667 |
| White | 4,816 |
| International Students | 255 |
| Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,691 |
Geographic Diversity
Washington students aren't the only ones who study at Central Washington University. At this time, 20 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 56 countries are represented at CWU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.
Online Learning at Central Washington University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at CWU has changed over the last few years.
This school is the 4th most popular in Washington for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of CWU
The following table shows how CWU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
| Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
|---|---|---|
| General Sales & Marketing | #1 | #3 |
| Human Services | #4 | #60 |
| Business Support & Assistant Services | #7 | #7 |
| General Family & Consumer Sciences | #7 | #22 |
| Transportation & Materials Moving | #10 | #10 |
| Air Transportation | #10 | #10 |
| Writing Studies | #13 | #25 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | #16 | #52 |
| Quality Control Technology | #16 | #25 |
| Computer Information Systems | #19 | #60 |
| Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies | #28 | #28 |
| Information Technology | #28 | #67 |
| English Language & Literature | #34 | #82 |
| General English Literature | #34 | #76 |
| General Social Sciences | #37 | #37 |
| Health & Physical Education | #40 | #106 |
| Allied Health Professions | #46 | #61 |
| Engineering Technologies | #46 | #94 |
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | #46 | #112 |
| Computer & Information Sciences | #52 | #102 |
| General Education | #53 | #137 |
| Public Administration & Social Service | #54 | #115 |
| Public Health | #61 | #140 |
| Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies | #64 | #82 |
| Education | #73 | #156 |
Online Affordability Rankings of CWU Rankings
The following table shows how CWU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are mostly online.
Online Growth Rankings of CWU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Central Washington University was 52.9%. This is the #576 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at CWU regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of CWU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at CWU ranks compared to all other mostly online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at CWU.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Central Washington University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Bobak Ha’Eri under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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