Missouri Western State University Overview

Missouri Western State University is a public institution located in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.

What Is Missouri Western State University Known For?

• The highest award offered at Missouri Western is the master's degree.
• In 2017-2018, 61% of the faculty were full-time.

Missouri Western State University Rankings

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Missouri Western.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#9	Best Value Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#16	Best Value Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#17	Best Value Biological & Biomedical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#19	Best Value Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#24	Best Value General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#34	Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#54	Best Value Health & Medical Administrative Services Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#57	Best Value Health & Physical Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#93	Best Value Health Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#142	Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Missouri Western has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#28	Highest Paid Health & Medical Administrative Services Graduates	College Factual
#53	Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	College Factual
#55	Highest Paid General Biology Graduates	College Factual
#59	Highest Paid Biological & Biomedical Sciences Graduates	College Factual

Where Is Missouri Western State University?

Contact details for Missouri Western are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	4525 Downs Dr, Saint Joseph, MO 64507
Phone:	816-271-4200
Website:	https://www.missouriwestern.edu
Facebook:	https://www.facebook.com/MissouriWestern
Twitter:	https://twitter.com/missouriwestern

How Do I Get Into Missouri Western?

You can apply to Missouri Western online at: https://www.missouriwestern.edu/admissions/apply-for-admission/

Since Missouri Western State University has an open admissions policy, you should not have any trouble getting into the school as long as you have a high school diploma or the equivalent.

Can I Afford Missouri Western State University?

The overall average net price of Missouri Western is $19,440. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Missouri Western, approximately 54% of students took out student loans averaging $5,872 a year. That adds up to $23,488 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Missouri Western is 13.3%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans.

Missouri Western State University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 5,367 undergraduate students at Missouri Western, with 3,382 being full-time and 1,985 being part-time.

There are also 241 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 3,382 full-time undergraduates at Missouri Western, 39% are male and 61% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Missouri Western State University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	47
Black or African American	415
Hispanic or Latino	88
White	2,470
International Students	46
Other Races/Ethnicities	316

Geographic Diversity

Missouri students aren't the only ones who study at Missouri Western State University. At this time, 15 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 44 countries are represented at Missouri Western. The most popular countries sending students to the school are India, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal.

Online Learning at Missouri Western State University

There are 4 bachelor’s degree and 1 master’s degree programs available online at Missouri Western. In 2017-2018, 2,025 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Missouri Western has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 35th most popular in Missouri for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.

Online Growth Rankings of Missouri Western

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Missouri Western State University was -9.1%. This is the #2,565 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Missouri Western regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Missouri Western majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major	1-Year Growth Rate
Criminal Justice & Corrections	2%
Education	14%
Educational Assessment	64%
English Language & Literature	30%
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting	2%
Writing Studies	44%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Missouri Western ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Missouri Western.

Major	Growth Rate Rank
Educational Assessment	#20
Teaching English or French	#65
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	#128
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies	#256
Health & Medical Administrative Services	#419

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%.

Missouri Western State University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Basic Certificate	Associate’s	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	TOTAL
Nursing	0	0	98	1	12	111
Business Administration & Management	0	0	42	0	19	61
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	0	56	0	0	56
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	0	0	46	0	10	56
Health & Physical Education	0	0	55	0	0	55
Criminal Justice & Corrections	0	2	45	0	8	55
General Biology	0	0	38	0	0	38
Computer Information Systems	0	0	21	0	8	29
General Psychology	0	0	29	0	0	29
Marketing	0	0	28	0	0	28
Accounting	0	0	27	0	0	27
Finance & Financial Management	0	0	23	0	0	23
Social Work	0	0	21	0	0	21
Construction Engineering Technology	0	0	16	0	0	16
Industrial Production Technology	0	4	10	0	0	14
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	0	14	0	0	0	14
Design & Applied Arts	0	0	13	0	0	13
Drama & Theater Arts	0	0	13	0	0	13
Teacher Education Subject Specific	0	0	12	0	0	12
Recreation Administration	0	0	12	0	0	12
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	0	0	11	0	0	11
Communication & Media Studies	0	0	11	0	0	11
Educational Assessment	0	0	0	0	11	11
General English Literature	0	0	11	0	0	11
History	0	0	11	0	0	11
Wildlife Management	0	0	11	0	0	11
Health & Medical Administrative Services	1	0	9	0	0	10
Chemistry	0	0	6	0	4	10
Economics	0	0	10	0	0	10
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	0	0	0	2	7	9
Writing Studies	0	0	0	2	7	9
Legal Support Services	8	0	0	0	0	8
Mathematics	0	0	8	0	0	8
Political Science & Government	0	0	8	0	0	8
Music	0	0	8	0	0	8
Graphic Communications	0	0	7	0	0	7
Electronics Engineering Technology	0	0	7	0	0	7
Sociology	0	0	7	0	0	7
Fine & Studio Arts	0	0	7	0	0	7
Public Relations & Advertising	0	0	6	0	0	6
Information Technology	0	0	0	0	6	6
Public Health	0	0	5	0	0	5
Philosophy	0	0	5	0	0	5
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	0	0	4	0	0	4
Teaching English or French	0	0	0	3	0	3
Engineering-Related Fields	0	0	0	0	2	2
Biological & Physical Science	0	0	0	0	2	2
Special Education	0	0	0	1	0	1
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	0	0	1	0	0	1
International Studies	0	0	1	0	0	1
Biotechnology	0	0	0	0	0	0
General Business/Commerce	0	0	0	0	0	0
Computer Engineering Technology	0	0	0	0	0	0
Romance Languages	0	0	0	0	0	0
Human Computer Interaction	0	0	0	0	0	0
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	9	20	759	9	96	893

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 Americasroof under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.