Education at Western Michigan University

If you plan to study education, take a look at what Western Michigan University has to offer and decide if the program is a good match for you. Get started with the following essential facts.

WMU is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and has a total student population of 19,887. In the 2020-2021 academic year, 163 students received a bachelor's degree in education from WMU.

Want to know more about the career opportunities in this field? Check out the Careers in Education section at the bottom of this page.

WMU Education Degrees Available

• Bachelor’s Degree in Education
• Master’s Degree in Education
• Doctorate Degree in Education

Online Classes Are Available at WMU

If you are a working student or have a busy schedule, you may want to consider taking online classes. While these classes used to be mostly populated by returning adults, more and more traditional students are turning to this option.

For those who are interested in distance learning, WMU does offer online courses in education for the following degree levels:

• Master’s Degree

WMU Education Rankings

The following rankings from College Factual show how the education progam at WMU compares to programs at other colleges and universities.

Note: Rankings don't always give a complete picture of a school's strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to extend your research and also look at other factors when trying to decide if the school is right for you.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The education major at WMU is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for Education. This could be for a number of reasons, such as not having enough data on the major or school to make an accurate assessment of its quality.

Ranking Type	Rank
Best Education Doctor’s Degree Schools	232
Best Value Education Doctor’s Degree Schools	316
Most Popular Online Education Schools	413

In 2021, 257 students received their master’s degree in education from WMU. This makes it the #141 most popular school for education master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 28 students who received their doctoral degrees in education, making the school the #145 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

Education Student Demographics at WMU

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the education majors at Western Michigan University.

WMU Education Bachelor’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 163 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from WMU. About 22% were men and 78% were women. The typical education bachelor's degree program is made up of only 19% men. So male students are more repesented at WMU since its program graduates 3% more men than average.

About 80% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in education at WMU are white. This is above average for this degree on the nationwide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor's in education.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	5
Black or African American	9
Hispanic or Latino	10
White	130
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	7

WMU Education Master’s Program

The education program at WMU awarded 257 master's degrees in 2020-2021. About 24% of these degrees went to men with the other 76% going to women. Nationwide, master's degree programs only see 19% men graduate in education each year. WMU does a better job at serving the male population as it supports 5% more men than average.

Of the students who received a education master's degree from WMU, 78% were white. This is above average for this degree on the natiowide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a master's in education.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	3
Black or African American	26
Hispanic or Latino	9
White	200
International Students	10
Other Races/Ethnicities	9

WMU also has a doctoral program available in education. In 2021, 28 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within Education

If you plan to be a education major, you may want to focus your studies on one of the following concentrations. The table shows all degrees awarded in this field awarded for all degree levels at Western Michigan University. A concentration may not be available for your level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
Teacher Education Subject Specific	161
Teacher Education Grade Specific	87
Educational Administration	66
Student Counseling	43
Special Education	36
Teaching English or French	28
Other Education	14
Instructional Media Design	9
Educational Assessment	8
Education Philosophy	4

Related Majors

• Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies
• History
• Family, Consumer & Human Sciences
• Communication & Journalism
• Social Sciences

Careers That Education Grads May Go Into

A degree in education can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for MI, the home state for Western Michigan University.

Occupation	Jobs in MI	Average Salary in MI
Elementary School Teachers	38,330	$66,180
Teacher Assistants	35,700	$27,570
High School Teachers	24,130	$62,950
Middle School Teachers	12,750	$64,540
Preschool Teachers	9,270	$35,010

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
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By TheKuLeR under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.