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Western Washington University

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Western Washington University Overview

Western Washington University is a public institution situated in Bellingham, Washington. The location of WWU is great for students who prefer living in an urban area.

What Is Western Washington University Known For?

3,678 Undergraduate Awards
$33,631 Avg Cost After Aid
94% Acceptance Rate
  • Students at WWU have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 2%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
  • Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at WWU.
  • For the 2019-2020 academic year, 69% of the faculty were full-time.
  • After graduation, WWU bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $54,976 a year. That's about 35% more than their peers at other schools.

Best Schools

Western Washington University Rankings

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 WWU.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#3 Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#3 Best Human Services Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#8 Best Instructional Media Design Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#11 Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#13 Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#25 Best Teacher Education Subject Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#39 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#50 Best Drama & Theater Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#64 Best Educational Administration Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#103 Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

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

Rank Ranking Name Source
#1 Best Data Science, Other Graduate Degree Schools College Factual
#1 Best Canadian Studies Schools College Factual
#1 Best Energy and Environmental Policy Schools College Factual
#14 Best Teaching Schools Teaching Degree Search
#15 Best Special Education Schools College Factual
#63 Best Education Schools College Factual

Where Is Western Washington University?

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Contact details for WWU are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9008
Phone: 360-650-3000
Website: www.wwu.edu
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/westernwashingtonuniversity
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WWU

How Do I Get Into WWU?

You can apply to WWU online at: admissions.wwu.edu/apply

Admission Requirements for WWU

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program recommended
Recommendations neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores considered but not required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into WWU?

94% Acceptance Rate
62% Of Accepted Are Women
83% Submit SAT Scores
WWU has the high acceptance rate of 94%, which means it is fairly easy to gain admittance as long as you submit a complete application with requested materials.

Approximately 38% of accepted students are men and 62% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 93%, and the acceptance rate for women is 94%.

Average Test Scores

About 83% of students accepted to WWU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 650. Math scores were between 530 and 620.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Western Washington University  ( 550 to 650 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Western Washington University  ( 530 to 620 )
200
800
WWU received ACT scores from 22% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 21 and 29. Math scores were between 20 and 27. Composite scores were between 22 and 28.

ACT English Scores for Western Washington University  ( 21 to 29 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for Western Washington University  ( 20 to 27 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for Western Washington University  ( 22 to 28 )
1
36

Can I Afford Western Washington University?

$33,631 Net Price
40% Take Out Loans
1.7% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of WWU is $33,631. 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

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At WWU, approximately 40% of students took out student loans averaging $6,514 a year. That adds up to $26,056 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at WWU is 1.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

Western Washington University Undergraduate Student Diversity

12,622 Full-Time Undergraduates
59% Women
29% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 14,194 undergraduate students at WWU, with 12,622 being full-time and 1,572 being part-time.

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There are also 1,003 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 12,622 full-time undergraduates at WWU, 41% are male and 59% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 828
Black or African American 230
Hispanic or Latino 1,363
White 8,629
International Students 102
Other Races/Ethnicities 1,470

Geographic Diversity

Washington students aren't the only ones who study at Western Washington University. At this time, 40 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 40 countries are represented at WWU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Japan, China, and South Korea.

Online Learning at Western Washington University

142 Took All Classes Online
903 Took At Least One Class Online
-3.0% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 903 students took at least one online class at the school.

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

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This school is the 7th 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 WWU

During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at Western Washington University was $8,508 for in-state students. Out-of-state students paid $25,266. The following table shows how WWU 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
Human Services #7 #57

Online Growth Rankings of WWU

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Western Washington University was -3.0%. This is the #1,892 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at WWU regardless of major.

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

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Educational Administration 32%
Human Services 15%
Public Administration & Social Service 15%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at WWU 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 WWU.

Major Growth Rate Rank
Human Services #139

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%.

Western Washington University Undergraduate Concentrations

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

Major Basic Certificate Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Natural Resources Conservation 0 234 0 20 0 254
General Psychology 0 224 0 0 0 224
Business Administration & Management 0 158 0 26 0 184
Computer Information Systems 0 123 0 16 0 139
Sociology 0 138 0 0 0 138
Writing Studies 0 114 0 6 0 120
Marketing 0 108 0 0 0 108
Human Services 0 106 0 0 0 106
Communication & Media Studies 0 105 0 0 0 105
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 0 103 0 0 0 103
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 37 0 65 0 102
Political Science & Government 0 102 0 0 0 102
Special Education 0 93 0 0 0 93
Fine & Studio Arts 0 92 0 0 0 92
Interdisciplinary Studies 0 83 0 0 0 83
General English Literature 0 74 0 7 0 81
Accounting 0 78 0 2 0 80
Communication Sciences 0 53 0 22 5 80
History 0 77 0 3 0 80
Economics 0 74 0 0 0 74
General Biology 0 59 0 11 0 70
Health & Physical Education 0 64 0 4 0 68
Design & Applied Arts 7 61 0 0 0 68
Anthropology 0 65 0 1 0 66
Health/Medical Prep Programs 0 62 0 0 0 62
Journalism 0 59 0 0 0 59
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 0 57 0 0 0 57
Management Information Systems 0 55 0 0 0 55
Geological & Earth Sciences 0 47 0 8 0 55
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 54 0 0 0 54
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 0 50 0 0 0 50
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 0 48 0 0 0 48
Chemistry 0 33 0 15 0 48
Finance & Financial Management 0 46 0 0 0 46
International Business 0 42 0 0 0 42
Romance Languages 0 41 0 0 0 41
Drama & Theater Arts 0 41 0 0 0 41
Geography & Cartography 21 19 0 0 0 40
Mathematics 0 29 0 10 0 39
Sustainability Science 0 38 0 0 0 38
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 0 36 0 0 0 36
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 0 32 0 0 0 32
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 0 32 0 0 0 32
Nursing 0 32 0 0 0 32
Manufacturing Engineering 0 29 0 0 0 29
Mental & Social Health Services 0 22 0 6 0 28
Biological & Physical Science 0 27 0 0 0 27
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 0 26 0 0 0 26
Educational Administration 0 0 0 25 0 25
Physics 0 23 0 0 0 23
Information Technology 4 18 0 0 0 22
Mathematics & Computer Science 0 22 0 0 0 22
Philosophy 0 22 0 0 0 22
Music 0 19 0 3 0 22
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 0 20 0 0 0 20
East Asian Languages 0 20 0 0 0 20
Germanic Languages 0 15 0 0 0 15
Archeology 0 15 0 0 0 15
Teaching English or French 14 0 0 0 0 14
Applied Mathematics 0 14 0 0 0 14
Area Studies 0 12 0 0 0 12
Ethnic Studies 0 12 0 0 0 12
Child Development & Psychology 0 3 0 8 0 11
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 0 0 0 8 0 8
Statistics 0 8 0 0 0 8
Natural Resource Management 2 6 0 0 0 8
Instructional Media Design 0 0 7 0 0 7
Student Counseling 0 0 0 6 0 6
Dance 0 6 0 0 0 6
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 5 0 0 0 5
Mechanical Engineering Technology 0 3 0 0 0 3
Electrical Engineering 0 3 0 0 0 3
Religious Studies 0 2 0 0 0 2
Curriculum & Instruction 0 0 0 0 0 0
Multilingual Education 0 0 0 0 0 0
Public Health 0 0 0 0 0 0
Historic Preservation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Marine Science 0 0 0 0 0 0
Outdoor Education 0 0 0 0 0 0
General Visual & Performing Arts 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 48 3,630 7 272 5 3,962

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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