Western Washington University: Statistics

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Position Category
#982 of 14,131 In the World
#290 of 2,597 In North America
#259 of 2,496 In the United States
#4 of 57 In Washington
#1 of 4 In Bellingham
#303 of 1,114 For Military science
Top50% For 106 other topics
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
93%
Average SAT
1270
Average ACT
28
Aid receiving
95%
Undergraduates
13,752
Graduates
958
Male:Female Ratio
42:58
Control
Public
Highest Degree
Doctor's degree
Website
www.wwu.edu

Western Washington University Acceptance rate and admissions statistics

Western Washington University has an acceptance rate of 93% and is among the 33% of the easiest universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

Total Men Women
Acceptance Rate 93% 93% 94%
Applicants 14,115 5,635 8,423
Admissions 13,162 5,222 7,888
Freshmen enrolled full time 2,970 1,287 1,661
Freshmen enrolled part time 49 19 29

1,421 students enrolled in some distance education courses.

226 enrolled exclusively in distance education.

SAT scores

Among admitted applicants
257 or 9%
submitted SAT

25% of them
had 1150
or below

75% of them
had 1390
or below

Typical SAT scores of first-years in Western Washington University are 1150-1390 (middle 50% range).

ACT scores

Among admitted applicants
71 or 2%
submitted ACT

25% of them
had 24
or below

75% of them
had 31
or below

Typical ACT scores of first-years in Western Washington University are 24-31 (middle 50% range).

Admissions requirements

Secondary school GPA Required
Secondary school record Required
TOEFL Required
College-preparatory program Considered but not required
Formal demonstration of competencies Considered but not required
Recommendations Considered but not required
SAT/ACT Considered but not required
Secondary school rank Considered but not required
Other Tests Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

White 10094 (69%)
Hispanic 1641 (11%)
Two or more races 1213 (8%)
Asian 844 (6%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 352 (2%)
Black or African American 277 (2%)
Nonresident Alien 172 (1%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 36 (0.2%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 34 (0.2%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.

Average aid awarded
$6,902
Students receiving aid
95%

Tuition and fees

UndergraduatesGraduates
Tuition in-district $8,240$12,536
Tuition in-state $8,240$12,536
Tuition out-of-state $27,365$26,047
Fee in-district $1,342$1,342
Fee in-state $1,342$1,342
Fee out-of-state $1,342$1,342

Room and board costs

Dormitory capacity 4,184
Combined charge for room and board $15,629
Room charge $7,852
Meal charge $4,185

Western Washington University majors

Western Washington University has granted 3,024 bachelor's degrees across 98 programs, 262 master's across 24 programs, and 24 doctorate degrees across 2 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Western Washington University.

Major Bachelor Master Doctoral
Psychology, General 234
Computer and Information Sciences, General 113 20
Creative Writing 120 2
Environmental Science 107 11
Sociology, General 111
Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 109
Speech Communication and Rhetoric 100
Special Education and Teaching, General 99
Marketing & Marketing Management, General 93
Business Administration and Management, General 56 24
Political Science and Government, General 77
History, General 68 8
Health & Medical Preparatory Programs, Other 71
English Language and Literature, General 65 5
Environmental Studies 55 14
Human Services, General 65
Art & Art Studies, General 64
Biology & Biological Sciences, General 56 7
Geology & Earth Science, General 43 16
Sustainability Studies 56
Accounting 49 6
Anthropology, General 44 7
Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, General 50
Chemistry, General 37 12
Exercise Science and Kinesiology 43 5
Biochemistry 39
Secondary Education and Teaching 38
Journalism 37
Mathematics, General 28 8
Finance, General 35
Electrical and Computer Engineering 34
Management Information Systems, General 34
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General 32
Communication Sciences and Disorders, General 31
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies 31
Cell & Cellular and Molecular Biology 30
Elementary Education and Teaching 20 10
Linguistics 28
Neuroscience 28
Economics, Other 25
Economics, General 23
Geography and Environmental Studies 22
International Business & Trade & Commerce 22
Spanish Language and Literature 22
Community Health and Preventive Medicine 20
Archeology 19
Design and Visual Communications, General 19
Management Science 19
Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography 19
Philosophy 19
Manufacturing Engineering 18
Physics, General 18
Speech-Language Pathology & Pathologist 18
Computer and Information Systems Security & Auditing & Information Assurance 17
Mathematics and Computer Science 17
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 17
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other 16
Superintendency and Educational System Administration 15
Data Science, General 14
Marine Sciences 14
Registered Nursing & Registered Nurse 14
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling & Counselor 14
Art History, Criticism and Conservation 13
Industrial and Product Design 13
Music Teacher Education 13
Biological and Physical Sciences 12
Educational Leadership and Administration, General 12
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching 12
Social Science Teacher Education 12
Developmental and Child Psychology 11
Japanese Language and Literature 11
Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching 10
Early Childhood Education and Teaching 10
Humanities & Humanistic Studies 10
Operations Management and Supervision 10
Audiology & Audiologist 9
Music, General 7 2
Applied Mathematics, General 8
Energy and Environmental Policy 8
Mathematics Teacher Education 8
Bilingual and Multilingual Education 7
Geophysics and Seismology 7
Science Teacher Education & General Science Teacher Education 7
Anthropology, Other 6
Counselor Education & School Counseling and Guidance Services 6
Dance, General 6
Mathematics and Statistics 6
Religion & Religious Studies 6
American & United States Studies & Civilization 5
Geography 5
German Language and Literature 5
Journalism, Other 5
Mental Health Counseling & Counselor 5
Earth Science Teacher Education 4
English & Language Arts Teacher Education 4
Art Teacher Education 3
East Asian Studies 3
Education & Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs 3
French Language and Literature 3
History Teacher Education 3
Music Performance, General 3
Biology Teacher Education 2
Chinese Language and Literature 2
Comparative Psychology 2
Latin American Studies 2
Music History, Literature, and Theory 1
Music Theory and Composition 1
Spanish Language Teacher Education 1
Grand Total 3,024 262 24

Western Washington University has a graduation rate of 65%, which is among the 32% highest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 65% 60% 68%
  • Full-time retention rate - 79%
  • Part-time retention rate - 49%

Publications & Citations

Western Washington University has published 11,479 scientific papers with 326,903 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Environmental Science, Biology, Political Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Law, Physics, Sociology, and Philosophy.

Publications
11,479
Citations
326,903

Publication / Citation count by topic

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
7,252 / 188,680
Environmental Science
5,504 / 187,678
Biology
5,047 / 188,821
Political Science
4,310 / 116,819
Computer Science
4,251 / 122,360
Engineering
4,166 / 116,247
Law
3,971 / 114,957
Physics
3,862 / 121,999
Sociology
3,781 / 94,336
Philosophy
3,598 / 99,343
Geography and Cartography
3,249 / 101,959
Geology
3,247 / 125,346
Psychology
3,204 / 104,839
Medicine
3,136 / 104,382
Chemistry
3,025 / 106,263
History
2,794 / 61,877
Ecology
2,576 / 115,840
Mathematics
2,308 / 71,681
Paleontology
2,284 / 97,658
Business
2,251 / 59,601
Quantum and Particle physics
2,212 / 64,694
Archaeology
2,092 / 54,105
Economics
1,918 / 52,493
Art & Design
1,771 / 34,532
Linguistics
1,605 / 47,152
Social Psychology
1,460 / 68,920
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
1,422 / 33,914
Biochemistry
1,360 / 50,839
Statistics
1,360 / 54,059
Genetics
1,276 / 40,855
Organic Chemistry
1,271 / 43,468
Materials Science
1,178 / 37,019
Oceanography
1,114 / 51,418
Development Studies
1,006 / 24,470
Botany
974 / 37,891
Education Majors
964 / 17,926
Management
945 / 26,633
Earth science and Geophysics
941 / 29,880
Psychiatry
913 / 31,867
Neuroscience
844 / 32,486

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1993 111 799
1994 93 907
1995 102 991
1996 138 1178
1997 137 1040
1998 127 1242
1999 141 1361
2000 177 1700
2001 163 1883
2002 223 2527
2003 232 3075
2004 185 3391
2005 289 4127
2006 250 4483
2007 265 5681
2008 295 6490
2009 272 7228
2010 379 8268
2011 362 9030
2012 347 10513
2013 346 11457
2014 354 12144
2015 436 13319
2016 474 14219
2017 442 15574
2018 460 17953
2019 465 19685
2020 572 23612
2021 457 25115
2022 482 23395
2023 491 23643
2024 447 23936
2025 294 20660
Academic rankings

Western Washington University alumni

  1. Ben Gibbard

    Ben Gibbard
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1976-.. (age 50)
    Enrolled in Western Washington University
    Studied engineering
    Occupations
    singerguitaristsinger-songwritercomposerfilm actor
    Biography

    Benjamin Gibbard is an American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a member of the indie pop supergroup The Postal Service. Gibbard released his debut solo album, Former Lives (2012), and a collaborative studio album, One Fast Move or I'm Gone (2009), with Jay Farrar.

  2. Carrie Brownstein

    Carrie Brownstein
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1974-.. (age 52)
    Occupations
    film directorwriterscreenwriteractorfilm actor
    Biography

    Carrie Rachel Brownstein is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney.

  3. Hiro Yamamoto

    Hiro Yamamoto
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1961-.. (age 65)
    Occupations
    musician
    Biography

    Hiro D. Yamamoto is an American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell, in 1984. He left the band in 1989; two years later, Yamamoto started the independent rock band Truly together with Screaming Trees drummer Mark Pickerel and Robert Roth from The Storybook Krooks. In 2016, Yamamoto co-founded the surf trio Stereo Donkey. In 2025, Yamamoto was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of Soundgarden.

  4. Mike Duncan

    Mike Duncan
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1980-.. (age 46)
    Occupations
    historianpodcaster
    Biography

    Michael William Duncan is an American political history podcaster and author. After not finding any Roman history podcasts in 2007, Duncan began The History of Rome, a narrative podcast chronicling events from the founding of Rome until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The podcast concluded in 2012. A year later he began Revolutions, which ran for ten seasons over the course of nine years, covering the American, French, and Russian revolutions, among others. The series' second phase ended in July 2022 and was followed by a nearly two-year hiatus before the series returned on 22 October 2024 with a fictional account of a prospective Martian Revolution. On 16 December 2024, Duncan announced that he was continuing work on the Revolutions podcast, declaring that the Martian Revolution season would be the "intermission" of the podcast and that he would return to telling the stories of real revolutions afterwards.

All 44 notable alumni

General info

Alternative names Western Washington State College
WWU
Western Washington College of Education
Founded 1893
Motto Make Waves
Colors blue, white
Academic calendar September to June. Also Summer Sessions (June - August)
Total FTE staff 1,936
Carnegie classification Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs

Location and contacts

Address 516 High Street
Bellingham, Washington, 98225-9008
United States
City population 91,000
Phone 3606503000

Western Washington University in social media