aerial view of Western's campus at night, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

U.S. News Rankings Show WWU as Top Public Master’s-Granting School in Pacific Northwest

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University is the highest-ranking public, master’s-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2011 U.S. News & World Report college rankings. 

“While we are pleased to be recognized by this and other national rankings, the true measure of Western’s excellence is the quality of our programs and, consequently, the caliber of our graduates who are highly sought after by employers and who become leaders in their fields and communities. The active minds of our more than 100,000 alumni change the lives of the citizens of our state and nation in so many important and enduring ways,” said WWU President Bruce Shepard. “Our students realize their aspirations because of our dedicated, gifted and inspiring faculty and staff.”

Western also is ranked third among top public master’s-granting universities in the West, a region stretching from Texas to the Pacific.

And Western was among the top colleges in its category in the West for a high percentage of freshmen students returning to school the following fall. See freshman retention rates.

U.S. News has separate categories for “national” (doctoral-granting or research) universities and liberal arts colleges and for specialties such as business and engineering.

The news magazine’s annual rankings are posted on its website, http://www.usnews.com. Rankings are based on a variety of criteria including academic reputation, student selectivity and retention, faculty resources, peer assessment and financial resources.