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 the Pacific Northwest

Western Washington University is the highest-ranking public, master’s-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2018 U.S. News & World Report college rankings. 

Western also ranked second among top public master’s-granting universities in the West, a region stretching from Texas to the Pacific – for the fifth year in a row. 

“Our students often tell us they choose Western because of its reputation for academic excellence and faculty who foster collaborative learning. Their experiences at Western prepare them for a meaningful life – in their work, with their families and in their communities,” said Western President Sabah Randhawa. “Western’s dedicated faculty and staff are key to this focus on student success at Western.”

Western ranked 18th among the top schools in the West, which includes both public and private schools. The previous year Western ranked 21st in that category.

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: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges

Rankings are based on a variety of criteria including academic reputation, student selectivity and retention, faculty resources, peer assessment and financial resources.  

Western also finished as the top-ranked public master’s granting university in the 2016 university rankings of both Money Magazine  and Washington Monthly magazine, and was named one of the Top 100 Values in Public Colleges and Universities by Kiplinger’s Magazine in 2016 as well.

For more information on Western’s national rankings, go to http://www.wwu.edu/about/recognition or contact Western’s Office of Communications and Marketing at (360) 650-3350 or news@wwu.edu.