University's impact far-reaching
Individuals around the globe have benefited from WSU’s commitment to providing high-quality education and transformative research. Numerous national organizations have recognized the excellence of the University's people and its programs. Follow these links to gain more insights into WSU’s far-reaching impact.
Academic and research excellence
WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine is home to the School for Global Animal Health, created in 2008 to provide global leadership in researching infectious diseases at the animal–human interface. The school received a $25 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
WSU plant scientists are the second most productive in the nation, according to Academic Analytics’ 2006 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index of 130 large research universities. In other disciplines, WSU scientists and scholars ranked: third in veterinary medical sciences; fourth in animal science; sixth in food science; seventh in agronomy and crop sciences; seventh in zoology; eighth in horticulture; eighth in agricultural sciences overall; eighth in American studies; and twentieth in the broad category of health professions science.
WSU is among the top tier of research universities in America, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifications. These are the nation’s 96 public and private research universities with “very high research activity.”
In 2007 the Environmental Protection Agency funded WSU’s Laboratory for Atmospheric Research as part of an $8 million collaborative effort—along with universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and Carnegie Mellon—to better understand and combat global warming.
WSU has been recognized as a tier one national university in U.S. News and World Report’s 2009 rankings, released in the fall of 2008. The classification includes institutions offering a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs and those committed to producing groundbreaking research.
The WSU Libraries have more than 2.3 million book volumes and access to 28 million more through a consortium of 36 libraries in Washington and Oregon. WSU digital collections encompass an expanding array of electronic resources.
WSU is one of just 78 public and private research universities in America with comprehensive doctoral programs coupled with human or veterinary medicine, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifications.
WSU is the only major public research university in the country to require an approved writing portfolio for graduation.
Undergraduate program excellence
WSU's interior design program is among the top 10 nationally, according to the International Interior Design Association and to Design Intelligence magazine, published by the Design Futures Council, a global network of professionals.
Building on three decades of pioneering research in sustainable agriculture, in 2006 WSU became the first university in the country to offer a major in organic agriculture systems.
WSU is home to the fourth ranked broadcasting education program in its Murrow College of Communication, say 369 news executives.
WSU is a great place to study jazz, say both Down Beat and Jazz Times magazines. Both publications have included WSU's School of Music and Theatre Arts in their guides of the best places for a jazz education.
WSU has the 16th ranked recreation and leisure studies program, says a national professional journal in the field.
U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" has ranked WSU's international business program in the top 20 in the nation.
The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies program for undergraduates offered by the College of Business was ranked 18th in the nation in a 2008 survey conducted by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.
Technology and facilities excellence
WSU ranks in the top 100 universities for its research library system and for computer access and Internet connections, among some 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide.
The University has one of the best-equipped veterinary teaching hospitals in the world, offering top high-tech diagnostic and teaching facilities.
The Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education offers the latest in teaching and learning technologies, a computer laboratory, and a cyber cafe.
WSU was the first traditional institution in the nation that has extended student government to distance students via distance technology.
The award-winning Student Recreation Center and the newly renovated Compton Union Building (CUB) (completed in August 2008) offer WSU students the best in recreation and social facilities.
Did you know?
Nine WSU professors have been elected to the National Academies—the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, or the Institute of Medicine—among the highest honors in these fields.
Distance Learning Wins National Award
Washington State University’s commitment to technological innovation and distance learning was recognized by the National University Telecommunications Network, which presented WSU with its 2009 Institution Achievement Award.
WSU was chosen because of its commitment to distance learning, as well as its long-term involvement in a variety of technologies.
The award “reflects WSU’s commitment to creating educational access across the state,” said Janis Hall, of Educational and Public Media, and the former director of Washington Higher Education Telecommunications System.