Founded in 1890, Washington State University (WSU) is a public research, land-grant institution comprises of four campuses. Its ethos is rooted in accessibility and public service.
Its main Pullman campus is situation within 600 acres of land in the agricultural Palouse region that spans the northwestern states of Washington and Idaho.
Other campuses include the Health Sciences campus in the city of Spokane, another in Tri-Cities, and the fourth in Vancouver, on the banks of the Columbia River.
WSU – nickname “Wazzu” – is made up of 11 colleges with degree programmes that span more than 200 academic fields. Attracting a total of nearly 30,000 students, it offers 95 majors, 86 minors and more than 100 in-major specialisations to its undergraduates.
For postgraduates, WSU offers 76 masters and 64 doctoral programmes. It also has a developed online academic presence and offers 9 undergraduate and 12 graduate degree programmes via its ‘global campus’.
Internationally, WSU offers around 1,500 study abroad programmes in 82 countries worldwide.
Its library system contains over 28 million items including 2.3 million print volumes, 625,000 e-books, 95,000 online journals and 50,000 individual media items. Its Pullman libraries, including Holland and Terrell libraries, Owen Science and Engineering library, and the Animal Health library, attract roughly 1.3 million visitors a year.
WSU is proud of its work with the wider community – its 39 extension offices provide educational opportunities for Washington residents throughout the state and its four research centres help local growers sustain their crops.
The university also has an energy programme that provides information on energy efficiency for organisations and consumers alike, and it runs 24 small business development centres for start-ups.
In 2015 the Campus Pride Index ranked WSU within the top 36 universities nationally for its policies in support of LGBT students.