Washington State University
Pullman, WAFrench Administration Building, Pullman, WA 99164-5910
509-335-3564
Washington State University (WSU) is a public research university in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is one of the oldest land-grant universities in the West and features programs in a broad range of academic disciplines. With an undergraduate enrollment of over 24,000 students and a graduate enrollment of over 5,000, WSU is the second largest university in Washington state behind the University of Washington. The university also operates campuses across Washington, in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Everett.
WSU's athletic teams are called the Cougars and compete in the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference. The football team has been particularly successful, winning the Rose Bowl in 1997 and 2002.
The university was founded in 1890 as the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science (WACSOS). The first class consisted of just over a dozen students, all of whom were men. In 1892, the college was renamed the State College of Washington (SCW) in an effort to gain state support. The legislature subsequently appropriated funds for the construction of a new campus in Pullman. The college moved to Pullman in 1899.
In 1961, the college was renamed Washington State University. The name change was part of a larger effort to gain increased autonomy from the state government and to reflect the growing scope of the university's academic programs.
Today, WSU is a comprehensive research university with programs in a wide range of disciplines. The university is organized into 11 colleges: Agriculture, Human Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering and Architecture, Fine Arts, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Pharmacy, Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine.
WSU is classified as a research university with "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation. The university is also home to a number of research institutes, including the Institute for Biological Chemistry, the Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability, and the Institute for Shock Physics.
WSU's main campus in Pullman is located in the rolling hills of the Palouse region of southeastern Washington. The campus is home to a number of notable buildings, including the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum, the Museum of Art, and the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.
The university also operates a number of branch campuses and research centers across Washington state, including in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Everett.
Quick Facts
Enrollment: 31159
Acceptance Rate: 79.95%
Type: Public, 4-year or above
Main Website: https://wsu.edu/
Financial Aid: https://finaid.wsu.edu/
Annual Costs
Total Cost In-State On-Campus: $28520
Total Cost Out-State On-Campus: $43463
Return on Investment Rating
The estimated cost for four years as an undergraduate at Washington State University is $111552.57. This includes the average cost of attendance for four years plus the interest on the average loan over a ten year repayment minus the average of grants and scholarships per student.
We then contrast this figure with average early-career and mid-career average incomes of graduates of four year programs at Washington State University. For graduates of Washington State University, we saw an average early-career income of $60700.00 and mid-career income of $110100.00. We then ranked the school's value based on how many years of mid-career income it takes to repay the educational costs.