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

Western Washington University is the highest-ranking public, master’s-granting university in the Pacific Northwest for the 21st year in a row, according to the 2021 U.S. News & World Report college rankings.  

Western also ranked tied for fifth among top public master’s-granting universities in the West, a region stretching from Texas to the Pacific. See: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west/top-public.

“I’d like to congratulate Western’s outstanding faculty and staff on this recognition, as their dedication to helping students succeed at Western and beyond is at the heart of our excellence.  We are committed to providing impactful learning experiences that help students achieve their goals, and that starts with a culture of caring and academic excellence that shines through at Western," said Western President Sabah Randhawa. 

Western ranked tied for 18th among the top schools in the West, which includes both public and private schools. The region is comprised of 13 states with a population of 75 million people and over 120 colleges and universities. See: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west 

Western also was ranked as 11th in Best Colleges for Veterans (see: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west/veterans) as well as one of the Best Value Schools (see: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west/best-value). 

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

The news magazine’s annual rankings are posted on its website: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges?int=top_nav_Colleges. 

For more information on Western’s national rankings and recognitions, go to http://www.wwu.edu/about/recognition or contact Western’s Office of University Communications at: news@wwu.edu