About your school

Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University (WMU) is a public university established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo. When the school first opened, it was known as the Western State Normal School but was renamed Western State Teachers College in 1927 and Western Michigan College of Education in 1941. On February 26, 1957 Governor G. Mennen Williams signed into law a bill making Western Michigan College the state's fourth public university.

 WMU's main campus is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. As of the 2008–2009 school year, the school has an enrollment of 24,818 students. The school is the fifth largest university in the state of Michigan. The school's mascot is Buster Bronco, and the school colors are brown and gold.

WMU's College of Aviation is one of the largest aviation programs in the United States; the university is also noted for its Paper Engineering and Behavior Analysis programs, as well as for the Haworth College of Business and Army ROTC program. WMU's theatre department has also produced many talented individuals working in the entertainment industry throughout the country. Additionally, the WMU School of Music is recognized as offering some of the best programs in the Nation for those with musical interests and aspirations.

WMU's expansion projects include a new Business and Technology park for research, a new aviation campus in Battle Creek, Michigan, and extensive building renovation and restoration in the Kalamazoo campus, as well as a new chemistry building and a visual arts center.WMU is the site of the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching places WMU among the 76 public institutions in the nation designated as research universities with high research activity. U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of American colleges and universities includes WMU as one of the nation's top-100 public universities. Princeton Review  included Western Michigan on its 'best Midwestern colleges' list for two years in a row. The University also had six Fulbright scholarships the most of any school in the state of Michigan in 2006, these individuals are recognized for increasing understanding between the United States and other countries.

The university offers 254 degree programs through 9 colleges. The colleges that are part of WMU are: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Aviation, the Haworth College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Health and Human Services, the Lee Honors College, and the Graduate College.

The Haworth College of Business operates out of Arnold Schneider Hall. The school is named for an alumnus, who gave a gift of $5,000,000 towards the construction of Schneider Hall, and later served on the school's board of directors. Aside from having a nationally recognized undergraduate business program, the Haworth College of Business has one of the oldest and most successful Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs in the state. It also is the sixth largest college of business in the country, with over 5,200 students.