by our College Data Analytics TeamWestern Michigan University is a public institution in Kalamazoo, Michigan enrolling 12,568 undergraduates. It accepts 85% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 58%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #717 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 14%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Western Michigan University ranks #717 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 14%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Western Michigan University was awarded 56 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, WMU is ranked #717 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
WMU is also ranked #16 on the Best Colleges in Michigan list.
See all of the rankings for Western Michigan University.
Western Michigan University has an acceptance rate of 85%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.
Learn more about Western Michigan University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Western Michigan University is about average at 16 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Western Michigan University is 63%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Western Michigan University has a freshmen retention rate of 81%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At WMU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 58%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Western Michigan University.
The current enrollment includes 12,568 undergraduates at WMU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Western Michigan University.
The overall average net price of WMU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,263 | $5,734 | $13,833 | $18,307 | $23,625 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of WMU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At WMU, approximately 47% of students took out student loans averaging $6,565 a year. That adds up to $26,260 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.3%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Western Michigan University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Western Michigan University make around $53,562 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Western Michigan University make the most money.
Western Michigan University is a public institution located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kalamazoo is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Western Michigan University.
Get in touch with Western Michigan University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1903 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5200 |
| Phone: | 2693871000 |
| Website: | wmich.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Michigan_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/wmich |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/wmunews |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 28 majors graduated from Western Michigan University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 4,472 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 303 | $58,419 |
| Air Transportation | 201 | $43,255 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 196 | $44,347 |
| Accounting | 189 | $43,500 |
| Marketing | 185 | $46,518 |
| General Psychology | 183 | $28,081 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 170 | $42,303 |
| Other Interdisciplinary Studies | 153 | $32,776 |
| Special Education | 148 | $49,910 |
8,091 students took at least one online class at Western Michigan University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Western Michigan University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to WMU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References