Central Washington University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a town not particularly near any major cities.

Overview

Central Washington University, also known as CWU, is an accredited, four-year, educational institution located in Ellensburg, Washington, United States. It was originally established as a teacher's college in the late 19th century. After a few name and status changes, it was finally renamed to Central Washington University in 1977.

CWU offers a wide variety of degrees and programs in diverse areas of study. The university is organized into the following academic divisions:

• College of Arts and Humanities
• College of Business
• College of Education and Professional Studies
• College of the Sciences
• William O. Douglas Honors College

CWU is home to a campus radio station, KCWU (88.1 The Burg), which was established in 1978. There are several clubs and organizations on campus including the Actuarial Club, Alpha Kappa Psi, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Guitar Club. Their official mascot is the Wildcats.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in nutrition and exercise therapy, education and teaching, business and management, engineering technician, security and law enforcement, music, and transportation.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Large number of students.
• Superior share of faculty on tenure track.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Unusually high availability of athletic financial aid.
• Affordable tuition & fees.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Quarter.
• Carnegie classification: Masters Colleges and Universities I.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Central Washington:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 10,662 in 2009-2010 (10,204 full-time equivalent).

About 50% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 50% of the class.

Undergrads are 90% of enrolled students and graduate students are 10%.

Students under 25 years old represent 77% of the student body. About 5% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 99% are full-time and 1% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Central Washington provides on-campus housing for 3,416 of its 10,204 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 101 male students received the aid (men were 54% of those receiving aid) and 85 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 46% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Central Washington offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Master.

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Postbaccalaureate Comprehensive.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (9 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (605 awarded)

• Accounting
• Actuarial Science
• Business Administration and Management
• Fashion Merchandising

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (17 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (11 awarded)

• Environmental Science
• Natural Resources Management and Policy

DESIGN (22 awarded)

• Graphic Design

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (16 awarded)

• Acting
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts
• Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology
• Theatre/Theatre Arts Management

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (478 awarded)

• Art Teacher Education
• Biology Teacher Education
• Chemistry Teacher Education
• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Drama and Dance Teacher Education
• Early Childhood Education and Teaching
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Elementary Education and Teaching
• English/Language Arts Teacher Education
• Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
• Health Teacher Education
• History Teacher Education
• Mathematics Teacher Education
• Music Teacher Education
• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Social Science Teacher Education
• Spanish Language Teacher Education
• Special Education and Teaching
• Teacher Education/Profess Development, Levels & Methods
• Teaching English as Second/Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (103 awarded)

• Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
• Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engr Technology/Technician
• Engineering Technology
• Industrial Safety Technology/Technician
• Industrial Technology/Technician
• Mechanical Engineering/Mechanical Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (60 awarded)

• Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
• Foodservice Systems Administration/Management
• Human Services
• Public Policy Analysis

FINE ARTS (21 awarded)

• Ceramic Arts and Ceramics
• Fine/Studio Arts
• Metal and Jewelry Arts
• Painting
• Sculpture

LAW (42 awarded)

• Legal Studies

LIBERAL ARTS (404 awarded)

• Anthropology
• Asian Studies/Civilization
• Chinese Language and Literature
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• History
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• Japanese Language and Literature
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Russian Language and Literature
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature

MATHEMATICS (7 awarded)

• Mathematics

MEDIA (84 awarded)

• Broadcast Journalism
• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Journalism
• Public Relations/Image Management

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (4 awarded)

• Public Health Education and Promotion

MEDICINE (19 awarded)

• Public Health

MUSIC (31 awarded)

• Conducting
• Jazz/Jazz Studies
• Music Management and Merchandising
• Music Pedagogy
• Music Performance
• Music Theory and Composition
• Music
• Violin, Viola, Guitar and Other Stringed Instruments
• Voice and Opera

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (13 awarded)

• Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (154 awarded)

• Dietetics/Dietitian (RD)
• Health and Physical Education
• Kinesiology and Exercise Science
• Nutrition Sciences
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies

OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION (44 awarded)

• Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry
• Office Management and Supervision

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (12 awarded)

• Cinematography and Film/Video Production
• Drawing
• Photography

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (15 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (117 awarded)

• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
• Geology/Earth Science
• Natural Sciences
• Physics

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (144 awarded)

• Corrections
• Criminal Justice/Safety Studies

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (90 awarded)

• Counseling Psychology
• Experimental Psychology
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Psychology
• School Psychology

TRANSPORTATION (71 awarded)

• Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight Crew
• Aviation/Airway Management and Operations