Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University, or WKU, is a public university located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was officially established by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, although its history dates back a quarter-century. After a few name changes, it was finally renamed as Western Kentucky University in 1966.

WKU’s main campus is situated at College Heights and covers 200 acres. It also operates a satellite campus in Bowling Green, and regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtown/Fort Knox, and Owensboro. WKU confers a variety of degrees and certificates to its students. The university is divided into the following academic divisions:

College of Health and Human Services
Ogden College of Science And Engineering
Potter College of Arts and Letters
The Bowling Green Community College of Western Kentucky University
The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
The Gordon Ford College of Business
University College

WKU has several fraternities and sororities on campus including Alpha Gamma Rho, Sigma Nu, Chi Omega, and Kappa Delta. Their official mascot is called Big Red.

Campus Location

1906 College Heights Blvd
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000
USA
Main Tel: (270) 745-0111
Web Site

The campus is in a small city.

Highlights

Where the school stands out most compared to other schools (details below):

Many students concentrating in media and education and teaching.
Large number of programs of study offered.
Large number of students.
Superior share of faculty on tenure track.
Number of dorm rooms for students.

Other important characteristics:

Open admission; accepts all qualified candidates
Faculty tenure system
Library on-campus
Campus housing available
Student meal (board) plan
Study abroad option
Distance learning available
Part-time classes available
ROTC
Athlete financial aid

Degrees Awarded (in 2008-2009)

Degree	Total Earned	Different Programs
Bachelor	2,391	72
Master	835	38
Associate	240	13
1-2 year certificate	69	6
Postbaccalaureate certificate	44	10

Students

Student enrollment was 19,258 in 2007-2008 (16,258 full-time equivalent).

Undergrads are 83% of enrolled students and graduate students are 17%.

About 1% of freshmen are from countries other than the US. Students living in the US make up 99% of incoming freshmen.

Tuition and Other Costs (2008-2009)

Item	Cost
State Tuition and fees	$ 6,930
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$ 17,088
Room	$ 3,450
Board	$ 2,484
Books and supplies	$ 800
Other	$ 1,600

Financial Aid: Western Kentucky University participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.

Similar Schools

Based on computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Western Kentucky University:

	School	Location	Enrollment
1	Oakland University	Rochester Hills, MI	18,081
2	University of Central Oklahoma	Edmond, OK	15,495
3	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	Whitewater, WI	10,737
4	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, NC	22,388
5	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	Eau Claire, WI	10,854
6	The University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL	25,544
7	SUNY College at Brockport	Brockport, NY	8,303
8	California State University-Fullerton	Fullerton, CA	37,130
9	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Milwaukee, WI	29,338
10	San Francisco State University	San Francisco, CA	30,125

Faculty

Tenure (2008-2009):

Full-Time Faculty		Total
With tenure		320
Without tenure; working toward tenure		222
Without tenure; tenure not available		180

Housing and Meals

Western Kentucky University provides on-campus housing for 4,946 of its 16,258 (full-time) students (as of 2008-2009). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 19 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Sun Belt Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 44 male students received the aid (men were 53% of those receiving aid) and 39 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 47% of students receiving such aid) .

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees awarded in 2008-2009 in parentheses)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT (74 awarded)

Agricultural Production Operations
Agriculture

ART STUDIES (15 awarded)

Visual and Performing Arts

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (437 awarded)

Accounting
Business Administration and Management
Business/Commerce
Business/Managerial Economics
Finance
Financial Planning and Services
Management Information Systems
Marketing/Marketing Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (102 awarded)

Computer and Information Sciences
Information Technology

CONSTRUCTION TRADES (40 awarded)

Apparel and Textiles

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (4 awarded)

Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (640 awarded)

Art Teacher Education
Business Teacher Education
College Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
Early Childhood Education and Teaching
Education
Educational Administration and Supervision
Educational/Instructional Media Design
Elementary Education and Teaching
Elementary and Middle School Administration/Principalship
Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
Health Teacher Education
International and Comparative Education
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching
Music Teacher Education
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
Reading Teacher Education
Secondary Education and Teaching
Special Education and Teaching
Teacher Education/Profess Development, Levels & Methods
Technical Teacher Education
Trade and Industrial Teacher Education

ENGINEERING (50 awarded)

Civil Engineering
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (71 awarded)

Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
Industrial Technology/Technician
Manufacturing Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (90 awarded)

Public Administration
Social Work

FINE ARTS (50 awarded)

Fine/Studio Arts

HOSPITALITY (39 awarded)

Hospitality Administration/Management

LAW (11 awarded)

Legal Assistant/Paralegal

LIBERAL ARTS (764 awarded)

Anthropology
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies
Canadian Studies
Cartography
Economics
English Language and Literature
English Language and Literature/Letters
French Language and Literature
General Studies
Geography
German Language and Literature
History
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Library Science/Librarianship
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
Political Science and Government
Social Sciences
Sociology
Spanish Language and Literature
Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (23 awarded)

Mathematics

MEDIA (256 awarded)

Advertising
Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
Journalism
Organizational Communication
Photojournalism
Public Relations/Image Management
Radio and Television

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (73 awarded)

Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Environmental Health
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician
Health/Health Care Administration/Management

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (89 awarded)

Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
Dental Hygiene/Hygienist
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

MEDICINE (27 awarded)

Public Health, General (MPH, DPH)

MUSIC (21 awarded)

Music

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (252 awarded)

Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)
Family Practice Nurse/Nurse Practitioner
Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (53 awarded)

Kinesiology and Exercise Science
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management

OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION (13 awarded)

Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (14 awarded)

Philosophy
Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (136 awarded)

Biochemistry
Biology/Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Geology/Earth Science
Meteorology
Molecular Genetics
Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (235 awarded)

Communication Disorders
Counseling Psychology
Psychology
School Psychology