Washington State University

Washington State University is the state's public land-grant research university, founded in 1890 in Pullman, on the Palouse in eastern Washington. It began as an agricultural college and retains colleges of agriculture, veterinary medicine and extension stations across the state, with additional campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver and Everett. Pullman is a classic American college town shared with the University of Idaho a few miles away in Moscow.

Colleges include Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences; Arts and Sciences; the Carson College of Business; the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication; Education; the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture; Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine; Nursing; Pharmacy; and Veterinary Medicine. Graduate students use agricultural research farms, a veterinary teaching hospital, wine and grape programs, and medical facilities in Spokane. Strengths include veterinary medicine, agriculture, communication, engineering and pharmaceutical science.

System enrollment is about 28,000 students, with Pullman the largest site and a substantial graduate share in STEM, veterinary medicine and education. International students are a notable share of graduate enrollment, particularly in engineering. Alumni include broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who attended before leaving, and graduates in Northwest agriculture, media and public service. Faculty number in the low thousands across campuses.

Graduate study includes research master's and PhDs, the DVM, PharmD, MD (Spokane) and professional master's degrees. Science and agriculture doctorates follow a supervisor and committee model; professional degrees are lockstep and clinical. The calendar is semester-based. Teaching and research assistantships are the usual support for thesis students; veterinary and medical students follow professional-school funding patterns. Pullman is remote and residential; winters are long, and much of graduate social life is campus-centered.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Washington State University lists 11 graduate programs across 11 subjects: 2 master's programs and 9 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in biology, chemistry and civil engineering. Washington State University holds rank 417 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.