Top Public Master’s-Granting School

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University is the highest-ranking public, master’s-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2015 U.S. News & World Report college rankings.

Western also ranked second among top public master’s-granting universities in the West, a region stretching from Texas to the Pacific – for the second year in a row.

“Western has a strong reputation for excellence and we are very happy to receive recognition for what we experience every day – a caring, supportive campus that values learning, achievement and aspirations to put higher education to higher purposes” said Western President Bruce Shepard. “Western’s success is a direct result of the dedication, talent and inspiration of our faculty, staff and students.”

Western ranked 21st among the top schools in the West, which includes both public and private schools. That is up from 22nd the previous year.

U.S. News has separate categories for “national” (doctoral-granting or research) universities and liberal arts colleges and for specialties such as business and engineering.

The news magazine’s annual rankings are posted on its website, www.usnews.com/colleges. Rankings are based on a variety of criteria including academic reputation, student selectivity and retention, faculty resources, peer assessment and financial resources.