About us

At Western, you can seek a deeper understanding of who you are and who you’re meant to become. Beyond book smarts, your potential lies in your pursuit of purpose and your ability to thrive in all areas of life while also reaching your highest professional goals.

At Western, we’re redefining success as we expand what it means to be smart in an ever-changing world. Beyond preparing you for your career, perhaps the most special thing about Western is our approach to helping you find a deeper meaning and a better way of thinking. We believe a great education is about more than getting an A on an assignment.

It’s about also having purpose and creating a life well lived. It’s about knowing that failure is success in progress. It’s about preparing you for a meaningful life by helping you to pursue your purpose, thrive and prosper while making a meaningful impact on society.

Land acknowledgment is a process by which individuals are prompted to consider the history of the space they currently inhabit.

We would like to recognize that Western Michigan University is located on lands historically occupied by the Ojibwe, Odawa and Bodewadmi nations. Please take a moment to acknowledge and honor this ancestral land of the Three Fires Confederacy, the sacred lands of all Indigenous peoples and their continued presence.

Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers.[3] In 1957, G. Mennen Williams signed a bill into law that made Western a university and gave the school its current name of Western Michigan University.

Western is one of the eight research universities in the State of Michigan and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university has seven degree-granting colleges, offering 147 undergraduate degree programs, 73 master's degree programs, 30 doctoral programs, and one specialist degree program. It is governed by an eight-member board of regents whose members are appointed by the governor of Michigan and confirmed by the Michigan Senate for eight-year terms.

The university's athletic teams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are known as the Western Michigan Broncos. They compete in the Mid-American Conference for most sports.