History, Affiliations and Rankings
Founded in 1899, the University was established to provide student-centered undergraduate and graduate discipline and programs. These programs are characterised by innovative teaching, research, and service. Grounded in interdisciplinary, regional and global perspectives, Western Illinois University received its campus land via a donation made to the state of Illinois by Macomb's Freemasons. The University’s representative colors “purple and gold” were decided on when the first-year student, Mary Jarvis, inspired by the “vast golden prairie strewn with purple coneflowers," displayed golden and purple ribbons in a schoolwide contest. Western Illinois University ranks at #413 among the best public and private universities from the student's point of view in Forbes.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
Western Illinois University is situated across two campus locations, a beautifully landscaped campus amidst the rural community in Macomb, and the Quad Cities campus located along the banks of the Mississippi River. It employs 24 full-time officers and operates 24 hours a day on campus for the security of the students. The campus also provides safety-related programming; supervising student patrol and emergency medical services on campus. Western Illinois University offers 69 undergraduate majors, 51 Bachelor's degree programs and 13 pre-professional degrees at the undergraduate level. Along with 42 degree and certificate programs at the graduate level. Since 2005, the University has also offered a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed. D.).
Accomplishments and Alumni
Western Illinois University awards $10M in scholarships to its students each year. It has been awarded as the Best Midwestern University for 17 years in a row. The Sherman Hall of Western Illinois University is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The university has 250+ student organizations and also offers over 150 groups and programs along with 17 NCAA Sports that give students a variety of opportunities and activities to enhance their talents. WIU is a family of 120000+ alumni around the world. Naming a few notable alumni is difficult as the university has a vast number of students who are not only succeeding academically but also recognized for their work. Names like Darwin Gale Schisler, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Illinois's 19th congressional district from 1965 to 1967, Vincent R. Stewart, LtGen US Marine Corps and 20th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Tim Walberg, a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Michigan's 7th congressional district since 2011. Harlan Watson, Special Envoy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, are alumni of Western Illinois University and is currently in the Federal Government of the United States.
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
2,324 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs at Western Illinois University in the year 2020. 53.8% were awarded to women, and 46.2% to men. The university is among the top schools for international students. The university is ranked 53rd out of 1,204 in our Overall Best Value U.S. Colleges and Universities for international students for its various facilities and welcoming atmosphere on campus. The university also keeps in touch with various companies that display their vacancies regularly with the Student Employment Office which allows a campus-wide distribution of the information about openings in the area. John Deere, Caterpillar, Amazon, OSF Healthcare, Accenture, Microsoft, etc.. are some of the top recruiters at Western Illinois University.
