History
- West Virginia University, founded in 1867, has a long and rich history as a land-grant university.
- In 1868, the school’s name was changed to West Virginia University.
Education
- West Virginia University offers 133 undergraduate majors – everything from accounting to world languages.
- With over 140 graduate and professional degree programs, spanning from forensics to forestry, from law to engineering, from pharmacy to medicine, and from agriculture to business, WVU offers doctoral programs, master’s programs, dual and joint degrees, and specialized post-baccalaureate certificate programs to advance your professional, research, and personal goals.
Research
West Virginia University Centers:
- Center for Excellence in STEM Education
- Center for Neuroscience
- Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center
- National Research Center for Coal and Energy
- West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute
- WVU Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology
- WVU Energy Institute
- WVU Institute for Water Science and Security
Career
- The WVU Career Services Center is a University-wide student resource serving undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni.
- We offer a wide range of career and professional development services including self-assessments, one-on-one career counseling, resume writing assistance, mock interviews, career fairs, and other specialized programs and events.
West Virginia University Key Statistics & Highlights
- #716 Ranking
- 53 Courses
- 28,267 Students
- 1,400 Students (int'l)
Student services
- The Office of International Student Life and Global Services is a unit within Student Life and One Global WVU.
- We recruit international students; provide support and guidance to international students from campus life to immigration and visa issues; organize campus-wide international programs; and work with our international alums.
- We are located in Elizabeth Moore Hall on the downtown campus.
Housing services
- WVU offers four centrally located on-campus apartment complexes for upper class students.
- Vandalia Apartments which is located on the downtown campus near the College of Business and Economics and the Life Sciences Building and University Place located just steps from campus in Sunnyside and College Park Apartments at the top of Willey Street.
- University Park is West Virginia University’s newest apartment complex.
Library services
- The WVU Libraries encompass eight libraries and the WVU Press.
- The mission of the WVU Libraries is to collect, preserve, and provide access to information that enables learning and the advancement of knowledge.
ICT services
- Login
- WiFi + Network
- Academic Tools
- STAR
- Hardware
- MyAccess
Medical services
- WVU Medicine is the provider of medical health services for WVU students.
- WVU has a physician on-site at all times and most commercial insurances are accepted with co-pay due at the time of service.
Campus life
- The WVU campus mix of historic and modern facilities includes 189 buildings on 1,099 acres.
- Ten main campus buildings are located on the National Register of Historic Places, and WVU operates eight experimental farms and four forests throughout the state, in addition to WVU Jacksons Mill State 4-H Camp and Lifelong Learning Center near Weston.
Sports facilities
- A member of the NCAA, WVU competes in the Big 12 Athletic Conference at the Division I-A level in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports.
- There are currently over 50 Club Sports administered by the West Virginia University Campus Recreation Department.
- Each club is comprised of enthusiastic, hardworking, and dedicated student-athletes who organize, fund and promote their clubs with the ultimate goal of competing with colleges and universities on both a regional and national level.
- Club sports are also involved in a variety of community service projects throughout the year.
Accreditation
- WVU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
- Many WVU programs hold specialized accreditation.
West Virginia University Overview
West Virginia University Rankings
Study Portals Meta Ranking
Top 10.2% United States
Top 11.3% Worldwide
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
Best Global Universities Rankings
716
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 49 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
3 year trend Best Global Universities Rankings
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 606 | 667 | 716 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
QS World University Rankings
1001
By TopUniversities
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend QS World University Rankings
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 1001 | 1001 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Academic Ranking of World Universities
No 2026 Ranking
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend Academic Ranking of World Universities
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 501 | 501 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
West Virginia University Campus Locations
#1 Main Campus
United States Country
Morgantown City
#2 Branch Campus
United States Country
Beckley City
#3 Branch Campus
United States Country
Keyser City
West Virginia University Student Reviews & Awards
4.4
Based on 10 reviews
- 5 Star 5 Reviews
- 4 Star 4 Reviews
- 3 Star 1 Review
- 2 Star 0 Reviews
- 1 Star 0 Reviews
West Virginia Public Health Bachelors Degree
I had the absolute best time studying at West Virginia University. The professors through the school of Public Health did a fantastic time educating us and preparing us for the future. The class sizes were small enough to where you got a lot of one on one feedback.
An LLM in Morgantown
Good place to go. Not much diversity among the students attending college here but the facilities are good. Rec center has everything you would expect and more, even an indoor track and a climbing wall. Some dorms are really nice others are cheap but great place to meet people.
good
so far so good, nothing major to declare -But wishing to contribute in the near future.
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