Academics
WKU is divided into the following undergraduate colleges:
- The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
- The Gordon Ford College of Business
- Ogden College of Science And Engineering
- Potter College of Arts and Letters
- University College
- College of Health and Human Services
An academic range of eighty majors and seventy minors are offered, toward the following degrees:
- Bachelor of Engineering
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies
- Bachelor of Science
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Social Work
WKU also offers fifteen associate degree programs and five certificate programs.
The Graduate School is now the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, which offers:
- Master of Accountancy
- Master of Arts
- Master of Arts in Education
- Master of Business Administration
- Master of Science
- Master of Science in Nursing
- Master of Social Work
- Master of Public Administration
- Master of Health Administration
- Master of Public Health
- Doctor of Education
- Doctor of Nursing
- Doctor of Physical Therapy
WKU's Journalism and Photojournalism programs rank among the best in the country. The photojournalism department has won numerous awards. As of 2007, more than 25 alumni of WKU's photo and print journalism programs have been honored with the Pulitzer Prize. The school's twice-weekly newspaper, the College Heights Herald,regularly wins awards placing it among the top college newspapers in the nation, and even competes against commercial newspapers in the state's Associated Press competition.
Western Kentucky University’s forensics (speech and debate) team is consistently ranked as one of the best teams in the country. The team has won the American Forensic Association (AFA) and National Forensic Association (NFA) national championships multiple times since 2003. It has also won the International Forensic Association’s (IFA) international championship every year it has attended. The team remains the only team in the nation ever to win the AFA, NFA, IFA, and NFA debate championship in the same year, a feat it has accomplished multiple times. The team hosts several tournaments for junior high and senior high students each fall, as well as a large speech and debate summer camp each July.
WKU is also home to the largest American master's degree program in folklore; it is contained within the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology. It is unique among American folklore programs for its public folklore program and is one of the few schools in Kentucky to offer a focus in historic preservation.
In the fall of 2009, WKU began its bachelor's degree program in popular culture studies, being only the second university in America to offer such a program (the other being Bowling Green State University). Also in the fall of 2009, an independent Doctor of Education (EdD) program in educational leadership began at WKU.
In the rankings of "America's Best Colleges 2009," WKU is No. 10 among public master's universities in the South, up from No. 12 in the 2008 rankings. According to Forbes 2009 rankings of America's top 600 colleges, Western Kentucky University is ranked No. 434, making it the second highest ranked public college in the state of Kentucky.
Extended campuses are operated in Glasgow, Elizabethtown/Fort Knox and Owensboro. WKU also offers Distance Learning Degrees:
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—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)