About Western Washington University

Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public academic world in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost academic circles in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a private researcher of teaching for women founded in 1886. In 1977, the academic world adopted its gift name.

WWU offers a variety of bachelor’s and master’s degrees. In 2019, there were 16,142 students, 15,240 of whom were undergraduate students, and 664 full period faculty. Its lithe teams are known as the Vikings, which compete in hostility II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The main campus is located upon 215 acres in Bellingham, Washington. Branch campuses are located in Anacortes and Lakewood, Washington. The the academy is accredited by the Northwest Commission upon Colleges and Universities. Additional accreditation is held by individual colleges.

Bellingham (/ˈbɛlɪŋhæm/ BEL-ing-ham) is the most populous city in and county chair of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies 21 miles (34 km) south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (located 52 miles (84 km) to the northwest) and Seattle (90 miles (140 km) to the south). The city had a population of 80,885 as of the 2010 census and is estimated to have grown to 92,314 as of 2019.

The city of Bellingham was incorporated in 1903 through the consolidation of Bellingham, Whatcom, Fairhaven, and Sehome into the city of Bellingham. Located upon Bellingham Bay, which had been named by George Vancouver in 1792, for Sir William Bellingham, the Controller of Storekeeper Accounts of the Royal Navy during the Vancouver Expedition.

Today, Bellingham is the northernmost city behind a population of higher than 50,000 people in the contiguous United States. It is a popular tourist destination known for its simple access to outside recreation in the San Juan Islands and North Cascades. Bellingham is undergoing redevelopment on more than 100 acres (40 ha) of former industrial estate in its Waterfront District, with a hotel, conference center, condos, retirement living, retail and poster development planned for the site.