WVU Facts
Research Classification
R1 - Highest research ranking possible from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Accreditation
WVU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Many WVU programs hold specialized accreditation.
Governance
The WVU Board of Governors is the governing body of WVU. The Higher Education Policy Commission in West Virginia is responsible for developing, establishing and overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda for the state's four-year colleges and universities. E. Gordon Gee is WVU's 26th president.
Character
Public, land-grant institution, founded in 1867.
Consumer Information
View consumer, institutional and financial assistance information.
Campus Locations and Facilities
The WVU System is a family of distinctive campuses united by a single mission. From the groundbreaking research of our flagship in Morgantown (ranked R1, the highest research category institution) to the student-centered focus of WVU Potomac State College in Keyser to the technology-intensive programs at WVU Institute of Technology in Beckley — we are leveraging our talents and resources to create a better future for West Virginia and the world.
The WVU Institute of Technology in Beckley offers more than 30 programs of study, including six ABET accredited engineering and computer science programs.
WVU Potomac State College in Keyser is one of the nation's most affordable four-year colleges, as ranked by the U.S. Department of Education. Offering more than 60 majors, this campus combines the personal attention of a small college with the benefits of a major university.
The WVU System also includes Health Sciences campuses in Charleston and Martinsburg, as well as seven farms and five forests throughout the state and WVU Jackson's Mill State 4-H Camp. The WVU System includes 518 buildings on 15,880 acres. The Morgantown campus has 245 buildings (11 on the National Register of Historic Places) on 1,892 acres.
The WVU Morgantown campus is in a town named "#1 Best Small City in the East" by Guide to Life in America's Small Cities for its exceptional quality of life. Morgantown, population 30,855, was also among Livability's top 10 best places to raise a family and is within easy traveling distance of Washington, D.C., to the east; Pittsburgh, Pa., to the north; and Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, to the northwest. Other rankings: Southern Living included Morgantown as one of the South's best small towns; one of the "Top 15 College Football Towns in the Country" by Bleacher Report.
Research Funding
In fiscal year 2024, WVU received a record $275 million in research funding. The University receives research funding from a variety of sources, including federal, state, industry and private donors.
Enrollment
Fall 2024 WVU System full headcount enrollment is 25,994, which includes 4,724 first-time freshmen.
WVU Morgantown
- Full headcount enrollment: 23,641
- First-time freshmen: 4,129
WVU Tech
- Full headcount enrollment: 1,276
- First-time freshmen: 279
WVU Potomac State College
- Full headcount enrollment: 1,077
- First-time freshmen: 316
WVU Morgantown Campus
Students at the Morgantown campus come from 90 nations, 50 U.S. states (plus D.C.) and all 55 West Virginia counties; 48% are West Virginia residents.
Academic Excellence
Our students accomplish great things academically, and we’ve produced 25 Rhodes Scholars, 116 Gilman Scholars, 82 Fulbright Scholars, 53 Goldwater Scholars, 27 Truman Scholars, 29 Boren Scholars and 41 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (to name just a few).
Faculty and Staff Profile
Excellent faculty – 19 of whom have been named Carnegie Foundation Professors of the Year – guide and mentor students.
53 faculty members have received the National Science Foundation Career Award.
66% of full-time instructional/tenure-track faculty hold the highest academic degree in their field.
70% of WVU Morgantown classes are taught by full-time instructional faculty.
Systemwide Instructional Faculty: 2,478 full-time
Extension Faculty: 109 full-time
Staff (Classified and Non-Classified): 3,224 full-time
Academic Programs
12 Morgantown colleges and schools offer 300+ majors in agriculture and natural resources; applied human sciences; arts and sciences; business and economics; creative arts and media; dentistry; engineering and mineral resources; law; medicine; nursing; pharmacy; public health. WVU Online offers nine fully online undergraduate degrees, plus 36 graduate programs, graduate/undergraduate certificates and associate degrees.
Freshman Class Profile
WVU’s fall 2023 freshman class had an average cumulative GPA of 3.63 on a 4.0 scale, an average ACT score of 23 and an average SAT score of 1118. WVU does not require ACT/SAT scores for admission.
Student Organizations
Choose from 450+ student organizations, or participate in an active intramural program or a variety of club sports.
Service and Learning
The Center for Service and Learning develops and organizes service learning and volunteer opportunities for students and faculty. WVU is one of only 75 schools recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for Community Engagement (recognized since 2010). In 2023, WVU students recorded 94,617 hours of service, for a value of over $2.5 million.
Scholarships and Aid
In 2023-24, the WVU System disbursed over $432 million in financial aid ($167 million in scholarships). At WVU Morgantown, 93% of freshmen received grants or scholarships.
The WVU System has granted 4,282 Promise Scholars (2024-25) $22+ million in funding.
The 2024-25 freshman class at Morgantown includes about 1,000 Promise recipients. Annually, the WVU System educates about half of all West Virginia Promise recipients.
We are developing new programs like WVU Guarantee and WVU Degree Up to make it easier, more accessible and more affordable for students to pursue higher education.
Athletics
A member of the Big 12 Conference since 2012, WVU competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports.
Libraries
The WVU Libraries encompass seven libraries statewide. Facilities in Morgantown include the Downtown Campus Library, Evansdale Library, Health Sciences Library, Law Library and the West Virginia and Regional History Center. Collections include over 942,000 books and 1.5 million e-books, and 749 databases users can access.
Admission and Application Timeline
Undergraduate admission: Our test optional policy means that you can apply without an ACT or SAT score. However, we do encourage that students submit scores if available, and offer the option to submit after receiving a decision. WVU superscores and offers multiple options for submitting test scores.
In place of test scores, emphasis will be placed on the following for test optional applicants: cumulative and core GPA, meeting academic requirements, rigor of high school curriculum, college preparatory coursework and intended major. Whether applying regular admission or test optional, students have until August 1 to submit updated academic credentials, including test scores and transcripts, for merit scholarship eligibility.
Applications are processed beginning Aug. 15 for admission the following fall. March 1 is the deadline for West Virginia residents to submit Promise Scholarship applications. WVU has a rolling admissions policy, and there is no official application deadline.
Graduate admission (for degree-seeking applicants) requires a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale for regular admission. In addition, each applicant must meet the minimum admissions criteria determined by their program of interest. Each graduate program sets its own admissions requirements and deadlines.
Tuition
For current WVU System tuition and fees, visit tuition.wvu.edu.
Visitors Center
The WVU Visitors Center is the front door to campus, providing the warm hospitality that Mountaineers are known for in a modern, welcoming space. Tours led by current students are offered Monday through Friday and select Saturdays. Schedule a campus visit.
Alumni
Chartered in 1873, the WVU Alumni Association helps over 210,000 graduates in 135 nations stay connected to WVU.
Parents Club
The Mountaineer Parents Club, with 20,000 members in dozens of local clubs, connects parents and families with the student experience.
Private Support
WVU alumni and friends contributed a record $282.6 million to the WVU Foundation in fiscal year 2024, including 40,849 gifts from 20,350 donors. Alumni comprised 8,536 of those donors.
Extension
WVU Extension faculty and volunteers reach communities in all 55 counties in West Virginia. Their work includes funding and delivering West Virginia's 4-H program, which reaches more than 68,000 youth each year, and training nearly 2,000 volunteer and professional firefighters each year through the Fire Service Extension.