With six campuses across the state and $358 million in annual research expenditures, Washington State University is a public-school powerhouse, offering 95 majors and study abroad opportunities in 70 countries, and a library that's one of the largest in the entire Pacific Northwest. Here, there are "ample opportunities to explore interests" and research opportunities and associated funding are available at all levels. The state-of-the-art classrooms have "all-inclusive presentation screens for everyone to see," and The Spark (on the main Pullman campus) is an "academic innovation hub" that uses formal and informal learning to encourage collaboration between faculty and students. The administration also "provides some amazing resources and prioritizes mental health," and "makes students feel included and provide a great education."
The school's creativity and compassion extend to the professors, who provide ways to "learn in different forms" and bring in "guest speakers from the industry" to shake things up. Moreover, the "smaller student-to-faculty ratio has increased the amount of in-class discussion we do rather than sitting and listening." It also yields professors who are "extremely approachable and...always trying to help [us] find research opportunities." Those extra steps of encouragement, of teachers "eager to help students participate and build their résumé" are what lead students to declare things like "More than a university, WSU is a community," says a student.
