Recognition
WVU is classified as a Research University (High Research Activity) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Twenty-five WVU students have received Rhodes Scholarships for study at Oxford; few public universities have produced more Rhodes Scholars than WVU.
WVU has had 30 Goldwater Scholars (America’s premier science scholarship).
There have been 19 Truman Scholars from WVU, two Udall Scholarship winners (for undergraduates in areas related to the environment and Native American studies), and two British Marshall Scholars (for understanding of British culture).
WVU recently became the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s lead academic partner in biometrics research. The FBI’s Biometric Center of Excellence will rely on biometrics research being conducted at WVU, providing students with an academic opportunity that they will not find at any other institution in the United States.
WVU has been ranked among the most secure campuses in the United States by Reader’s Digest. WVU was ranked 18th among 135 U.S. colleges and universities that participated in the 2008 survey, and earned an A for its strong commitment to safety, including the addition of a new Web-based text message alert system, improved lighting, student walking patrols, additional first responder training, and more.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has honored 16 WVU faculty as West Virginia Professors of the Year.
In 2006, the only student in America to win both a Truman and a Goldwater Scholarship was WVU student Rebecca McCauley.
WVU has contributed five members of USA Today’s All-USA College Academic First Team.
Washington Monthly ranked WVU 139 out of the top 245 national universities that are creating productive members of society and promoting research and activities that benefit the US.
The WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources was ranked 8th on Hispanic Business magazine’s list of top ten best engineering schools for Hispanics.
Through a partnership with the FBI, WVU created the world’s first university-level degree program in forensic identification. WVU is an international leader in biometric technology research. The program has been featured in Newsweek, USA Weekend, the Washington Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Rolling Stone.
WVU’s landscape architecture program was ranked 4th in the eastern US and thirteenth in the nation by the Design Futures Council.
The 2007 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked WVU’s rural medicine program 12th in the nation.
In 2007, the Agricultural and Resource Economics Program was ranked 8th in the nation for the faculty’s scholarly output.
West Virginia University’s graduate engineering program was ranked among the best in the nation by the 2007 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges.
The National Institutes of Health listed WVU’s Otolaryngology Department as one of the top ten ear, nose, and throat departments in the country.
The Department of Political Science was ranked among the top 40 programs in the nation in research productivity, and was ranked 18th nationally in public law research.
The Department of Psychology was recently ranked 13 th in the nation for total number of publications generated by faculty and sixth for the mean number of publications.
The WVU Debate Team concluded the fall 2006 semester ranked 25th in National Debate Tournament rankings while managing a collective 3.82 grade point average.
WVU was cited as one of the nation’s best workplaces for commuters by the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation in May 2006 for its innovative and effective transportation services for employees and students.
A Woman’s Guide to Law School ranked the WVU College of Law as the number-one school in its category for women seeking a legal education.
WVU is designated as one of America’s 100 Best College Buys by Institutional Research & Evaluation, Inc.