Western Illinois University

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Population 25,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 110 (71%)
Sunshine Hours 2,540 (45%)
Days Without Precipitation 248 (52%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 4,112
Men / Women 42% / 58%
From State 86%
From Region 9%
Athletes 358 (9.6%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 56%
Black 20%
Hispanic 12%
International 5%
Mixed 4%
Asian 1%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Arts and Sciences 343 39% 62% 1% 18% 10% 4% $56,358 4 -0.40 60 94% 8.4%
Applied Chemistry 6 — 33% 67% 0% 33% 0% 0% $67,678 31 -0.38 78 93% — — — —
Chemistry 13 — 15% 85% 0% 0% 8% 0% $67,678 31 -0.38 78 93% — — — —
Geosciences 4 — 75% 75% 0% 0% 25% 0% $58,279 22 -0.61 64 100% — — — —
Mathematics 6 +1 67% 83% 0% 17% 0% 0% $64,077 17 -0.80 73 — — — — —
Meteorology 10 — 50% 80% 0% 10% 0% 10% $61,456 41 -0.33 69 — — — — —
Physics 2 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $71,526 15 -0.87 82 — — — — —
Biology 32 — 16% 56% 0% 12% 12% 16% $54,701 7 -1.36 56 98% — — — —
Business Economics 5 — 40% 80% 0% 0% 0% 20% $75,603 18 -0.84 85 — — — — —
English 14 — 29% 57% 0% 21% 14% 7% $45,706 16 -0.82 32 94% — — — —
Foreign Languages 2 +6 50% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $53,020 33 -0.45 52 100% — — — —
History 15 +4 67% 80% 0% 7% 7% 0% $50,866 28 -0.59 46 91% — — — —
Liberal Studies 113 — 60% 50% 0% 28% 12% 4% $59,048 67 +0.17 65 92% 8.3% — — —
Anthropology 14 +1 14% 86% 0% 0% 7% 0% $50,134 22 -0.61 44 — — — — —
Geographic Information Science and Cartography 8 +1 75% 75% 0% 25% 0% 0% $56,100 22 -0.69 59 — — — — —
Political Science 10 +2 40% 60% 0% 20% 10% 10% $63,198 25 -0.66 72 97% 9.8% — — —
Psychology 69 +4 13% 59% 1% 17% 10% 1% $51,294 30 -0.57 47 95% — — — —
Sociology 18 +2 28% 72% 0% 17% 6% 6% $51,118 29 -0.52 46 96% — — — —
General Education 2 — 0% 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% $59,048 77 +0.47 65 92% 8.3% — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Business and Technology 192 62% 55% 1% 11% 17% 8% $79,762 72 -0.58 88 97% 6.9%
Civil Engineering 5 — 60% 60% 0% 0% 0% 40% $90,503 39 -0.26 94 — — — — —
Electrical and Electronics Engineering 2 — 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $100,315 12 -0.79 97 — — — — —
General Engineering 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $97,052 52 -0.11 96 100% — — — —
Mechanical Engineering 8 — 100% 75% 0% 0% 12% 0% $104,023 77 +0.61 98 — — — — —
Computer Science 13 — 100% 69% 0% 8% 8% 8% $93,731 14 -0.91 95 93% — — — —
Cybersecurity 4 — 100% 75% 0% 0% 0% 0% $88,129 40 -0.29 93 — — — — —
Information Technology 5 — 80% 80% 0% 0% 0% 0% $93,731 45 -0.22 95 93% — — — —
Accounting 24 +1 50% 71% 0% 4% 17% 0% $68,787 10 -1.18 79 96% 6.0% — — —
Business Administration 28 — 64% 64% 0% 21% 7% 0% $76,702 64 -0.05 86 98% 6.9% — — —
Business Statistics 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $76,356 17 -0.92 86 — — — — —
Finance 19 — 42% 58% 0% 16% 0% 16% $77,164 14 -0.76 87 96% — — — —
Human Resources Management 18 — 17% 44% 6% 6% 22% 11% $77,923 62 +0.14 87 100% 5.9% — — —
Logistics 16 — 81% 31% 6% 19% 38% 6% $76,702 18 -0.90 86 98% 6.9% — — —
Managerial Economics — — — — — — — — $77,167 20 -0.78 87 — — — — —
Marketing 19 — 42% 37% 0% 21% 32% 5% $74,509 44 -0.24 85 98% 9.1% — — —
Construction Management 14 — 86% 36% 0% 0% 43% 14% $79,166 4 -1.89 88 94% — — — —
Engineering Technologies 15 — 67% 47% 0% 13% 20% 20% $79,828 17 -0.74 88 96% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Education and Human Services 463 32% 67% 1% 11% 13% 4% $60,705 12 -0.02 68 98% 7.0%
Agriculture 62 — 48% 92% 0% 2% 5% 2% $64,353 61 +0.27 74 97% — — — —
Dietetics 7 — 0% 57% 0% 0% 0% 43% $55,303 15 -0.83 57 95% — — — —
Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies 1 — 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $56,514 17 -0.71 60 — — — — —
Clinical Laboratory Science 1 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $72,709 28 -0.45 83 — — — — —
Communication Sciences and Disorders 10 — 0% 70% 0% 0% 20% 10% $61,244 44 -0.11 69 100% — — — —
Exercise Science 18 — 39% 56% 0% 17% 22% 6% $53,104 14 -1.01 52 97% — — — —
Nursing 30 — 13% 47% 3% 13% 7% 27% $73,162 1 -1.90 83 100% 3.5% — — —
Health Administration 6 — 0% 17% 0% 67% 0% 0% $59,756 41 -0.34 66 100% — — — —
Recreation Management 17 — 41% 71% 0% 0% 0% 12% $50,321 10 -0.93 45 96% — — — —
Family and Consumer Sciences — — — — — — — — $56,499 71 +0.38 60 93% — — — —
Social Work 25 — 4% 52% 0% 28% 20% 0% $55,402 62 +0.25 57 97% — — — —
Bilingual and Multilingual Education — — — — — — — — $49,981 24 -0.77 44 — — — — —
Elementary Education 74 — 5% 85% 0% 3% 8% 1% $44,338 8 -1.18 28 96% — — — —
Learning Sciences 3 — 0% 67% 0% 0% 33% 0% $46,113 11 -1.05 33 — — — — —
Middle School Education 2 — 50% 50% 0% 50% 0% 0% $44,338 8 -1.26 28 96% — — — —
Physical Education 16 — 62% 62% 0% 6% 25% 6% $55,502 42 -0.28 58 94% — — — —
Public Health Education 8 — 12% 62% 12% 12% 0% 12% $53,479 27 -0.71 53 — — — — —
Special Education 12 — 0% 92% 0% 8% 0% 0% $45,978 5 -1.50 33 97% — — — —
Criminal Justice 149 +1 44% 56% 1% 14% 21% 1% $69,443 92 +1.32 80 98% 7.7% — — —
Fire Services Administration 15 — 87% 73% 0% 20% 0% 0% $78,772 62 +0.25 88 100% 6.4% — — —
Homeland Security 7 +1 57% 71% 0% 14% 0% 0% $47,707 2 -1.68 37 100% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Fine Arts and Communication 89 40% 69% 2% 16% 7% 2% $47,933 1 -0.64 38 96% 10.5%
Communication 28 +1 32% 57% 4% 18% 7% 4% $54,676 25 -0.67 56 93% 10.5% — — —
Journalism 16 — 69% 75% 0% 19% 6% 0% $53,781 16 -0.95 54 — — — — —
Fine Arts 10 — 50% 60% 10% 20% 10% 0% $39,840 15 -0.75 17 95% — — — —
Music Performance 22 — 45% 73% 0% 14% 5% 5% $43,747 38 -0.32 27 100% — — — —
Studio Art 8 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $39,840 15 -0.75 17 95% — — — —
Theater 3 — 33% 67% 0% 33% 0% 0% $39,553 29 -0.47 17 95% — — — —
Visual and Performing Arts 2 — 0% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $38,223 20 -0.65 14 100% — — — —

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $16,036
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $16,239
Est. In-State Cost $20,744
Est. Out-of-State Cost $21,007
ROI Percentile 70th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 61%
4-Year Graduation Rate 30%
6-Year Graduation Rate 45%
Transfer-Out Rate 30%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Professional 18.4% 200 52% 56% 1% 14% 20% 3% $70,841 57 +0.75 81 98% 7.6%
Social Sciences 17.3% 188 25% 63% 1% 18% 10% 2% $53,290 25 -0.52 52 95% 10.3%
Business & Economics 14.1% 153 47% 55% 1% 14% 14% 7% $71,755 32 -0.55 82 98% 6.9%
Humanities 13.2% 144 58% 54% 0% 25% 12% 3% $56,815 61 -0.02 61 92% 8.3%
Education 10.8% 117 14% 79% 2% 5% 9% 3% $46,955 12 -1.03 35 95% 8.3%
Agriculture & Food Science 6.4% 70 43% 87% 0% 3% 4% 6% $63,336 63 +0.14 72 97% —
Health Sciences 5.4% 59 19% 54% 2% 12% 14% 17% $65,015 10 -1.30 75 99% 3.5%
Arts 4.1% 45 36% 73% 2% 13% 7% 2% $41,659 11 -0.52 21 98% —
Physical Sciences & Math 3.8% 41 44% 80% 0% 10% 5% 2% $64,904 12 -0.47 75 94% —
Life & Natural Sciences 2.9% 32 16% 56% 0% 12% 12% 16% $54,701 6 -1.36 56 98% —
Computer Science 2.0% 22 95% 73% 0% 5% 5% 5% $92,712 20 -0.64 95 93% —
Engineering 1.5% 16 81% 69% 0% 0% 6% 12% $98,899 39 +0.12 97 100% —

Research R3

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Agriculture & Food Science $2.7M #114 91% $0.1M 1 #115 5 —
Engineering $0.8M #284 100% $0 — — — —
Humanities & Social Sciences $0.2M #450 85% $0.0M — — — —
Education $0.2M #355 0% $0.1M 11 #314 — —
Physical Sciences & Math $0.1M #553 100% $0 — — — —
Life & Natural Sciences $0.0M #537 0% $0.0M — — — —
Business & Economics $0 #456 — $0 — — — —
Computer Science $0 #525 — $0 — — — —
Health Sciences $0 #441 — $0 — — — —
Total $4.0M #408 89% $0.2M 12 #446 5 —

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D1

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Football 114 $3.5M $3.5M $0
Track & Field (combined) 45 $302K $302K $0
Baseball 34 $773K $773K $0
Soccer 29 $557K $557K $0
Basketball 14 $1.4M $1.4M $0
Golf 8 $273K $273K $0
Total 216 $6.8M $6.8M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 90 $459K $459K $0
Soccer 29 $548K $548K $0
Softball 24 $657K $657K $0
Volleyball 17 $652K $652K $0
Basketball 14 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Tennis 11 $316K $316K $0
Golf 10 $255K $255K $0
Total 142 $4.1M $4.1M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 135 $761K $761K $0
Football 114 $3.5M $3.5M $0
Soccer 58 $1.1M $1.1M $0
Baseball 34 $773K $773K $0
Basketball 28 $2.6M $2.6M $0
Softball 24 $657K $657K $0
Golf 18 $528K $528K $0
Volleyball 17 $652K $652K $0
Tennis 11 $316K $316K $0
Total 358 $14.8M $14.8M $0

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 72%
Yield (non-ED) 10%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 72% 72% 72%

This college’s Common Data Set does not break down admissions by applicant demographics, so in-state, out-of-state, and international applicants share one Regular Decision rate.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional