Achievements
Student Success
WVU recipients of prestigious scholarships include 2 Beckman Scholars, 25 Rhodes Scholars, 26 Truman Scholars, 50 Goldwater Scholars, 4 George C. Marshall (British) Scholars, 6 Morris K. Udall Scholars, 5 USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team Members (and 11 academic team honorees), 29 Boren Scholars, 106 Gilman Scholars, 81 Fulbright Scholars, 3 Department of Homeland Security Scholars, 39 Critical Language Scholars, one Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholar, 34 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships and one Schwarzman Scholar.
Christopher Smith, Easton Cahill and Rachel King were named winners of the , the nation鈥檚 premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences. (2024)
James Campbell and Felicia Carrara are recipients of the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 and will use the funding to study Arabic and Russian, respectively, this summer. (2024)
Austin Braniff, Kara Cunningham, Courtney Glenn, Ashley Martsen-Poulin and Megan Weaver joined an elite group of researchers who鈥檝e been awarded the , a program aimed at supporting graduate education in STEM-based fields. (2024)
Chemical engineering graduate research assistant Raphael Oladokun was recognized as the . (2024)
Innovation and Economic Prosperity
WVU is one of just more than 80 higher education institutions to receive the , a research, policy and advocacy organization advancing the work of public universities in North America. (2023)
Academics
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has honored 19 WVU faculty as West Virginia Professors of the Year. , professor of computer science and electrical engineering, earned the award in 2015.
WVU is one of only about a dozen schools in the country that are land-grant, doctoral research universities with a comprehensive medical school.
WVU is also a space-grant university, part of a network formed for outer-space research.
World University Rankings places WVU in the top 2.5% of 19,788 universities.
WVU is the only university in the country offering a bachelor of science, master of science and PhD in Forensic Science. WVU is only one of two programs nationally that offers the .
The was the first in the country to rotate students through a clinical addiction program, which is now a requirement for all American medical students.
WVU is one of only four institutions that offer a joint ABET-accredited major.
Our Aquatics Therapy program (in the exercise physiology major) is the only one in the U.S.
The at WVU Health Sciences is one of the world鈥檚 only fully-accredited healthcare simulation centers.
According to Niche, WVU graduates have a 93% job placement rate (two years after graduation).
Research
WVU continues to rank at the highest level of research activity (鈥淒octoral Universities: Highest Research Activity鈥 or 鈥淩1鈥) as reflected in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Only 146 of the nation's 4,500 colleges and universities attain this ranking.
In 2021, WVU reached a new record of research funding: $203 million. Funding from the federal government led this amount, with $110 million, followed by State funding at $42 million and industry/other at $40 million. The top two funding federal agencies were the National Institutes of Health ($39 million) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture ($15 million).
455 undergraduate students presented their research at WVU symposia and Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in 2023.
The FBI named WVU its national leader for biometrics research. The partnership identifies WVU as the academic arm of the FBI鈥檚 Biometric Center of Excellence.
The 鈥 the world鈥檚 first institute devoted to the study of human memory 鈥 is at WVU. RNI's breakthroughs in the treatment of addiction and Alzheimer's disease have been featured on and in the Washington Post and the New York Times.
Maura McLaughlin, Eberly Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, was selected as a member of the , one of the highest honors in the scientific world. (2024)
Duncan Lorimer, professor of physics and astronomy, was selected as a for his contributions to pulsar astrophysics and his role in the discovery of fast radio bursts. (2024)
Service
WVU is one of only 75 schools recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for Engagement Classification (recognized since 2010).
WVU has been named to the President鈥檚 Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll every year since 2006.
In a typical year, WVU students contribute over 100,000 service hours.
The provides about 40,000 hours of free legal services and student pro bono projects annually.
Bonnie鈥檚 Bus, WVU Cancer Institute鈥檚 mobile digital mammography unit, has provided over 21,000 mammograms and detected at least 110 cases of breast cancer since 2009.
educators and volunteers guide 1-in-5 West Virginia youths in 鈥渓earn by doing鈥 4-H projects and activities that build citizenship and career skills.
The located at WVU serves the nation by providing free consulting services designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities.
WVU is one of a few universities to have a service dog training program where students learn how to train assistance dogs.
Diversity
WVU received a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for the sixth consecutive year in 2021 from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
Campus Pride gave WVU a 4.5 out of 5 rating on their national list of LGBTQ+ Friendly Colleges and Universities.
International Connections
WVU received a Senator Paul Simon Award for campus internationalization. (2019)
Since 1991 WVU鈥檚 has given students in medicine, dentistry, and other health careers opportunities to visit and provide care in countries whose people have limited access to health care.
WVU alumni reside in 135 nations and have organized alumni chapters in Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; Malaysia; and Kuwait.
WVU鈥檚 Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design is a Peace Corps Master鈥檚 International partner, which allows graduate students to pursue a master of science degree while also completing an international service internship with the Peace Corps.
Athletics
Since the program's first season in 1996, the team has never posted a losing season.
The WVU has been national champions 19 times and hosted the NCAA Championship in 2019 and 2024.
Over 20 51在线s have played in the Super Bowl.