Founded in 1890 in Pullman, Washington State University (WSU) is Washington’s land-grant university with an overarching mission of improving the quality of life for all citizens – locally, nationally, and globally. WSU is committed to innovation and excellence in research and scholarship. WSU has a current enrollment of over 30,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and approximately 6,000 faculty and staff at its five campuses (Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Everett), as well as its numerous other locations across the State of Washington and online through its Global Campus. With a new President (Dr. Kirk Schulz began as the University’s 11th president in June 2016) and a new Vice President of Finance and Administration (Stacy Pearson started in March 2017); the University community is energized and excited.

U.S. News & World Report's 2016 "America's Best Colleges" rankings place WSU in the top 75 public national universities. WSU was one of only three Northwest universities to be placed in the top two tiers, along with the University of Washington and the University of Oregon. WSU is ranked as a "highest research activity" institution by the Carnegie Foundation and is in the top 12 percent of research universities as reported by the National Science Foundation. Also, WSU was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for its engagement activities with its Community Engagement Classification.

WSU employs approximately 6,000 faculty and professional staff and the University deeply values diversity among its faculty, students, and staff. WSU students represent diverse social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds: approximately 10 percent of WSU students hail from outside the state of Washington, and approximately 6.8 percent are international students. WSU annually awards more than $280 million in scholarships and financial aid to approximately 17,000 undergraduate students.