What Academic Programs and Majors Does WWU Offer?

Updated

Western Washington University offers more than 200 academic programs, spanning undergraduate majors, concentrations, and graduate study. If you are trying to find a specific major or decide whether WWU has a program that fits your goals, the fastest path is the "Explore all Majors" directory on the WWU site. The examples below show the range of what is available, from the sciences to business to recreation.

How the program catalog is organized

WWU presents its academics in a few layers, which matters when you search:

  • Academic programs — the overall count of 200+ that WWU uses to describe its offerings.
  • Majors — the primary field you declare, such as Biology or Business Administration.
  • Concentrations — a defined track inside a major, such as the four concentrations within Recreation & Tourism Management.
  • Degrees — some fields, like Biology, offer multiple degree options rather than a single path.

This means a single department can contain several distinct choices. Biology, for instance, spans Biomedical Science, Marine Biology, Molecular Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity, and Mathematical Biology.

Example majors WWU highlights

WWU's site features a rotating set of programs. The following are drawn directly from its featured and trending listings:

Program What it covers
Recreation & Tourism Management Concentrations in tourism, community recreation, outdoor recreation, and therapeutic recreation
Biology Living organisms from molecular to ecosystem scale; multiple degrees and concentrations
Chemistry Identification, investigation, and use of substances; described as widely recognized by employers and graduate schools
Mathematics Pattern, structure, and change; applied in fields from internet security to green energy to investment
Business Administration Preparation for leadership roles in corporations and community organizations

These are examples, not the full catalog. WWU states it has 200+ academic programs, so treat this table as a sample of the range rather than a complete list.

How to explore all majors

  1. Go to the WWU academics or majors section of the site.
  2. Use the "Explore all Majors" entry point, which leads to the full program directory.
  3. Browse by field or search for a keyword tied to your interest.
  4. Open a program page to see its degrees, concentrations, and department description.

The directory is the authoritative source for whether a specific major exists and what it includes. Featured lists on the homepage rotate, so a program missing from the homepage may still be in the full catalog.

Choosing between programs

If you are comparing options, use the same dimensions across each:

  • Degree types offered — does the field give you one degree or several?
  • Concentrations — can you specialize, as with Recreation & Tourism Management?
  • Department focus — what does the faculty say the program prepares you for?
  • Post-graduation path — some programs, like Chemistry, are explicitly described as recognized by employers and graduate schools.

Match those against your goal: a specific career, graduate study, or broad exploration. WWU's own framing emphasizes small classes and faculty connections, so program pages that describe faculty goals are worth reading closely.

Common sticking points

  • Homepage features are not the catalog. Trending and featured majors change; always confirm in the full directory.
  • Concentrations can change the answer. "Does WWU have X?" may be yes as a concentration even if it is not a standalone major.
  • Program counts include graduate and undergraduate. The 200+ figure is not a count of undergraduate majors alone.

For the current, complete list, use WWU's "Explore all Majors" directory rather than any summary, including this one.