Western Michigan University's College of Arts and Sciences points of pride begin with our people—students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters. Discover a few of many unique and impressive distinctions that make our college successful.
Our students
- Six 2017 Medallion Scholarships were awarded to freshmen students with majors or minors in WMU's College of Arts and Sciences. Medallion Scholarships are among the highest honors WMU can bestow on an incoming freshman. Valued at $60,000 each over four years, they constitute one of the largest merit-based awards in American higher education.
- Twenty-two students from the college were named 2017 University Presidential Scholars. The designation is the highest academic honor that WMU can bestow on its undergraduates.
- Sports Media students received real-world experience with ESPN3.
- A team of WMU journalism students led by Professor Sue Ellen Christian penned a recent issue of West Michigan’s Encore Magazine.
Our faculty
- Dr. Jeffrey Angles, professor of world languages and literatures, is one of only a handful of non-native speakers ever to win Japan's Yomiuri Prize for Literature.
- Alum featured in CBS show: Dr. Jim Olson (B.S. ’84, Biomedical Sciences) “lights up” brain tumors so neurosurgeons can see cancer.
- Dr. Joseph Stoltman, professor of geography, has won two prestigious national awards, recognizing him as being among the best and brightest in geography education.
- College of Arts and Sciences faculty accounted for $4.9 million in sponsored research for 2015-16.
- College of Arts and Sciences faculty regularly receive some of the most prestigious awards in American higher education, including a McArthur Grant, Guggenheim Fellowships, a Humboldt Foundation Fellowship, the Alexander Gode Medal, NSF Achievement Grants, Fulbright Fellowships, NEA Fellowships, and appointments to national academies.
Community outreach
- WMU's extensive efforts to offer autism services and train professionals in the field attracted a $4 million award approved by the Michigan Legislature in 2014, and some of that funding supported the renovation of the center's new home.