West Chester University of Pennsylvania Review

West Chester University of Pennsylvania Overview

West Chester University of Pennsylvania is a 4-year public college that graduates the largest number of certified teachers in the state. In addition to the well-known education program, notable options include information technology degree programs. The Computer Science Department is one of only 70 in the U.S. approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.

Although it is located in a small community, West Chester University of Pennsylvania is only 25 miles from Philadelphia and 17 miles from Wilmington, giving students access to both large-city and small-town advantages. The school offers practicum and internship opportunities for the mutual benefit of students and employers; for example, paid cooperative assignments in the Pharmaceutical Product Development program allow students to train for jobs in the biopharmaceutical industry while staffing local businesses.

Admissions and Enrollment Information

The admissions process for West Chester University begins with the submission of a completed application and processing fee. Those with a GED must send an official copy of the score report. A 'personal statement' must be included along with an official high school transcript and standardized test scores. The university believes that some applicants may not show their potential through these means alone, so two programs are available for qualified students to alternately prove their candidacy. They may either attend a summer development program or enroll with a smaller, monitored workload.

Campus Facilities and Learning Environment

The West Chester University of Pennsylvania campus is comprised of 100 acres of natural forest, fields and streams for environmental studies of habitats. In the classroom, the teacher-to-student ratio is 1:16. Departments have their own laboratories; for example, the physics department boasts electronics, optics and special project labs.

Campus facilities include a geology museum, astronomical observatory and planetarium.

There are also two libraries. The Francis Harvey Green Library has more than two million items, including print materials, audio-visual materials, microforms and online resources. There are more than a half-million electronic books and full-text articles from 25,000 journals and magazines.

Colleges at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Business and Public Affairs
• College of Education
• College of Health Sciences
• College of Visual and Performing Arts

School Contact Information

• Address: University Avenue and High Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19383
• Phone Number: (610) 436-1000