West Virginia's flagship public research university, home to the state's only law and dental schools.
WVU operates 13 colleges and schools offering more than 350 degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional levels. The university is home to West Virginia's only law school (founded 1878) and dental school (founded 1957). The institution maintains strong programs in engineering, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, journalism, and mining—including the nation's first mining program. Faculty and students have earned significant national scholarships and fellowships, including 27 Truman Scholars, 53 Goldwater Scholars, and 25 Rhodes Scholars.
The main Morgantown campus comprises three sub-campuses: the historic Downtown Campus in the Monongahela River valley, the Evansdale Campus developed in the 1950s–60s to accommodate growth, and the Health Sciences Campus featuring the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center and Ruby Memorial Hospital. The university operates a Personal Rapid Transit system, the world's first automated rapid transit system (opened 1973), connecting the split campuses. Students engage in over 350 student organizations, Greek life (Phi Kappa Psi was the first fraternity, founded 1890), and recreational activities including FallFest and WVU "Up All Night."
WVU competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The football team achieved a 3–0 BCS bowl record, ten consecutive bowl appearances, and a #1 USA Today Coaches' Poll ranking in the early 2000s. The men's basketball team won the 2007 NIT Championship and 2010 Big East championship, with four Sweet Sixteen appearances. The university's athletic programs have brought national exposure and contributed to enrollment growth to nearly 30,000 students.
Established in 1867 as the Agricultural College of West Virginia, the institution was renamed West Virginia University in 1868 to reflect its expanding mission. Historic buildings including Woodburn Hall (centerpiece completed 1876) and Martin Hall (1870) remain central to campus identity. Modern facilities include the WVU Coliseum (opened 1970, capacity 14,000), Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, and a $34 million recreation facility (opened 2001). The university maintains an endowment of $889 million (FY 2025) and operates with a budget of $1.27 billion (FY 2026).