Washington State University is a public institution that was founded in 1890. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 23,135, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 1,742 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Washington State University's ranking in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 128.

The main campus of Washington State University is located in Pullman, though there are also regional locations throughout the state in Spokane and the Tri-Cities, as well as in Vancouver. The school has a large Greek community that recruits more than 40 percent of the student population.