Private nonprofitMedical

Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·westernu.edu
Total enrollment
3,665
peer median 3,974
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About

The Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a private medical university in Pomona, California, United States. With an enrollment of 3,724 students (2022–23), WesternU offers more than twenty academic programs in multiple colleges. It also operates an additional campus in Lebanon, Oregon.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 18 Title IV programs, 9 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 9 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
18
Passing
9
50.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

18programs
  • Passing9 · 50.0%
  • No Data9 · 50.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
9
No data
9

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

9
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+58.8%
$98,221 vs $61,854
Optometry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+103.6%
$125,916 vs $61,854
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Graduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+104.2%
$126,283 vs $61,854
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+114.4%
$132,638 vs $61,854
Dentistry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+135.6%
$145,722 vs $61,854
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+149.3%
$154,185 vs $61,854
Medicine
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+153.0%
$156,511 vs $61,854
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+157.3%
$159,158 vs $61,854

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

7
Dentistry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
284%
$414,030 debt · $145,722 earn
Optometry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
195%
$245,648 debt · $125,916 earn
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
187%
$183,265 debt · $98,221 earn
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
146%
$231,666 debt · $159,158 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
87%
$133,927 debt · $154,185 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Graduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
87%
$109,538 debt · $126,283 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
78%
$103,443 debt · $132,638 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1996Next review Jun 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 13

Action history · 21

  1. Apr 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    American Podiatric Medical Association, Council on Podiatric Medical Education · Podiatry (POD) - Colleges of podiatric medicine, including first-professional and graduate degree programs
  2. Mar 2024Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  3. Jun 2023Removal of Monitoring Status
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  4. Jun 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education · Pharmacy (PHAR) - Professional degree programs
  5. Jan 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    American Osteopathic Association, Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation · Osteopathic Medicine (OSTEO) - Programs leading to the D.O. degree

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, students received in Pell grants, alongside $227.5M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
null total
Direct Loans
$227.5M
4,937 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Unsubsidized · Grad$102.4M
2,613 loan awards
Grad PLUS$125.1M
2,324 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 956 borrowers who entered repayment, 2 (0.2%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.2%
-2.1pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
956
Defaulted
2
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
0.3%
2017
0.2%
2018
0.4%
2019
0.2%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Westernu

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs17
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,045 total completions
01Health Professions
93589.5%
02Agriculture
10610.1%
03Biological Sciences
40.4%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
3,665
12-mo unduplicated
3,760

Gender split

Men
37%1,380
Women
63%2,380

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
4.56
17 offenses · 3,724 students

3-year trend

1.572 yrs ago2.901 yr ago4.56Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
34
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
11
Burglary
4
Robbery
1
Aggravated assault
1

By location

17total
  • On campus11
  • Public property6

Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Westernu vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Westernu selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectWestern University of Health Sciences
3,665
82%45.9%34,145$23,897R1 Research
62%88.4%6,272$19,798R2 Research
82%65.4%9,760$47,527R2 Research
83%79.8%8,581$32,380R2 Research
1,534
1,216
4,210R2 Research
653
2,567
3,738
48%73.1%2,312$25,009Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
63%73.2%20,910$31,303R2 Research
2,942
2,901
1,926
76%60.8%11,937$26,556Doctoral/Professional
94%11.5%13,599$35,435R1 Research
86%41.8%40,065$15,288R1 Research
3,007
84%52.4%9,714$31,265R2 Research
92%9.8%46,566$31,927R1 Research
Peer group median82%60.8%3,974$31,265

Institutions like Westernu

Explore the federal data for institutions in Westernu's comparison group.

Westernu Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness
Email
ire [at] westernu.edu
Phone
(909) 623-6116
Address
309 E. Second St., Pomona, CA 91766-1854

Our unit is committed to providing data that supports decision making and planning at Western University of Health Sciences.

Visit IR office page
Team
6 members
  • Satoko Siegel, Ph.D.
    Associate Vice Provost
  • Heather Simmons
    Operations Associate
  • En-Hsien Liu, Ed.D.
    Assistant Director
  • Delia Padilla Kallemeyn, M.A.
    Research Analyst
  • Carl Todaro, B.S.
    Senior Programmer Analyst
  • Kevin Yang
    Research Analyst

Reports & documents (3)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of Westernu (3)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Lee Burnett
  • Gabriel Chiu
  • Ben Thomson
    Medicine

Frequently asked questions about Western University of Health Sciences

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Westernu.

How many students attend Western University of Health Sciences?

Western University of Health Sciences reports a total enrollment of 3,665 students per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Western University of Health Sciences located?

Western University of Health Sciences is located in Pomona, California 91766-1854.

Who runs Institutional Research at Western University of Health Sciences?

Western University of Health Sciences's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness.

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