West Virginia Private Colleges and Universities

Looking for Private Colleges and Universities in West Virginia

West Virginia Private Colleges and Universities: University of Charleston - Riggleman Hall

The mountains of West Virginia provide a bucolic setting for students looking to start their academic life or advance their careers at one of West Virginia private colleges. For starters, some worth considering are Bethany College and Davis & Elkins College. These campuses offer top-quality education in a variety of fields like communication studies, education, computer science, and finance, to name a few.

Private Colleges in West Virginia

West Virginia private colleges and universities offer a wide range of education programs with degrees and certificates up to the doctoral level, as well as professional degrees such as law and medicine.

West Virginia 11 public four-year colleges and universities, 10 public two-year colleges and 9 private universities ranging from baccalaureate universities to master's universities and for-profit institutions. These West Virginia private colleges are diverse in character, academic emphasis, and origins. Some private colleges or schools have a religious affiliation; others are secular. Private colleges and universities may be profit or non-profit institutions. Typically, West Virginia independent colleges or private schools give weight to personal characteristics and activities in addition to considering GPA and test scores.

Private Colleges and Universities in West Virginia includes:

  • Marshall University, Huntington
  • University of Charleston, Charleston
  • Alderson Broaddus College (Alderson-Broaddus College) in Philippi, WV
  • Bethany College in Bethany, WV
  • Davis & Elkins College (Davis and Elkins College) in Elkins, WV
  • Ohio Valley University in Vienna, WV
  • Salem International University in Salem, WV
  • West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV
  • Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, WV

The largest and most well known university in the state is West Virginia University, which is located in Morgantown, West Virginia. This university is a public, land-grant, research institution. West Virginia Wesleyan College is the most expensive with an in-state tuition of $24,780. On average, how much does it costs to attend private college in West Virginia? The average annual in-state private college tuition in West Virginia is $14,847 in 2013. A few top colleges in West Virginia can be found in the state capital of Charleston, which is located in the central part of the state.

West Virginia Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

In 1951, a group of West Virginia business leaders joined forces to promote the work of independent liberal arts colleges in the state. Our passionate founders believed that a collaborative effort of raising funds would strengthen the colleges and build a foundation for obtaining financial resources.

WVICU's eight member institutions currently enroll over 8,850 students, nearly half of whom are West Virginians. Our research shows that 36 percent, or approximately 3,200, of these students are the first of any generation in their family to attend a college or university.

WVICU member colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to offer the nurturing, individual attention that first generation students need. These students benefit from attending our faith-based colleges and universities that have a low student to faculty ratio of 13 to 1.

The Circle of Vision program started in 1997 and has awarded scholarships totaling $4.45 million through 2013. The program continually evolves to meet the changing needs of the donors, schools, and students.
Scholarship recipients must be a resident of West Virginia and demonstrate financial need and academic excellence.



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