students sitting in the grass, petting Colonel Rock, the bulldog live mascot students sitting in the grass, petting Colonel Rock, the bulldog live mascot

It Starts Here

Leathernecks create, lead, and dare to stand out

Major in your Minors

Race, Religion, Gender, and Multidisciplinary Studies

  • Design your curriculum with two College of Arts and Sciences minors plus a third minor from any college within WIU. Upon program completion, students will graduate with a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences.
  • Small class sizes with experienced and dedicated faculty members in Macomb, Quad Cities, or online.
  • With the African American Studies degree option, students gain a firm grounding in courses on Black history, culture, and social, political, and economic life, positioning them to be leaders in their careers and work towards the transformation of communities.
  • Minors available include Religious Studies, Women’s Studies, Cannabis and Culture, and African American Studies.

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Center for Performing Arts Construction Underway

The Center for Performing Arts will cement the foundation of excellence that is performing arts at Western Illinois University. When the center is complete, WIU will be THE destination for arts and culture in our region and beyond.

—Billy Clow, Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication

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Do art and music make us smarter humans? WIU Professor Discovers Answers in Our Genes

Are music and the arts key to smarter, more efficient human minds? Our research finds supporting evidence in traditional indigenous knowledge systems and in some of our earliest, uniquely-human genes.

— Andrea Alveshere, Associate Professor, Anthropology and Chemistry

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Creating a World of Innovation: WIU Physics Chair Part of National Quantum Information Science Teaching Team

Our goal is to not only introduce the students to the magical world of quantum, but also to get them excited about it and its future promise for the development of ultra-powerful quantum computers and other quantum technologies.

— Kishor T. Kapale, Chair, Department of Physics

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