Wayne State University

Historical background

The first component of the modern Wayne State University was established in 1868 as the Detroit Medical College, now the School of Medicine.

In 1881, the Detroit Normal Training School was established, now known as the College of Education. Old Main Hall was built in 1896 as Central High School, which later began adding college classes in 1913. Those classes evolved into the Detroit Junior College in 1917, the Colleges of the City of Detroit in 1923 and now WSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In 1919, David L. Mackenzie — who served a dual role as Principal of Detroit Central High School and Detroit Junior College — was officially appointed first dean of the college that he had originated in 1917. With Mackenzie at the helm, Detroit Junior College grew to become the third-largest institution of higher learning in Michigan. The college was granted four-year degree status in 1923, becoming the College of the City of Detroit. Mackenzie continued as dean until his death in 1926.

In 1920, the Merrill-Palmer Institute for Child Development was founded. It is now known as the Merrill-Palmer Skillman Institute.

In 1927, the Detroit Board of Education dedicated its newest high school to the memory of Mackenzie. The three-story structure stood on the city's west side at 9275 Wyoming Avenue; Mackenzie High School closed its doors in June 2007 and was demolished in 2012. A new pre-kingergarten-to-eighth-grade Mackenzie School opened near the high school site in 2012.

In 1933, the Detroit Board of Education organized the six colleges it ran — liberal arts, medical, education, pharmacy, engineering and a graduate school — into one university. In January 1934, that institution was officially named Wayne University, taking its name from the county in which it is located.

Wayne University continued to grow, adding its Law School in 1927, its School of Social Work in 1935, and the School of Business Administration in 1946. Wayne University was renamed Wayne State University in 1956 and the institution became a constitutionally established university by a popularly adopted amendment to the Michigan Constitution in 1959.

The Wayne State University Board of Governors created the Institute of Gerontology in 1965 in response to a State of Michigan mandate. The primary mission in that era was to engage in research, education and service in the field of aging.

Wayne State University continued growing with the additions of the College of Lifelong Learning in 1973, and the School of Fine and Performing Arts and the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs in 1985.

The university libraries have grown to include seven, including desks at the university's extension centers in Oakland and Macomb counties.

Over the last few years, WSU has been aggressive in constructing new buildings, including the Integrative Biosciences Center(IBio), a 207,000-square-foot facility encourages interdisciplinary work across a range of scientific areas with the goal of translating new discoveries to improve human health and society and address health disparities in Detroit and other urban areas. More than 500 researchers, staff and principal investigators work out of the building, which opened in 2016.

On June 5, 2013, the Board of Governors unanimously elected M. Roy Wilson as Wayne State's 12th president. He was sworn in on August 1, 2013.

In 2015, WSU bestowed its first posthumous honorary doctorate degree on Viola Liuzzo.

In 2015, the School of Business administration was renamed the Mike Ilitch School of Business. The name was changed in recognition of a $40 million grant from Mike and Marian Ilitch. In gift will go toward building a new, state-of-the-art business school facility in Detroit, which is scheduled to open in 2018.

Campus

Wayne State's campus is located in the heart of Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District, home of renowned museums, galleries and theatres. The main campus encompasses 203 acres (0.82 km²) of landscaped walkways and gathering spots linking over 100 education and research buildings. The campus is urban and features many architecturally interesting buildings. Notable examples include the Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium, the Education Building, the Maccabees Building, Old Main, McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Chatsworth Tower Apartments, and the Hilberry Theatre. Many of these buildings were designed by notable architects such as Albert Kahn and Minoru Yamasaki.

The Cass Corridor is one of the university's most notable surroundings, with a venerable history and culture that has left an imprint on many WSU alumni. Many notable events have taken place on or near the campus as a result of its unique location. Artists that got their start here include Chuck & Joni Mitchell, Alice Cooper, The White Stripes, The Detroit Cobras, MC5, The Stooges, Savage Grace, Ted Nugent and Grand Funk Railroad. The Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded their Freaky Styley album in this area, which was also home to Creem magazine — the first rock journal, and the first to use the terms "punk rock" and "heavy metal" and give recognition to the likes of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Smiths and others. The now-razed Tartar Field was home to WABX's free Sunday concerts in the late 1960s and early 1970s featuring many of these musicians.

Important events have also taken place on campus, such as Edmund Gettier's refutation of the "justified true belief" theory, which shook 2,500 years of epistemology.

Libraries

With more than four million volumes, the Wayne State University Library System houses the 75th largest collection in the United States, according to the American Library Association. The system ranks among the nation's top libraries according to the Association for Research Libraries.

Housing

The university provides housing for all students in the form of apartments and residence halls. All buildings are equipped with connection to the university computer system, wireless Internet, laundry rooms, activity rooms, and a 24-hour help desk.

Shuttered housing

Sherbrooke Apartments were closed in September 2008. The Forest Apartments were closed after the 2004-05 school year and have since been demolished. The Chatsworth Annex apartments were demolished and replaced with greenspace and volleyball courts after the 2004-2005 school year.

Current housing

Current university-owned apartment buildings consist University Tower, Chatsworth Tower and Helen L. DeRoy Apartments. In the hopes of bringing more residents to campus, Wayne State opened two dormitory-style residence halls in 2002: Yousif B. Ghafari Hall (formerly North Hall) and 2003 Leon H. Atchison Hall (formerly South Hall). This was the first time since the closing of the Newberry Joy Dorms in 1987 that the university offered dorm living. In 2005, the university opened The Towers Residential Suites, a residence hall open to undergraduate and graduate students. The Towers Café is the largest on-campus dining facility and is supplemented by Warrior Dining, located in Ghafari hall.

List

The university allows families with children to live in some units including Chatsworth Tower, DeRoy and University Tower. Residents are zoned to Detroit Public Schools. Zoned schools for all three apartments include DPS Foundation for Early Learners @ Edmonson (K-8), and King High School (9-12).

Tom Adams Field

Tom Adams Field, best known simply as Adams Field, is a 6,000 seat football stadium located on the campus. It is primarily used for Wayne State Warriors football of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a Division II conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Field was named after Thomas B. Adams. He was a football and track athlete in the late 1930s and early 1940s for WSU, and graduated in 1944. Lettering in both sports from 1938-1940, Adams was a major part of the teams. Before he graduated he took a break from school and joined the Navy for more than 4 years, earning multiple awards for his service. After his time in the military he started working at Campbell-Ewald and eventually became the CEO. He also became a board member at his alma mater. For all of his athletic, military, and business achievements the Wayne State Football field was named in honor of him on October 11, 2003. The stadium turf has been replaced several times. The most recent replacement was in May, 2015 when FieldTurfRevolution (2.5") artificial turf was installed. A new 35-foot video board was installed in August, 2015. The eight lane Lowell Blanchard Track, located in the stadium, was first installed in 2006. Mondo surfacing was added to the track in 2011.

Satellite campuses

Wayne State has five satellite campuses in and around the Metro Detroit area. The locations are:

Academic profile

Wayne State's comprehensive academic offerings are divided among 13 schools and colleges: the Mike Ilitch School of Business; the College of Education; the College of Engineering; the College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts; the Graduate School; the Law School; the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the College of Library and Information Science; the School of Medicine; the College of Nursing; the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; the Irvin D. Reid Honors College; and the School of Social Work. Fall 2015 enrollment for the university consisted of 17,669 undergraduates, 7495 graduate students and 2058 professional school students adding up to 27,222 students, down from 27,578 students from before. WSU also has the third-largest international enrollment in Michigan, with more than 2,400 students from 65 countries. The School of Medicine was the first in the country to implement a comprehensive radiology curriculum intertwined throughout the four-year M.D. course as an extension of the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study.

Wayne State University is Michigan's only urban research university and is renowned particularly for its contributions in the sciences. Wayne State University is classified as a research university with the highest research activity by the Carnegie Foundation, the same classification as the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan State University, Harvard, and Stanford. The university also holds the Carnegie Foundation's prestigious Community Engagement classification for its commitment to the metro Detroit area. Wayne State is a constitutionally autonomous educational institution in the state of Michigan, along with Michigan and Michigan State.

The university dropped mathematics as a general education requirement students must take to graduate, effective June 13, 2016. Its faculty has proposed a new, mandatory three-credit hour diversity course for students to pass before allowed to graduate.

Colleges and schools

Wayne State offers more than 380 undergraduate, post-graduate, specialist and certificate programs in 13 schools and colleges.

Professional schools

The Mike Ilitch School of Business offers undergraduate degrees in accounting, finance, global supply chain, information systems, management and marketing. At the graduate level, it offers M.B.A. and M.S. degrees in accounting and taxation, and a Ph.D. with tracks in finance, management and marketing. These programs are fully accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Less than five percent of the more than 11,000 business schools worldwide are AACSB-accredited. More than 31,000 business alumni can be found around the world, developing innovative entrepreneurial ventures, managing multinational corporations and making a difference in nonprofit and government agencies.

The College of Education prepares effective urban educators who are reflective, innovative and committed to diversity. With nearly 40 program areas, from teacher certification to counseling education and many disciplines in between, the college reflects the dynamic character of urban life and is sensitive to the special experiences, conditions and opportunities presented by a culturally diverse student body. The college and its administrators, faculty and staff are dedicated to preparing professionals who can contribute in meaningful ways to a global, technology-oriented society by helping them acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to succeed in their chosen careers in education, health, counseling and more. To achieve this mission, the College of Education is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and service, and to undertaking continuous improvement to keep its programs relevant, up-to-date and technologically innovative.

Established in 1933, College of Engineering faculty generate approximately $20 million annually in research expenditures, particularly in areas of biomedical engineering and computing; advanced materials and flexible manufacturing; and green technologies such as alternative energy technology, alternative energy, and advanced battery storage. The college offers a range of engineering disciplines, including prominent several research areas in which faculty members focus on interdisciplinary teamwork and industry partnerships — alternative energy technology, automotive engineering, electric-drive vehicle engineering, environmental infrastructures and transportation engineering, materials and biomedical engineering, bioinformatics and computational biology, nanotechnology and sustainable engineering.

Established in 1986, the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts (CFPCA) educates the next generation of visual artists, musicians, communication professionals, designers, art historians, actors and dancers. The college offers 16 undergraduate programs 10 graduate programs and three graduate certificates through its departments: the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History, the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance and the departments of communication and music. The departments of music and theatre/dance are nationally accredited.

The focus of the first year is community and the urban experience; during year one, students concentrate on urban issues and history. Year two involves service learning, which takes skills cultivated in the classroom and puts them to use in real-world situations. In year three, students are encouraged to work with faculty mentors to develop individual funded research projects. And in year four, students complete a senior thesis. The Honors College is home to Scholars Day, MedStart, Health Pro Start and BStart, the Urban Scholars/Leaders program, CommunityEngagement@Wayne, Honors Transfer, and the Detroit Urban Scholars program.

Established in 1927, the Law School became a part of the university in 1937. It is Detroit's only public law school and one of just two public law schools in Michigan. Wayne Law blends cutting-edge legal theory with real-world practice skills through eight legal clinics, four externship programs, local and international fellowships and internships, and numerous co-curricular programs, including moot court, scholarly journals and trial advocacy. Its location — minutes away from courts, major law firms, government agencies, corporate headquarters and the nation’s busiest international border — offers incomparable opportunities in employment, hands-on experience and public service. The Law School’s civil rights, entrepreneurship, environmental and international programs, and their related clinics, set Wayne Law apart as an advocate for justice committed to serving the community. The Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights in 2014 established the Detroit Equity Action Lab bring together 60 organizations to address issues of structural racism in Detroit. In 2015, the Law School launched the Levin Center at Wayne Law. The goal of the Levin Center is to educate future attorneys, business leaders, legislators and public servants on their role overseeing public and private institutions and using oversight as an instrument of change.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) was formed in 2004 with the merger of the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science. The college receives approximately $20 million a year in external grants and contracts. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) consists of 19 departments in Humanities, Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, and Life Sciences categories. Programs include African American Studies, Anthropology, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (CMLLC), Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), Criminal Justice, Economics, English, Geology, History, Mathematics, Nutrition & Food Science, Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Urban Studies & Planning. CLAS is the core and hub of Wayne State, providing most of the undergraduate instruction, including almost all of the general education and pre-professional curricula for undergraduates, and a variety of graduate programs that produce many master's degrees and almost half of the Ph.D. degrees awarded at the university. Faculty in CLAS engage in research in a wide range of fields, in several nationally ranked departments, with robust extramural funding.

For more than 90 years, the School of Library and Information Science has prepared leaders for the evolving information profession. Through its master's degree and certificate programs, the School prepares professionals for leadership roles in libraries and other information organizations. By emphasizing the practical application of knowledge and skills, it educates students in the core principles of information management — information access, organization, services and support — as well as emerging fields like digital collections, competitive intelligence, information architecture and data analytics. The school’s faculty research issues that improve library and information services as an essential component to cultural enrichment, knowledge dissemination, economic development and the overall quality of life. The American Library Association first accredited the master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree in 1967. The MLIS degree is available online with select classes also offered on campus.

Founded in 1868, the Wayne State University School of Medicine (SOM) trains the next generation of physicians, the school offers master’s, Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. programs in 14 areas of basic science and public health to about 400 students annually. The school’s research emphasizes neurosciences, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, perinatology, cancer, cardiovascular disease including diabetes and obesity, and psychiatry and addiction research. Research funding levels in 2014, including all grants and contracts from government agencies, private organizations and pharmaceutical companies, was $94.5 million. One of the school’s major assets is the Richard J. Mazurek, M.D., Medical Education Commons, which was designed specifically for students and houses classrooms, student services divisions, the medical library, a sophisticated patient simulation center and the Kado Family Clinical Skills Center.

Established in 1945, the College of Nursing shares the university’s research, teaching and community enrichment missions. The college is committed to providing an exceptional nursing education. Its faculty conducts innovative research that helps build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, advances preventive care, manages symptoms of illness, enhances end-of-life and palliative care, and influences the development of health care policy at all levels. Reflecting its location in a culturally diverse metropolitan area, the college is particularly concerned with reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes among minority populations.

Established in 1924, the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is one of the founding colleges of Wayne State University. It is organized into four departments — fundamental and applied sciences, health care sciences, pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences. It offers 11 fully accredited degree-granting programs,which maintain autonomous admission requirements, curricula, degree requirements and academic procedures.

Established in 1935, the school offers academic programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. levels. The school’s Center for Social Work Research provides support for faculty research and scholarship, engages in relevant research with community partners, and offers consultation and technical assistance. In 2014-15, faculty submitted proposals valued at over $10 million, including an $113,400 annual grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for the Transition to Independence Program (TIP), a comprehensive support program for foster care youth enrolled at Wayne State University.

Academics and rankings

Several of Wayne State's individual programs are well regarded:

Student body

In fall of 2015, Wayne State had a total of 27,222 students at the campus: 17,669 undergraduate students, 7,495 graduate students and 2,058 professional students. In 2014, there was a total of 2,562 first-time undergraduates who enrolled, and 1,742 new undergraduate transfer students. Wayne State had students from nearly every U.S. state and 65 countries enrolled in fall 2015. Wayne State has a very diverse campus and the demographics of the university can be viewed on the table “Wayne State Demographic.” For first-to-second year students, there was a 77% retention rate for full-time students. The main age group of the university is 22-24, with 24% of the undergraduate students, 23% are between 20 and 21, and 24% between the ages of 18 and 19. There are 1,680 full-time instructional faculty members and 1,008 part-time faculty.

Wayne State offers on-campus housing and more than 3,000 students take advantage of that. In 2015, 1,718 students lived in residence halls and 1,429 students lived in on-campus apartments. This makes the university is predominantly a commuter school for students. About 87% of first-time students come from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. There are 7,957 students from Wayne County, 5,798 from Oakland County, and 4,698 students from Macomb County. Oakland and Macomb County each have an interstate (I-75 and I-94, respectively) that runs through the county right to the main campus, providing commuter students with an easy route to classes.

During the 2015 school year, there were 6,230 degrees and certificates granted to students: 3,180 bachelor's degrees, 2,046 master’s degrees, 810 doctoral and professional degrees, and 194 certificates.

Wayne State also offers the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, where the top incoming students are invited to Scholars Day and receive a scholarship to the university. In 2014-15, 1,987 students were enrolled in the Honors College. Thirty-one percent of those students were Presidential scholars and 31% were Wayne State Gold scholars. The Wayne State Gold scholars had a mean high school GPA of 3.81 and a mean ACT (test) score of 27.5. The National Merit finalists had a mean GPA of 3.94 and Presidential scholars had a mean GPA of 3.86. The National Merit finalists had a mean ACT score of 33.7, while the Presidential scholars had a score of 30.4.

Research

At $218.4 million spent annually on research expenditures, Wayne State ranks among the nation's top universities for research according to the National Science Foundation. Additionally, Wayne State has received the Carnegie Foundation's ranking as a doctoral-granting university with the highest research activity.

On October 13, 2015, Wayne State University opened its new $92 million, 207,000-square-foot Integrative Biosciences Center (IBio). As many as 500 researchers, and staff will work out of the IBio Center located in New Center at 6135 Woodward Avenue.

Financials

Wayne State University’s cost of attendance is composed of tuition, including a credit hour rate, student service credit hour fee, fitness center maintenance fee, and a registration fee. Class maintenance fees are applied on a course-to-course basis. The tuition varies depending on undergraduate (lower and upper level division) and graduate students. Although graduate programs, Law School and Medical School tuition differs. Additionally, these two categories can be further broken down into two more subcategories of out-of-state students and resident students.

The tuition cost is estimated based on a 12-credit semester, including both fall and winter semesters. The preceding values are calculated based off Wayne State tuition as well as the costs of books, transportation, living costs, loan fees and other miscellaneous cost. The total estimated tuition cost for a Michigan resident who is living off campus is roughly $17,384. Living on campus brings the cost to about $22,000. If the same scenarios are applied to non-Michigan residents (out of state), the tuition significantly increases. For a non-resident student living on campus, the cost is approximately $33,000.

In the second category, the tuition costs for graduate students can be examined. Graduate students who are residents of Michigan and off campus will have an estimated tuition of $19,144. Resident graduates who are living away from home can plan on having tuition costs of $24,383. For graduate students who are non-Michigan residents, tuition is approximately $35,394.

Wayne State University has a strong commitment to making higher education affordable. In the 2015 academic year, the university awarded $338 million in financial aid. Even while WSU maintains its status as one of only three universities in the state ranked in the top research category of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, tuition at Wayne State remains among the lowest of Michigan's 15 public universities, and the lowest among Michigan's three research universities.

Programs abroad

Wayne State offers more than 20 study abroad programs, some as short as nine days in length with others lasting an entire year. As of 2015, students have their pick from numerous countries including Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain and South Africa. Programs offer studies in art, business, computer science, education, engineering, environmental studies, health care, linguistics, the social sciences, theater and more.

Government

The university is governed by a Board of Governors consisting of eight members elected by Michigan voters for eight-year terms. Board of Governor members serve without compensation. The board elects a university president to serve as the chief executive officer of the university administration. The student body government is headed by a Student Senate (formerly the Student Council). Some colleges of the university have their own Student Senate, which reports back to the main Student Senate. The School of Law has its own Student Board of Governors.

Public safety

The campus is protected by the Wayne State University Department of Public Safety. There are nearly 60 commissioned officers and 15 uniformed civilian cadets serving Wayne State and the surrounding area. All Wayne State Police Officers are certified Michigan peace officers and sworn Detroit police officers. The department prides itself on a response time of 90 seconds or less to on-campus emergencies. The department consists of patrol officers, traffic safety officers, motorcycle officers, bike officers, three canine officers, three investigators, multiple officers assigned to task force positions, communications controllers, records personnel and other support staff. The headquarters is located at 6050 Cass Ave. The Department of Public Safety has been in existence since 1966. The department sponsors several programs throughout campus such as the RAD (Rape Aggression Defense), sells low-cost bike locks and steering wheel "clubs," offers free 'VIN Etching' sessions to help deter auto theft, and sends out monthly emails to keep the university updated on the department's activities. Students whom encounter trouble or distress on campus are encouraged to call the Wayne State Police division directly, rather than the city's 911 services. The Detroit Police Department's high-priority responses have taken upwards of an hour to arrive on scene; by comparison, the Campus Police Department's rapid response time is less than two minutes in the majority of cases, better guaranteeing the safety of Wayne State students.

Media

Wayne State University Alumni Association

Created in 1935 and consisting of more than 260,000 alumni throughout the world, Wayne's alumni association provides a strong loyalty and support system to graduates of the university through sponsoring events such as career booths and job fairs.

Greek life

Wayne State University hosts chapters of over two dozen fraternities and sororities, reflective of the diverse nature of the campus. These groups, through social, academic, leadership and alumni networking programs, are aimed at building lifelong connections among participants and to the University. Members self-select prospective members, and chapters cooperate on a wide variety of inter-Greek programming to support campus life. Once a student becomes a member of one of the traditional social and academic societies, designated by NIC, NPC, NALFO or NPHC allegiance, they may not join another from the conference, due to 'anti-poaching' rules. However, members of the traditional social and academic fraternities, sororities and societies may also be members of professional, service and/or honor societies as they are chosen or earn the honor by grade, class rank or achievement.

Co-educational professional, service or special interest Greek-letter organizations

ΑΩ Alpha Omega, Local Co-ed Christian Service Fraternity
ΑΦΩ Alpha Phi Omega, May 27, 1948, PFA, Co-ed Service Fraternity
ΒΑΨ Beta Alpha Psi, Co-ed Honor Society, for Accounting, Finance and Information Systems
ΔΣΠ Delta Sigma Pi, PFA, Co-ed Professional Business

Inter-chapter cooperation is managed by several governing councils: the Multi-Cultural Greek Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC groups), and the Panhellenic Association (NPC groups).

Attractions

Wayne State University is near many Detroit institutions, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Orchestra Hall, Comerica Park, Ford Field, Joe Louis Arena, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Michigan Science Center, the Detroit Film Theatre, the Fox Theatre, the Fisher Theatre, the Gem Theatre and the Detroit Opera House.

The campus is located near the oldest operating bowling alley in the United States. This bowling alley, The Garden Bowl, is a place where both the students and locals engage in bowling, alcohol and music.

Athletics

The school's intercollegiate athletic program was established in 1917 by Director of Athletics David L. Holmes. Revered by his athletes, Holmes initially coached all sports. His track teams were nationally known into the 1950s; in his first 10 years, he produced two Olympians from the school's Victorian-era gym. Although he had major ambitions for Wayne and scheduled such teams as Notre Dame and Penn State in the 1920s, the lack of facilities and money for athletics kept the program small.

A student poll selected the name of "Tartars" for the school's teams in 1927. In 1999, the university changed the name to the "Warriors," due to the general feeling that the Tartar name was dated and most people were not familiar with the name's historical significance. Wayne State competes in men's baseball, basketball, cross country, fencing, football, golf, swimming and diving, and tennis, and women's basketball, cross country, fencing, golf, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

WSU participates in NCAA Division II in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for all sports except for fencing, which competes in the single division Midwest Fencing Conference.

Wayne State previously competed in men's and women's NCAA Division I ice hockey as a member of College Hockey America (CHA). The university dropped their men's program at the end of the 2007-08 season, followed in 2011 by ending the women's hockey program.

National Championships:

Fencing is a single-division sport with schools from all three NCAA divisions competing against each other.