[6] With 17,275 undergraduate and graduate students as of 2022[update], WCU is the largest of the 10 state-owned universities belonging to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and the sixth largest university in Pennsylvania.

The university traces its roots to the West Chester Academy, a private, state-aided school that existed from 1812 to 1869.

In 1913, West Chester became the first of the normal schools to be owned outright by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Along with its new name—West Chester University of Pennsylvania—the institution acquired a new system of governance and the opportunity to expand its degree programs.

[11] Nineteen days before his death, Frederick Douglass gave his last public lecture, on February 1, 1895, at West Chester University.

West Chester was ranked 50th in the "Regional Universities North" category by U.S. News & World Report for 2020.

The campus is located in a suburban area approximately 20 miles (32 km) from the city of Philadelphia.

West Chester's downtown center is less than 0.5 miles (0.80 km) away from the main campus.

[26] On campus, there is the Recreation Center, the Business and Public Management Center, The Dr. Sandra F. Prichard-Mather Planetarium, The Hollinger Field House, many buildings (built in the 1800s and early 1900s) in the West Chester State College Quadrangle Historic District registered into the National Register of Historic Places, and the Sciences & Engineering Center that has been recently completed,[when?]

[28] The athletic teams at West Chester University are named the Golden Rams.

West Chester won the first ever women's basketball national championship in 1969 and was on the losing end in the final game each of the following three years.

West Chester becomes the first team from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) to win the national championship and just the third northern school to walk away with the title.

West Chester's Women's Field Hockey team won the NCAA Division II championship in 2011, 2012, and 2019.

Campus Recreation: The Women's Ice Hockey Club won the Division II national championship in 2013.