University of West Georgia

==Academics==
The university offers numerous programs of study at the [[undergraduate]], [[Graduate school|graduate]], and [[Graduate school|doctoral]] levels through the Richards College of Business, the Tanner Health System School of Nursing, the College of Education, the College of Arts, Culture, and Scientific Inquiry, The School of Communication, Film, and Media, and the Honors College. The university also offers Certificate Programs and Specialist programs for Educators to help undergraduate and graduate students better their profession.  In addition, the university was one of few in the United States to hold a residential, early entrance to college opportunity for high school juniors and seniors, the [[Advanced Academy of Georgia]]. Advanced Academy students took college courses and resided on campus under the supervision of professional residential staff.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+University Rankings
! colspan="2" |National
|-
|U.S. News & World Report
|293-381
|-
|Washington Monthly
|226
|}

===Psychology program===
The university is one of only two public universities in the United States offering a psychology program with a [[humanistic]] and transpersonal focus. In 1967, Mike Arons, a student of [[Abraham Maslow]], [[Paul Ricoeur]], and Jim Klee became chair of the West Georgia psychology department. Jim Thomas, then on the psychology faculty at West Georgia, and others had asked Maslow to recommend someone to them to initiate a humanistic emphasis there, and Arons was Maslow's recommendation.<ref>{{Cite web| title = History| publisher = UWG Department of Psychology | url = http://www.westga.edu/~psydept/history.htm| access-date = 1 February 2009}}</ref>

The department has offered a Ph.D. in psychology since the fall of 2011.  In February 2011 The Ph.D., "Psychology: Consciousness and Society," was approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

The psychology department has the most diverse student base within the University of West Georgia, with many of the doctoral students coming from Ivy League and other first-tier universities. Many of the students are either international or have had experience living abroad.<ref>{{Cite web| title = UWG Psychology Student Knowledge Base | publisher = UWG Psychology Students. 16 Dec 2011. | url = http://uwgpsychology.org | access-date = 16 December 2011}}</ref>

===2019 faculty lay-offs===
In the fall semester of 2019, UWG issued non-renewal letters to numerous tenure track faculty that informed them they would be let go at the end of the Spring 2020 semester.<ref>{{Cite news| title = University of West Ga. may cut faculty to fill $3 million revenue gap | newspaper = The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | publisher = AJC. 8 Nov 2019. | url = https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/university-west-may-cut-faculty-fill-million-revenue-gap/cHrrXOeEoEWNSxRG5KwKnO/ | access-date = 24 Jan 2020| last1 = Stirgus | first1 = Eric }}</ref> Student protests ensued as some students were outraged faculty were let go before considering other options.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Non-renewal letters have UWG students speaking up to defend their Faculty | date = 21 November 2019 | publisher = The Wolf. 21 Nov 2019. | url = https://thewolfuwg.com/non-renewal-letters-have-uwg-students-speaking-up-to-defend-their-faculty/ | access-date = 24 Jan 2020}}</ref> The faculty that were non-renewed/laid off remain so and have been informed the decision stands as of January 2020.