public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Gunnison, Colorado, U.S. A liberal arts college, Western State offers bachelor's degree programs. The college provides a general education program that includes requirements in basic skills and in the liberal arts areas of human relationships, creative and imaginative arts, and natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science. In addition, students choose from nearly two dozen majors, including history, sociology, business administration, recreation, art, and physics. Courses are also available in areas such as education and technology. The college's setting at 7,700 feet (2,350 metres) in the Rocky Mountains affords the opportunity for outdoor work in biology, geology, and environmental studies. Total enrollment is approximately 2,400.

Colorado State Normal (teacher-training) School was chartered in 1901 and opened in 1911. In 1923 it became Western State College of Colorado and began offering bachelor's and master's degrees. In the 1980s it began to emphasize its undergraduate liberal arts program. Student activities include a rodeo club, camping, and skiing, and Western State students maintain the only college-based search-and-rescue team in the United States.