Western University of Health Science was established in 1977. WesternU is one of the largest graduate schools for the health professions in California offering programs from five colleges. They are: College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Pharmacy; College of Allied Health Professions, and College of Graduate Nursing. Degrees are awarded in the areas of optometry, dentistry, physical therapy, physician assistant and osteopathic medicine.

Western University is a graduate university of medical sciences that produces, in a humanistic tradition, health care professionals and biomedical knowledge that will enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities.

The University's educational programs provide training that presumes the faculty and the students are the masters and not the slaves to this institution. Here at Western University, a student can expect an education that will assist him or her to become a feeling, humane, sensitive and medically competent professional and not just a learned degree-holder. Moreover, WesternU provides a unique opportunity to offer students individualized learning experiences that would be impossible through other media. Online education provides an environment to facilitate critical thinking and interactive learning.

The people of Western University are dedicated to caring as they pursue their educational, scholarly, patient care, and public service activities. The University encourages the diversity and interdisciplinarity of its programs, students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The ideals of continuous quality improvement, lifelong learning, long-term planning, fiscal strength, adaptability, and agility in the rapidly changing worlds of health care and education are realized through innovation, teamwork, and collaboration within the University as well as with its network of academic health centers and community partners.

All of the health care programs have professional accreditation, and the university is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.