Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers. It was renamed Western Michigan University in 1957. Western is one of the eight research universities in the state of Michigan and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university has seven degree-granting colleges, offering 147 undergraduate degree programs, 73 master's degree programs, 30 doctoral programs, and 1 specialist degree program.