Ohio University – Main Campus

Ohio University is a public, research university located in Athens, Ohio. Established in 1804, it is the oldest university in Ohio and the ninth oldest university in the United States. The University is situated on a 1,850 acre expanse and has a uniquely attractive campus designed around a central 'green', similar to the traditional layout of New England towns. Over 21,000 students are enrolled at the Athens campus each year. In addition to its main campus, Ohio University has five regional campuses and an online learning program, further extending the University's reach and increasing its total student body to over 35,000. Ohio University students come from every state in the nation and roughly 100 countries.

The University offers students a large selection of over 250 undergraduate areas of study. In addition to its extensive selection of bachelor degree programs, Ohio University offers several master's and Ph.D. degrees. Both master’s and PhD degree programs are available via any of the University's major academic divisions. Doctoral degrees, however, are sponsored by a select number of academic departments.

Ohio University is fully accredited through the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It is classified as a Research University with "high research activity" under the Basic Classification category by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Ohio University is a nationally recognized and renowned institution of higher learning. Its students have won numerous awards and several prestigious academic honors. The University was recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education for producing the largest of number of U.S. Fulbright Students of any similar institution in the nation. In the Mid-American Conference in 2011-12, the University had the highest number of recipients of any college or university in the entire state.

The University has been recognized by Fortune, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and U.S. News and World Report for the superior academic quality and value of its programs. It is also classified by U.S. News ranking of Best American Colleges as a Tier 1 University.

Campus

While Ohio University has several campus locations, its main campus is located in Athens, Ohio. The layout and architecture of the Athens campus and its buildings are based on New England and Early Americana Federalist themes and styles. Development of the Athens campus began in 1812, exactly six years after the University was founded. The first building to be constructed was Manasseh Cutler Hall, which was the campuses original central building and today has been designated as historic national landmark. While older buildings exhibit architectural aspects of Early Americana, newer buildings, such as dormitories and residence halls, included elements of classic post-colonial era architecture. Plans are in the work to incorporate Gothic architecture into the University's next generation of campus buildings and infrastructure.

Of Ohio University's 35,000 students about 10,000 attend one of the University's five regional campuses, which include Ohio University-Eastern (OUE), Ohio University-Zaneville (OU Zanesville), Ohio University-Lancaster, Ohio University-Southern (in Ironton), and Ohio University-Chillicothe (OU-C). In addition to its main campus and five regional campuses, Ohio University also has two affiliated educational centers in Pickerington (part of the Lancaster Campus) and Proctorville (part of the Southern Campus).

Online Master’s Programs

Ohio University offers fifteen fully accredited online master’s degrees in areas such as Business, Coaching and Athletics, Communication, Education, Engineering and Technology, Health Care, and Social Sciences. These programs are designed to be more flexible for the working professional.

Academics

Ohio University has been recognized for the quality and value of its academic programs and for the success rate of its students in competing for national awards. In the 2010-11 school year, Ohio University students won over 70 national and international academic awards. A few of the more prestigious awards received by the University's students include the Marshall Scholarship, Fulbright Awards, the Mitchell Scholarship, Morris K. Udall, the Truman Scholarship, the Hollings Scholarship, and the Goldwater Scholarship. In 2006, the Fulbright scholarship was awarded to twelve Ohio University students. In both 2004 and 2005, the University awarded nine Fulbright Scholarships, beating its previous record of six.

Students at Ohio University are organized into several academic colleges according to their academic focus and career interests. Academic colleges at the University include the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, Scripps College of Communication, Patton College of Education, Russ College of Engineering and Technology, College of Fine Arts, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Honors Tutorial College, and George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.

Arts and Sciences

With 19 separate departments, the College of Arts and Sciences is not only the oldest, but also the largest of Ohio University's academic colleges. The college offers an array of interdisciplinary programs as well as several research centers and institutes. Most of the liberal arts programs, as well as one third of the University's undergraduate majors, are offered through the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to undergraduate programs, the College offers various master's and doctoral degree programs. Research projects, scholarly pursuits, and other academic activities are regular undertakings by the College's students and faculty.

The Scholars Program in Arts and Sciences, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, offers first-year students who have an ACT of 25 or higher an integrated year-long learning experience which enables them to get a jump-start on their academic goals by interacting with respected faculty and professors on a regular basis throughout the year. For highly motivated students, the college offers the opportunity to graduate with honors, as long as a 3.5 GPA is maintained.

A large number of students who study in the College of Arts and Sciences will pursue a double major or complete a minor and/or certificate program from one of the many that the college offers. Through the College of Arts and Sciences, the University offers a full spectrum of programs in foreign languages, including French, Spanish, Russian, German, Italian, Latin, and even Swahili.

In addition to providing the most comprehensive academic offering of any academic college within the University, the College of Arts and Sciences sponsors various academic activities including guest lectures by visiting philosophers; research in the metaethics, Kantian ethics, history of philosophy, political philosophy, symbolic logic and other fields; and the contribution of literature published through Swallow Press and Ohio University Press.

Business

Established in 1927, the College of Business at Ohio University offers nine majors and one minor in general business (designed for non-business majors). The college also includes the Department of Sports Administration, which offers three graduate degree programs along with a bachelor's degree in Sports Administration. While the University has attempted to increase enrollment in recent years, the business college is still relatively small compared to other national business schools. On the bright side, students at the College of Business can expect more one-on-one interaction with other students and faculty, and all business classes are taught by professors – not graduate students.

The College of Business is home to the University's nationally recognized School of Accountancy. Within its intermediate classes, the School of Accountancy employs the Business Activity Model, which promotes a learning environment and experience that mimics the real-world, day-to-day activities of an auditor. This model is often credited for preparing and qualifying the college's students for various accounting internship opportunities. Connie Esmond-Kiger, one of the developers of the Business Activity Model, became the director of the School of Accountancy in 2007, and is one of the primary advisers for Beta Alpha Psi, the University's award-winning financial fraternity.

The business college at Ohio University sponsors the Student Equity Management Group, a $1 million, student-managed equity fund. The group is open to all undergraduate business students and is run entirely by students. Since its inception in 2003, the group's portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 43%.

The college is also well-known for its superb sales program. In 1997 the Schey Sales Center was launched to offer students the opportunity to hone their sales skills, and earn a professional sales certificate. To earn the certificate, students are required to complete 28-credit-hours of advanced sales courses, and complete an extensive sales internship (minimum of 300-hours). The sales program is overseen by the Professional Sales Advisory Board (a group of successful sales professionals), university professors, and a select group of students (The Candidate Advisory Council). The sales program is funded, in part, by companies who intend to recruit the 200+ graduates its produces each year.

Communication

The Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University is composed of five academic schools and a research lab. These include the J.W. McClure School of Information and Telecommunications, The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, The School of Media Arts and Studies, The School of Visual Communication, The School of Communication Studies, and the Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Laboratory.

Of the five schools that make up the Scripps College of Communication, the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism has received national recognition as one of the nation's top schools of communication. The school offers two academic tracks: News & Information and Strategic Communication. The News & Information track includes courses in news writing and journalism, online journalism, broadcast news, and magazine journalism. The Strategic Communication track includes courses in public relations, advocacy communication, and advertising management.

Another nationally recognized school, the School of Visual Communication (or VisCom), offers aspiring communication students an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree in visual communication. This program is organized into four sequences: photojournalism; interactive multimedia; informational graphics and page design; and interactive media.

The College of Communication also hosts the University's Debate team, the top college debate team in Ohio for five consecutive years. The team has won two Novice National Tournaments (in 2008 and 2011), two Pi Kappa National Tournaments (in 2010 and 2012), multiple event championships at National Tournaments, one Pi Kappa Delta National Conference (in 2009), three NFA National Tournaments (in 1971, '74 and '75), as well as several Individual Sweepstakes Championships.

Education

Established in 1959, the Patton College of Education includes three departments: Teacher Education; Counseling and Higher Education; and Education Studies. On average the college enrolls over 2,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students. In 2010, the college added two new departments, the Recreation and Sport Pedagogy department, and the Human and Consumer Science Education department.

Engineering and Technology

The Russ College of Engineering and Technology is one of America's most reputable technology and engineering schools and has been around nearly a century, since 1920. The college offers several highly-ranked engineering programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Total annual enrollment in the college is roughly 1,400 undergraduate and 300 graduate students.

Fine Arts

Ohio University's College of Fine Arts was founded in 1947 and offers an array of degree programs in art, interdisciplinary art, film, music, dance, and theater. The College of Fine arts is also the home of the Ohio University Marching Band, known on campus as "The Most Exciting Band in The Land". The band is well known for its unique style of dancing and formation. It has been cited as America's best band in several publications over the years.

Medical and Graduate Studies

Established in 1975, The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine is one of Ohio University's newer academic colleges and is the only college of osteopathic medicine in the state. The College is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to grant Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degrees. Enrollment in the college is approximately 500 students in any given year.

In partnership with Ohio Health in Dublin and the Cleveland Clinic, the college plans on building two new extension campuses to serve the needs of nearly 100 new OU-HCOM students.

The Graduate College at Ohio University offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in over 30 areas of post-baccalaureate study.

Health Sciences and Professions

First established in 1979 as the College of Health and Human Services, the College was restructured in 2010 as the College of Health Sciences and Professions. One of the more popular schools within the college, the School of Recreation and Sports Sciences, offers various graduate and undergraduate programs, including, the Sports Management Program, which is one of 30 such programs in the United States that is approved by the Sport Management Program Review Council (SMPRC).

Honors Tutorial College

Each year the Honors Tutorial College accepts around 80 students from over 200 applicants. The Honors College offers programs in nearly 30 disciplines, from communications to physics. Curriculum at the Honors Tutorial College is based on the traditional British tutorial system, and is completely individualized for each student’s goals, levels of aptitude, and interests.

Leadership and Public Affairs

Named after George Voinovich, a former Ohio Senator and Governor, the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs has three academic focuses: Entrepreneurship and Regional Development; Policy Innovation and Strategic Leadership; and Energy and the Environment. Within each area students have the opportunity to participate with faculty in a multidisciplinary education process that blends classroom instruction with applied service at the state, regional, and national level.

The Global Leadership Center (GLC), sponsored by the school, offers a 2-year undergraduate degree program in global leadership. Program curriculum incorporates traditional aspects of classroom instruction with modern day global directives and communication. GLC is affiliated with several international and domestic affairs organizations, including Marriott International, Bangkok University, the UNDP Liberia, Harvard University, several U.S. Embassies, and other private and governmental organizations abroad. GLC was recently recognized by the United Nations as one of the premier International programs in the United States.

Student Life

In 2012, Ohio University was ranked #1 on Princeton Review's list of top party schools in the United States. And while its ranking fell to #3 for 2013, it's safe to say that if you're looking for a fun time, you'll probably enjoy Ohio University. But there's a lot more to student life at Ohio University than 24/7 partying.

Athletics

Athletics is at the center of student life at Ohio University, which has a rich tradition of collegiate rivalry, pageantry, and sportsmanship that goes back over 200 years. The University Mascot is a Bobcat (named Rufus) and all athletic events are free to students. The University belongs to the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference and maintains strong rivalries with other schools, including University of Dayton and Miami University. Ohio University offers individual athletics, team sports and 36 active club sports programs for both men and women.

Media

So what does media have to do with student life at Ohio University? Quite a bit, actually. The University sponsors a newspaper, television channel, and radio station that many students are involved with. The newspaper, known as The Post, runs five days a week and is run entirely by students (although it is officially independent from the university). The University's television broadcasting station, Ohio University Public Television, an affiliate of PBS, is also run by students. The Internet-radio only station, All Campus Radio Network (ACRN) is the University's student-run radio station, and has been ranked as one of the Top 5 college stations in the U.S. by the National Association of College Broadcasters. At ACRN students have the unique opportunity to learn every aspect of running a commercial radio station: sales, programming, production, promotion, public relations, music, news, engineering, on-air announcing, management, and much more.

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