About the university
Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs. Our purpose is to develop fully educated persons with a focus on ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement.
Locations
The Missouri State University system has four physical campuses:
- The main campus in Springfield, Mo.
- West Plains, Mo., offering two-year associate’s degrees
- Mountain Grove, Mo., focusing on fruit science and agriculture research
- Dalian, China, in partnership with Liaoning Normal University
Making a difference
Missouri State has a public affairs mission. It’s about helping the community, being a leader and being informed about the world and the people who live in it through:
- Community engagement
- Cultural competence
- Ethical leadership
By the numbers
The Missouri State community includes:
- More than 24,000 students in the Missouri State system making it the second largest university in the state
- Six academic colleges, one School of Agriculture and one Graduate College
- Almost 4,000 faculty and staff members with 90 percent of full-time ranked faculty holding the most advanced degree in their field
- 4,000 students living in University housing
- 1,500 international students studying on the Springfield campus
- 17 NCAA Division I teams with 52 NCAA championship appearances
- More than 110,000 alumni applying their education around the world
Profile of a Bear
Our students:
- Represent all 50 states and 85 foreign countries
- Study in one of our 85+ undergraduate majors leading to 185+ academic options or 45+ graduate degree programs
- Participate in nearly 300 student organizations and more than 25 fraternities and sororities
- Play about 20 intramural sports
- Receive more than $150 million in financial aid with 75 percent of students receiving some form of assistance annually
- Volunteer more than 100,000 hours at government and nonprofit organizations through the Campus Volunteer Center, cooperative education and service-learning
Our freshmen:
- Earned an average ACT score of 24.1, state and national averages
- Held an average high school grade point average of 3.59
- Placed in the top half of their high school classes (83.5%)
Go maroon!
Missouri State spirit includes:
- The school colors—maroon and white
- The Bears athletic teams
- The Boomer Bear and Growl Bear mascots
- BearWear Friday, a day devoted to showing your spirit by wearing MSU gear
- The cheer squad and Sugar Bears dance team
University honors
- Recipient of the 2014 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award
- Named to America’s Top Colleges list by Forbes magazine
- Received Best in the Midwest distinction from The Princeton Review
- Ranked among Best Colleges: Regional Universities (Midwest) by U.S. News & World Report
- Named Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs magazine
- Selected as a Carnegie Foundation Community Engaged University
- Listed on the President's Roll for Higher Education Community Service
