Kent State University at Kent (KSUK) History and Academics

History

Kent State University is located in Kent, Ohio. There are regional campuses located in Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull County, and Tuscarawas County. Kent State University was founded in 1910 as a teacher-training school and received university status in 1935. The University now awards associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is classed as a Carnegie Doctoral/Research Institution-Extensive.

Kent State University defines itself as “an engine for economic, cultural, and workforce development in the region and beyond.”

A bill establishing Kent State was signed into law in 1910, and one year following the Alumni Association was formed. Over the next ninety years, the University was witness to some amazing and disturbing events in American history, including the 1970 shooting of four Kent State students by Ohio National Guardsmen. That single event has been ingrained into the University’s culture, and today permeates much of the campus’ institutional life. Other significant events included the appointment of the first black professor and of the first female president in the history of Ohio state universities.

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Information Summary

Ranks 22nd in Ohio and 578th overall. See the entire top 2,000 colleges and universities list
Overall Score (about)	85.7
Total Cost On-Campus Attendance	$25,886
Admission Success rate	N/A
ACT / SAT 75%ile scores	25 / 1210
Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty	22 : 1
Retention (full-time / part-time)	81% / 50%
Enrollment Total (all students)	28,122

Academics

The University is composed of a number of different schools and colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, the College of Business Administration, the College of Communication and Information, the College of Education, the College of Fine and Professional Arts, the College of Nursing, the Honors College, the School of Technology, and the College of Continuing Studies. There are interdisciplinary programs in biomedical sciences, financial engineering, and information architecture and knowledge management.

Bachelor’s degrees are awarded in over 200 different majors and minors. These include a wide range of liberal arts and professionally oriented fields, including such fields as English, accounting, American studies, athletic training, conservation, electronics, fashion design, gifted education, hospitality management, interior design, justice studies, medical technology, music education, paralegal studies, predentistry, radiologic and imaging sciences, trade and industrial education, and zoology. Certificate programs are available in approximately 30 fields, many offered through the regional campuses only.

Graduate degrees are offered in the Arts and Sciences, the College of Communication and Information, the Fine and Professional Arts, the Graduate School of Management, College of Nursing, the Graduate School of Education, the School of Technology, and the School of Biomedical Sciences. These include doctoral degrees in applied geology, biological sciences, biomedical sciences, business administration, chemical physics, chemistry, communication studies, computer science, education, English, geography, history, mathematics, music, nursing, physical education, physics, political science, psychology, sociology, and speech pathology and audiology. Master’s degrees are offered in a range of programs and include an MBA, a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), and a Master of Public Health (MPH).

Kent State offers more than 200 programs of study. A focus on liberal arts permeates much of the curriculum, with programs in composition, humanities, the social sciences, fine arts, and the physical sciences at its core. Ten different schools make up the University and are comprised of dozens of academic departments. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest by far, and houses such departments as Anthropology, Jewish Studies, Justice Studies, Pan-African Studies, and Sociology. Other colleges include Business Administration, Communication and Information, Education, Fine and Professional Arts, and Architecture.

Kent State cites various “Points of Pride” regarding its academic offerings, the primary Points being quality of academics, student success, technologies, values, and academic partnerships.

Most Popular Fields of Study

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Unique Programs

Kent State proudly proclaims itself home to 74 different centers and institutes for specialized study. These centers are often the results of private partnerships or other opportunities available to University faculty. The unique areas addressed by these centers include conflict management, bibliography, nuclear research, child development, computational mathematics, liquid crystals, nursing research, speech and hearing, literacy education, violence prevention, and workforce development.

Admissions

Applications to the undergraduate programs have an application fee of $30. Students should contact the University or visit its website to see if it is still accepting applications for the term in which they wish to enroll. In addition to the application form and fee, students must provide high school transcripts and test scores. Applications can be submitted on-line. Students who are admitted generally have completed the Ohio college preparatory curriculum, which includes four units in English, three units in mathematics, three units of science, three units of social studies, two units of foreign language, and one unit of the arts. Students will also generally have a high school grade point average of 2.5 or higher and an ACT score of 21 or SAT score of 980 or higher.

Students who are applying for programs in aeronautics, architecture, dance, education, fashion design and fashion merchandising, interior design, journalism and mass communications, music, nursing, theatre, and visual communication design must meet special requirements in addition to the general university requirements for admission. Some programs will require an audition. Students who are applying to the six-year B.S./M.D. medical program operated in conjunction with the northeastern Ohio Universities College of medicine must submit special applications. This is a highly competitive program, and only 35 students are chosen out of approximately 600 applications annually.

Graduate students apply to either the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Management, or to Research and Graduate Studies. Students should consult individual departments and programs for their specific requirements. Students must also be admitted to the University.

Kent State’s admissions processes—visit scheduling, application submission, etc.—are all accessible via the University’s website. Admissions policies for freshmen differ depending on each student’s experience in high school. Among those given priority consideration are students with 16 hours of college prep high school curriculum, a cumulative GPA of 2.5, and an ACT test score of 21 or greater. Following this priority admissions policy, students with a 2.2 GPA and a high school diploma or GED are considered next. Some students’ admissions applications may be deferred and the student referred to one of Kent State’s Regional Campuses.

Financial Aid

In-state tuition and fees for undergraduate students were $7504 in 2004-2005. Students applying from out of state and graduate students will have different costs.

Kent State encourages applicants to begin reviewing scholarship opportunities between September and December prior to the year of application. The University’s individual departments alone offer more than 500 scholarship opportunities, so it is important for applicants to be knowledgeable and prepared when submitting their financial aid applications. Students are also encouraged to file their FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible. Students can access the financial aid application process via the University’s website. Financial need is the priority concern for financial aid awards.

The University details each student’s eligibility for loans on their notification forms from Financial Aid. In addition to those eligibility statistics, students are allowed to borrow an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized loans (freshmen and sophomores) or $5,000 in unsubsidized loans (juniors and seniors).

Student Financial Aid Details

Ranks 2604th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best scholarships and financial aid in Ohio.

Students

In addition to the numerous classroom, dormitory, and administration buildings, Kent State University has a number of research centers and institutes, including the Liquid Crystal Institute, the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence, and the Institute for Bibliography and Editing.

The 12 story Kent State University Library offers electronic catalogs and on-line databases, in additional to physical volumes stored on site. It is a member of OhioLink, which allows students to make online requests to borrow books from university, college, and other libraries throughout the state of Ohio.

Kent State is home to a number of living-learning communities, which houses students together based on shared academic and extracurricular interests. A community may consist of an entire dormitory or segments of a dormitory. Students study, play, and live together. Such communities at Kent State include the honors community, science learning community, and the physical education preparation community. Along the same line, Kent State offers themed learning communities such as the wellness community and the professional arts community.

The Recreational Services office at Kent State offers students a multitude of on- and off-campus activities to enjoy, including aquatics, wellness events, and club sports. The University is also home to a thriving Greek community, which can help any student settle in and enjoy the entire college experience.

Student Enrollment Demographics

Student Graduation Demographics

Athletics

Kent State University is an NCAA Division I school, with baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, track & field, and wrestling for men and basketball, cross-country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball for women. The team nickname is the Golden Flashes. The University competes in the Mid-American Conference.

The University cheerleading teams cheers for various sports and also competes on its own in cheerleading competitions. There is also a dance team.

Kent State University athletic teams have won conference championships in several sports, including baseball and basketball, and have had 143 individual championships. There have been 55 All-America student athletes.

Sports facilities include a field house, a stadium, a soccer field, a softball field, outdoor track, and an athletic and convocation center.

Athletics is the sixth and final “Point of Pride” cited by Kent State University, and with good reason. The intercollegiate athletics program competes in NCAA Division I. Kent State is home to the Golden Flashes, and has a long standing tradition of academic excellence. Teams include baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, golf, and soccer.

Kent State has secured 30 Mid-American Conference championships and 12 Mid-American Conference Tournament titles in a variety of sports. Currently, 34 Academic All-American student athletes call Kent State home.

Traditions

One of the most unique and quirky events in all of university tradition is the Black Squirrel Festival, where Kent State students and the community commemorate the 1961 introduction of the black squirrel into America from London, Ontario, an event facilitated by one of Kent State’s groundskeepers in the 60s.

Local Community

The town of Kent is a mid-sized town (population 30,000) located in northeastern Ohio, approximately 50 miles from Cleveland. It is adjacent to the city of Akron, and is approximately 100 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Kent proudly proclaims itself as one of the country’s most reachable cities, located 500 miles from 55% of the country’s population. It is also home to a great deal of outdoor attractions, including Towner’s Woods, a 175 acre park established in 1973; and three different state parks. The Portage County Historical Society and Kent Historical Society offer a good deal of education to the historically curious. For the more cosmopolitan tastes, the Kent State Fashion Museum is home to dozens of costumes from the 18th to the 20th centuries. And for the kid in everyone, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure is a Six Flags/Sea World partnership that includes 750 acres of amusement adventures.

Kent State University at Kent