Truman State University

Truman has forged a national reputation for offering an exceptionally high-quality undergraduate education at a competitive price. A commitment to student achievement and learning is at the core of everything Truman does. This commitment is evidenced by faculty and staff members who recognize the importance of providing students with the opportunity to interact with their professors both in and out of the classroom. With class sizes averaging only 25 students, there is ample opportunity to ask questions of professors as well as interact with their multi-talented peers. Truman’s academic environment is enhanced by a student body that achieves at remarkable levels. The 2010 freshman class had an ACT mid-range of 25 to 30 and an average GPA of 3.76 on a 4.00 scale. In addition, numerous opportunities exist for students to engage in undergraduate research. Each year, approximately 1,200 students work side by side with professors on University research projects, gaining greater confidence, knowledge, and skill in their chosen disciplines. With more than 260 University organizations available to students, encompassing service, Greek, honorary, professional, religious, social, political, and recreational influences, Truman students have tremendous opportunities to become involved while enrolled at the University. Truman’s Student Activities Board provides popular culture entertainment such as special events like Bill Nye: the Science Guy, comic acts such as Lewis Black and the Jim Gaffigan, and musical artists like Ben Folds, One Republic, OK Go and Regina Spektor. In addition, admission to all varsity athletic events, Truman theater productions, and Lyceum Series events, among many others, is free to Truman students. Recent theater productions have included Columbinus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Jekyll and Hyde. Truman is Missouri’s premier liberal arts and sciences university and the only highly selective public institution in the state. The Liberal Studies Program is the heart of Truman’s curriculum and is intended to serve as a foundation for all major programs of study offered by the University. Truman’s mission is to offer an exemplary undergraduate education, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, in the context of a public institution of higher learning. Therefore, Truman is providing the kind of education in the liberal arts and sciences that has historically been offered only at private colleges. The program is a blend of two intellectual traditions in higher education, one that emphasizes the traditional thought and learning of the culture as reflected in the classical works produced by it, and the other that emphasizes personal investigation and freedom of discovery. The philosophy behind the Liberal Studies Program is based upon a commitment that Truman has made to provide students with essential skills needed for lifelong learning, breadth across the traditional liberal arts and sciences through exposure to various discipline-based modes of inquiry, and interconnecting perspectives that stress interdisciplinary thinking and integration as well as linkage to other cultures and experiences. In addition, students can take advantage of numerous experiential learning opportunities, including undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, and service learning. Truman also offers a challenging General Honors Program. This program provides students with the opportunity to select the most rigorous honors courses to satisfy the liberal arts component of their respective programs. Students who successfully complete this program not only benefit from an even richer academic experience at Truman but also receive special recognition at graduation.