Southwest Minnesota State University

Southwest Minnesota State University is a public, four-year university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It is located in Marshall, Minnesota, United States, a city of 13,680 people. The school has a full-time enrollment of approximately 3,700 students and employs 148 faculty members.[2] It is divided into two major colleges, the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, and the College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies. SMSU is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Academics

Southwest Minnesota State University provides undergraduate education in the liberal arts and professional studies for the following areas: Accounting, Agriculture, Agronomy, Anthropology, Art, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Culinology, Economics, Education, English, Environmental Science, Exercise Science, Finance, Foreign Languages, Geography, Global Studies, Hispanic Studies, History, Hospitality Management, Humanities, Indigenous Nations and Dakota Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Justice Administration, Liberal Arts and Sciences (AA Degree), Management, Marketing, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, RN to BSN, Social Work, Sociology, Speech Communication, Theatre Arts, and Women's Studies. The university also supports a Center for Rural and Regional Studies, and offers master's degrees in Business Management, Education, Special Education and Physical Education. The most popular majors are Business Administration and Education.

Theatre students in a production of 'Play' by Samuel Beckett

In addition to being regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the university also holds accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music, the Minnesota Board of Teaching, the American Chemical Society and the Council on Social Work Education.

Graduate programs

Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) has specialized graduate programs in education, special education, and business administration. The SMSU MBA program has degree options in marketing, leadership, and the general MBA. Students have the ability to take classes both onsite and online in Minnesota. The graduate school does not currently have a student senate, however there is an MBA student organization that students can be a part of. A critical element to the success to the undergraduate and graduate business programs is access to the The Southwest Marketing Advisory Center, where students have the chance to do original research on actual businesses.

Most of the SMSU campus was constructed between 1965 and 1973 according to a unified plan. The brick and concrete buildings are interconnected via tunnels and enclosed walkways, providing a continuous and controlled environment during both summer and winter. The residence halls are not connected. There are many courtyards with gardens between the buildings. The campus is virtually barrier-free, allowing easy access to students in wheelchairs.

In 2009, the university opened a new dorm, named Sweetland Hall in honor of a late president, Douglas Sweetland.

The university's residence halls were named by the students during the late 1960s and reflect various themes and values of the times, e.g. Aquarius, Casa Futura, Methedras and Kama Sutra. Armstrong Hall was named after astronaut Neil Armstrong in honor of his trip to the moon in 1969. Manchester Hall was named for pop singer Melissa Manchester after a concert she gave on campus.

Residence Halls:

Traditional Halls - Six complexes of four connected halls that were built in the 1960s and feature a common bathroom for the whole floor.

Sweetland Hall - A new complex with around 250 beds with a bathroom shared by suit-mates (two to four people).

Foundation Apartments - Apartment style residence hall with laundry and kitchen appliances in each apartment.

There are no fraternities or sororities on campus in order to promote a safe and friendly environment for all students.

Organizations:

The Southwest Marketing Advisory Center (SMAC) is located on the second floor of the Science and Technology building, Room 203. SMAC is a self-funded entity within the academic marketing program at Southwest State. Its mission is to serve the marketing and research needs of southwestern Minnesota while giving real-world experience to junior, senior and graduate-level student employees.

Each student attending Southwest Minnesota State University pays a .43 cent per credit fee to fund the Minnesota State University Student Association, a student-led nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of all students.