About Kent State University

Kent State University is ranked among the nation’s 77 public research universities demonstrating a high level of research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This places Kent State among an elite group of the nation’s nearly 3,900 colleges and universities. Kent State earns national recognition for its breadth of high-quality undergraduate programs balanced with innovative research and graduate studies in selected areas.

The Kent State University eight-campus system is designed to serve both the development of a true living/learning approach at its Kent Campus, where residential living combines the resources and facilities of a large, diverse university, and regional needs on seven campuses offering the friendly, casual atmosphere of small liberal arts colleges. Regional campuses are Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas. The Kent Campus provides baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral study opportunities. At the same time, Kent State’s Regional Campuses serve their specific community’s needs with associate degree programs in technical and business fields, as well as selected baccalaureate and graduate work. Kent State offers 33 majors in five associate degrees, 110 majors in 12 bachelor's degrees, 95 majors in 16 master's degrees, eight majors in the educational specialist degree and 45 majors in two doctoral degrees. In addition, Kent State provides learning opportunities in 108 undergraduate minors and 72 for-credit certificate programs.

Besides boasting a distinguished and award-winning faculty in Kent State's nine colleges and 36 departments and schools, the university attracts scholars and researchers to diverse institutes, centers and research bureaus in specific areas, including the Liquid Crystal Institute®, Center for Applied Conflict Management, Center for Public Health Preparedness, Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Wick Poetry Center, Child Development Center and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center. The world-renowned Kent/Blossom Arts Festivals offer a triad of artistic programs—music, theatre and art—for outstanding students in the fine arts.

Located in Kent, Ohio (population 30,000), the Kent Campus is ideally situated in northeastern Ohio, amid rolling terrain dotted by spring-fed lakes. Yet big-city enthusiasts are only a short drive from four major urban centers, with airports offering access to the nation and the world. The beautifully landscaped Kent Campus is composed of 866 acres. There are 119 buildings on the Kent Campus with a 291-acre airport and an 18-hole golf course nearby. The university’s land holdings include thousands of acres of a nearby wildlife refuge, as well as marsh and bog areas preserved by the university as learning laboratories and resources for the future.

The focal point of the campus is the University Center with its spacious Risman Plaza. On one side is the 12-story, open-stack library which houses more than 2.6 million volumes, a complete learning resource center and the university executive offices. On the other side is the sprawling Kent Student Center which houses dining facilities, meeting and conference rooms, recreation areas, a ballroom and bookstore.

Other notable architectural landmarks include the Student Recreational and Wellness Center, a 153,000-square-foot world-class facility featuring a sports arena, elevated running track, natatorium, climbing wall, workout rooms and refreshment and lounge areas; the Business Administration Building, with its bronze-mirrored window-walls; and the futuristic, award-winning Art Building, with translucent panels that admit the diffused and shadowless lighting vital to art classes during the day and emit a distinctive glow of interior activity after dark. Nearby is Taylor Hall, home of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design and the College of the Arts.

The crisp modern lines of the newer areas of the campus, including comfortable residence hall complexes, the ground-hugging lines of the Ice Arena and the Child Development Center, contrast tastefully with the ivy-covered buildings of the original "North Campus," including  Cartwright Hall, Rockwell Hall (home to Kent State's fashion museum), Lowery Hall and Merrill Hall, which was the first structure built at the university when it was launched as a teacher-training institution in 1910. Moulton Hall, a four-story structure built in 1917 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been renovated to house the Moulton Hall Learning Technologies Center. The center provides an interactive high-performance learning environment to help faculty and students make skillful use of the latest information technologies. This includes computer-aided instructional materials, satellite uplink and downlink capabilities, interactive conferencing and multimedia classrooms and laboratories.

To help students and visitors navigate the Kent Campus and surrounding communities, Kent State works with the area Regional Transit Authority, PARTA. PARTA provides transit services on campus and in the local community. The heavily used service is available at no charge to Kent State students. Dix Stadium is only a few minutes away via bus transportation, which provides a continuous loop service during regular class hours. The campus loop helps to virtually eliminate all through traffic within the campus. For intramurals and intercollegiate athletics, the campus includes Dix Stadium (among the largest in the Mid-American Conference, with seating for more than 30,000); an ice arena with two rinks; an 18-hole golf course; the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, with its physical education and recreation annex; an all-weather track; lighted tennis courts; softball fields; and soccer and rugby fields. The Field House (located next to Dix Stadium) includes a full-size football field, an indoor track and a state-of-the-art weight room. Additional green areas for intramural and extramural sports are provided, as well as lighted outdoor basketball courts.

To learn more about the university visit www.kent.edu/About.