Middle Tennessee Basketball Academic Recognition u MTSU initiated and sponsors the Tennes-
see Teachers Hall of Fame to recognize lifelong teaching achievements.
u MTSU boasts some of the nation’s premier
programs in aerospace, recording industry, and concrete industry management, attracting students from around the globe. Nursing, business, and mass communication programs also rank among the nation’s elite.
u The University Honors College offers
talented students the atmosphere of a small, select college within a major university. In 2007-08, MTSU unveiled prestigious Buchanan Fellowships – the highest academic scholarship awarded – named in honor of alumnus James Buchanan (B.S. ’40), recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.
u More than $145 million in student
obviously, there are more on the horizon. The University Honors College unveiled its first class of Buchanan Fellowship recipients in 2007-08. Limited to 20 students per year, this is the highest academic scholarship awarded at MTSU. More entering freshmen and transfers continue to receive the HOPE Scholarship, and the General Assembly has increased the award amount to compensate for tuition increases. MTSU’s endowment leaped from $29.8 million to $34.9 million during the 2006-07 fiscal year. “For 2005-06, we had asset value appreciation of more than 13 percent,” said Joe Bales, vice
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president, Development and University Relations. “Add to that the gifts we received that year, and the total growth of our endowment put us in the top 25 percent of colleges and universities in the nation.” More than $1 million a year is now pumped into academic units in earnings from the endowment, which appear in the form of scholarships, faculty awards, and student-support programs. Once on campus, students have about 300 registered organizations to choose from. They can be involved in student government and political groups, Greek life (sororities and fraternities), student publications, honor societies, professional organizations, human interest groups, and more. The University continues to move forward with student and faculty research. External funding exceeded $38 million in 2008-09, which includes public service, research, and instruction, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs reports. The Undergraduate Research Center holds Scholars Week each spring, showcas-
ing research efforts and the arts. The celebration includes departmental and college events with oral and multimedia presentations, posters, performances, debates, demonstrations, speakers, and a luncheon and awards. Students continue to excel at national levels as evidenced by the recognition they receive and the growing number who win prestigious graduate scholarships. MTSU’s 500-plus acre campus rests near the geographic center of Tennessee. From food to shopping to entertainment, visitors and permanent residents alike can find what they need and want in Murfreesboro. Adjacent to I-24, the Avenue, with a variety of retail stores and eateries, opened in fall 2007. , Middle Tennessee Medical Center has joined other medical offices along Medical Center Parkway, not far from I-24 and the Avenue, and about 15 minutes from campus. Murfreesboro is about 30 miles east of Nashville, the state capitol, Music City U.S.A., and home of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry, the Tennessee Titans NFL team, the Nashville Predators NHL franchise, Nashville Sounds Triple-A baseball affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, and other cultural and entertainment venues such as the Bridgestone Arena and Schermerhorn Symphony centers.
financial assistance is available, including $38 million in scholarships. Seventy-one percent of the student body receives financial assistance.
u When possible, MTSU strives for
individualized education. Freshman English courses have no more than 24 students, and average 19.71. Introductory chemistry labs average 24.6 students, lectures average 73.8 students; general chemistry labs average 26.6 students, and lectures average 76 students; general requirement art courses average 76.9 students, foundation courses for art majors average 15.37 students; speech courses average 24.31 students; about 90.5 percent of undergraduate courses have 40 students or less; and average class size is 23.93 students.
u MTSU graduates have a bright job mar-
ket outlook. A 2007 alumni survey revealed 87 percent were employed.
u The University has three centers of
excellence – historic preservation, popular music, and study and treatment of dyslexia. Other centers, institutes, and bureaus include environmental education/cedar glade studies; energy efficiency and green energy management; health and human services; child welfare; business and economic research; Tennessee small business development; Middle East; organizational and human resource effectiveness; interdisciplinary microanalysis and imaging; and Tennessee mathematics, science, and technology education.
u MTSU offers more than 140 under-
graduate programs in eight colleges – Basic and Applied Sciences, Business, Education, Behavioral and Health Sciences, University Honors, Liberal Arts, Mass Communication, and University College. The College of Graduate Studies oversees more than 55 programs, including doctoral study.
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