Truman State University

truman state university majors

Degree Programs Offered at Truman State University

Truman State University appears in our ranking of the 30 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the Midwest.

Truman State University is a liberal arts university that requires all undergraduate students to complete the liberal arts core curriculum. This curriculum includes classes such as Freshman Writing: Writing as Critical Thinking and Computer Literacy. The classes ensure that students have the skills needed to handle college. There are 36 degree programs that undergrads can choose from too, including sociology and anthropology, nursing, general music, and history. The university’s nursing program has full accreditation and ranks as one of the best in the state.

Undergrads can also choose from programs that include concentrations such as the university’s arts program. The concentration in design prepares students for designing work that they create for others. Students in the studio art concentration will instead focus on creating pieces that they show to others. They can paint, sculpt and use other art forms. The university’s music program includes concentrations in liberal arts or emphasis groups and is also available as a certification program for those who want to become music teachers. Undergrads can choose from other majors that include psychology, statistics, political science and international relations, computer science and accounting.

Seven graduate programs are also available from Truman State University. It offers an athletic training program that includes internships and other practical experiences that ask students to work under trainers and real patients. English majors earn a Master of Arts degree and can focus their studies on literature, teaching or another field. The English department hires some students to work as assistants and teach undergrads too. This program is available with a thesis and a non-thesis track. Graduate students also have the option of studying leadership, music, education, accounting and communication disorders at the university.

About Truman State University

Truman State University is a public university with a liberal arts focus. Also known as Truman State and TSU, it has its headquarters in Kirksville, Missouri. Joseph Baldwin was a teacher who created the concept of a normal school during the 19th century. He established the North Missouri Normal School and Commercial College in Kirksville in 1867. That college would receive approval from the state just three years later and became the first college with a teaching program in Missouri. During its early years, it offered education programs for students in 25 different counties, but it now offers opportunities for students from outside of the state. The college later became Northeast Missouri State University before finally becoming Truman State University in honor of the American President of the same name.

Kirksville is a small college town that is close to the campus. Students can easily walk to the city’s downtown area to hang out with friends, shop and work part-time jobs. The university itself is fairly small too. Its enrollment of 6,300 students helps TSU keeps its ratio of students to teachers low. TSU offers special classes for incoming freshmen that included courses designed to help them succeed at the college level.

Truman State University Accreditation Details

The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) awarded TSU accreditation for its nursing programs, including the clinical rotations required in those programs. Those programs also have approval from the Missouri Board of Nursing. Both the music and education programs offered by the university have accreditation too. TSU also holds institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

Truman State University Application Requirements

High school graduates who want to attend TSU should have a strong background that includes a college prep curriculum. Students will need to take between two and four years of English, math and science classes in high school and maintain a grade point average in the 3.0 range. TSU provides students with three essay prompts and asks them to write an essay based on one of those prompts as part of the application process. They can either send the essay to the admissions office or upload it to the application. TSU asks for an official ACT or SAT score and a high school transcript as well as an application. It encourages students to either submit a resume or an activity list too.

Students applying to a graduate program must have a background in a specific field of study offered by the college and a bachelor’s degree. They will also need a minimum undergraduate grade point average, which can range from 2.75 to 3.0 based on the program. The online application has a space for a personal statement that students need to write and charges a $40 application fee. They can then submit a test score if required by the program and their three letters of recommendation. The university’s accounting program only asks for one of these letters. Education majors can also submit an assistantship application and apply for a teaching or research job at TSU.

Tuition and Financial Aid

TSU charges a tuition rate of $7,881 per year for undergrads who live in Missouri. Students who do not live in Missouri before they apply will pay $15,154 per year for tuition. The university also charges $674 in fees every year and around $4,500 per semester for room and board. Students can select different meal plans or choose a different type of dorm room, which will change this cost. Graduate students can take nine credit hours of classes to qualify as full-time students. They will pay $6,939 per year as a Missouri resident and $12,024 per year as a nonresident. There is also housing available on the TSU campus for graduate students for a cost of $12,000 each year.

More than 50% of undergrads graduate from TSU without any student loan debt because they can get so many other types of financial aid from the university. Automatic scholarships provide Missouri undergrads with $2,000 to $4,000 a year and nonresidents with up to $8,000 a year. Students qualify for these scholarships based on their test scores and grades. A waiver goes to nonresidents who are in the military and covers all out of state tuition costs and fees. Many students also join the work-study program and work on the TSU campus and use one or more grants. There are similar programs open to graduate students who need financial aid. The financial aid packages awarded by Truman State University can cover the total cost of attendance and students’ other expenses.