•AVERAGE: 69
Oklahoma State University is a major, land-grant public research university in Stillwater, OK, founded in 1890, when the Territorial Legislature of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories chartered three schools – a traditional college, a normal school, and an agricultural and mechanical college (taking advantage of the federal land-grant act). That agricultural school gradually grew into Oklahoma State University, the state’s leading STEM-focused research institution. OSU is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the top public universities nationally, and recognized by Kiplinger’s and the Princeton Review as a best value, providing top-tier quality with a reasonable tuition rate.
Academic Programs
While OSU offers almost 200 degree programs in a variety of disciplines, the university is still best known for the programs that have their roots in the school’s land-grant origins. OSU’s agriculture and veterinary medicine programs are both recognized as some of the strongest in the nation, having developed since OSU’s first days as an agricultural college. Engineering, in turn, growing from the mechanical half of the land-grant mission, has been OSU’s bread and butter, from aerospace to alternative energy, programs which have earned OSU one of the five federal sun grants for environmental, sustainability, and energy research.Other leading OSU divisions include the Spears School of Business, which has emerged in recent years as a national model, particularly due to their extensive online programs, and the School of Entrepreneurship. While the Spears School has long been noted for their accounting and economics programs, their online entrepreneurship degree has been highly ranked by the Princeton Review and a host of ranking agencies, demonstrating OSU’s growing fame as as online educator and rise in national prominence.
Student Life
As a large, mostly residential public university, OSU has something for every student – more than 500 student organizations, clubs, and activities, ranging from professional organizations designed for networking and learning, to cultural groups bringing together students of like backgrounds and interests. OSU also takes pride in a Greek life that is over a century old, with well over four dozen fraternities and sororities organized into four councils. Greek life is central to entertainment, community building, and service on OSU’s campus and beyond.Division I athletics is also one of the strongest wings of OSU’s student life, with the Cowboys and Cowgirls teams featuring heavily in OSU’s self-image and marketing. 51 national titles in a variety of sports makes OSU the 4th highest-winning NCAA college, including one of the nation’s greatest wrestling teams. Basketball and football are notably important, especially in OSU’s rivalries with the University of Oklahoma and Texas Tech.