public institution located on 800 acres (324 hectares) in Jonesboro, Ark., 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Memphis, Tenn. Founded in 1909 by the Arkansas state legislature as a state agricultural school, it went on to become a junior college in 1918, a senior college in 1925, and a university in 1967. The campus is designed so that every classroom facility is no more than a ten-minute walk from any other. Besides the main campus, the university contains branch campuses, two farms, and areas for agricultural research.
Enrollment is about 10,000 students, with undergraduates numbering about 9,000. All applicants who are graduates of accredited Arkansas high schools are admitted to undergraduate programs. The numbers of men and women seeking undergraduate degrees are about equal. Roughly a quarter of the undergraduates are over the age of 25. The Center for Continuing Education holds day and evening classes at various off-campus sites for the convenience of working students. Students over the age of 60 are not charged tuition. Traditional-age students who are not living with relatives are required to reside in campus housing through their sophomore year. All student residences are single-sex units.
The academic calendar is divided into semesters. More than 70 percent of Arkansas State's full-time faculty hold doctorates. The university awards degrees from the associate through the doctoral level. Associate degrees can be earned within the business, medical, and vocational fields. Bachelor's programs are offered by the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Communications, Education, Engineering, Agriculture and Applied Sciences, Nursing and Health Professions, and Fine Arts. Graduate programs are available in more than 60 majors.
Arkansas State University conducts some 90 extracurricular activities, including student government, intramural sports, performance groups, fraternities and sororities, student publications, and religious, academic, and special interest clubs. Varsity sports teams, nicknamed the Indians, participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (except the football team, which competes in Division I-A). School colors are scarlet and black. Many students participate in outdoor activities at nearby Craighead Lake or Crowley's Ridge State Park.