BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
Muncie, Indiana
The University
Ball State University began as a small, private teacher-training school that opened in 1899. The early campus and buildings were purchased by the Ball brothers, 5 Muncie industrialists best known for making canning jars, and given to the state of Indiana in 1918. In 1922, in recognition of the generosity of the Ball family, the Indiana General Assembly changed the schools name to Ball Teachers College. The institution became a university in 1965 in recognition of its growth in enrollment, physical facilities, and the variety and quality of its educational programs.
There are 18,310 total students, and 16,365 are undergraduates. Ball State has students enrolled from forty-nine states, two territories, eighty-three other countries, and every county in Indiana. Fifty-five percent of the students are women, and 45 percent are men. The average class size is 31 students.
There are more than 300 student organizations that provide extracurricular activities. These include leadership programs, departmental organizations, honorary societies, music groups, religious organizations, fraternities, sororities, governing groups, special-interest organizations, and service groups. The University Health Service staff members offer health education, provide care in cases of acute illness and injury while a student is in attendance, and serve as medical advisers for the University.
Location
The Ball State campus is in the mid-sized city of Muncie, Indiana, an industrial city of 70,000 people in east-central Indianaone hour northeast of Indianapolis. The city's cultural features include the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Theater, Minnetrista Cultural Center, and the Artists Series and Concert Series presented in the John R. Emens UniversityCommunity Auditorium located on the Ball State campus.
Majors and Degrees
Ball State offers majors in advertising, anthropology*, architecture and planning (architecture, environmental design, landscape architecture, urban planning and development), art (ceramics, drawing, general, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, visual arts education, visual communication (graphic design)), athletic training, biology (aquatic biology and fisheries, botany, cellular and molecular, ecology, general, genetics, microbiology, wildlife, zoology), business (accounting*, business administration*, business and marketing education, economics (business*, financial analyst*, liberal arts), finance* (corporate finance management, financial institutions, financial planning), management (entrepreneurship*, human resource and organizational behavior* information systems*, operations management*), marketing*, risk management and insurance*), business administration (two-year), business information technology (two-year), chemical technology (two-year), chemistry (biochemistry and chemistry education), classical culture, classical languages, communication studies*, computer science (cooperative education, hardware systems, information systems), criminal justice and criminology*, criminal justice and criminology (two-year), dance, dietetic technology (two-year), dietetics, early childhood education, earth science (earth/space science education), elementary education, English (English/language arts education), exceptional needs (early childhood special education, hearing impaired/deaf, mild interventions, severe interventions), exercise science (aquatics, sport administration), family and consumer sciences (apparel design, family and child, family and consumer sciences education, family and consumer sciencegeneral, fashion merchandising, hospitality and food management, hospitality and food management (two-year), interior design, residential property management), French (French education), general studies, geography (comprehensive, geographic information processing and mapping, operational meteorology and climatology, travel and tourism), geology, German (German education), graphic arts management, health science (school health education), history*, industrial supervision (two-year), industrial technology (career and technical education, construction technology, technology education), international business*, Japanese (Japanese education), journalism (graphics, journalism education, magazine, news-editorial, photojournalism), Latin-American studies, Latin (Latin education), legal assistance (two-year), legal studies (business, public law), library media and computer education, life science education, manufacturing engineering technology, manufacturing technology (two-year), mathematical economics, mathematical sciences (actuarial science, applied mathematicsphysics, financial mathematics, mathematics, mathematics education, statistics), mechanical engineering technology (two-year cooperative program with Purdue University), medical technology, military science (minor only), music (guitar, music composition, music education, instrumental and general music, vocal and general music, music technology, organ, piano, symphonic instruments, voice), natural resources and environmental management (environmental communication/interpretation, environmental management, land management, natural resource studies, occupational/industrial hygiene, park and recreation management), nuclear medicine technology (two-year), nursing*, philosophy*, physical education, physical science education, physics (physics education), political science*, printing technology (two-year), psychology*, public relations, public service (two-year), radiation therapy (two-year), radiography (two-year), religious studies*, respiratory therapy, social studies education, social work (B.S.W.)*, sociology*, Spanish (Spanish education), special education (also see exceptional needs), speech-language pathology, telecommunications (media studies, multimedia, news, production, sales and promotion), theater (acting, design and technology, musical theater, theater education, theatrical studies), and women's studies*.
Ball State also offers preprofessional programs in audiology, dental hygiene, dental preparation*, engineering preparation (chemical, general, and metallurgical), law, medical preparation, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician's assistant, and veterinary medicine.
The majors and preprofessional programs noted above with an asterisk (*) may be taken as part of an accelerated track, which allows students to earn a bachelor's degree in three years.
Academic Programs
Undergraduate programs combine general studies with majors and minors. Most degrees require 126 semester hours, at least a 2.0 grade point average, and the last year in residence. The academic calendar consists of fall, spring, and summer semesters and two shorter summer sessions.
The Honors College, a four-year University-wide program featuring special course offerings, colloquia, seminars, and independent study, is especially designed to challenge the talented student. University College is organized to provide support services to students who are undecided about their majors. The Learning Center provides free peer tutoring, small-group study sessions, and academic workshops to all Ball State students. Each year, freshmen through graduate students use the Learning Center's service. Freshmen who attend tutoring or study groups earn higher grade point averages than those who do not.
The University, which recognizes that there are other ways to obtain an education beside regular enrollment in a class, grants credit through any combination of credit for successful scores on Advanced Placement (AP) tests, IB, and College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests; credit for military service; credit by departmental examination; and credit by departmental authorization.
Off-Campus Programs
Study-abroad programs are open to all Ball State students. It gives students the opportunity to explore intercultural issues outside the classroom. Programs vary in length, location, and cost, and credit is offered for most programs so that students who participate are not required to delay graduation.
Summer programs are a popular option for students seeking short-term international experiences. The center works in coordination with the various colleges to develop discipline-specific field studies and special tours in all price ranges that appeal to students in all majors. Students receive course credit for most programs, and financial aid is applicable. Programs range in focus from ethnographic studies in British Columbia, student teaching in England, and business in Turkey or England, to architecture and urban planning in Germany and Italy.
Academic Facilities
Bracken library is one of the largest libraries in the state, with more than 1.5 million volumes, professional librarians, and wireless connectivity. Separate materials in the main library are the music collection, special collections, archives, government publications, maps, and educational resources.
Facilities on the campus also include an art museum, an observatory and planetarium, outdoor laboratories, a solar-energy research center, fully equipped science laboratories, a human-performance laboratory, state-of-the-art teaching classrooms, and music laboratories. University Computing Services provides a full range of computing and systems services for students, faculty members, and the administration.
Costs
Expenses for 200405 were $5752 for tuition for Indiana residents or $14,928 for tuition for nonresident (out-of-state) students, at least $6228 for room and board, $282 for the University technology fee, $126 for the Health Center fee, and a $100 residence hall technology fee. Books and supplies are estimated at $800, and personal expenses and transportation are estimated at $1800 to $2100.
Financial Aid
Through a program of scholarships, grants, loans, and employment, Ball State's Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid provides aid for 75 percent of its students. The Free Application for Federal Stuwdent Aid (FAFSA), obtainable from a high school guidance counselor or online, should be filed no later than March10.
Faculty
Ball State's instructional programs are carried out by 896 full-time faculty members. Seventy-four percent the tenure-track faculty members have Ph.D. degrees. Faculty members serve on the University Senate and on numerous senate and campus committees. Full-time academic advisers work with freshmen. Seven advising centers around the campus work with departments and their faculty advisers.
Student Government
The all-campus student governing group is the Ball State University Student Association, composed of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. All students are encouraged to participate in such activities as proposing changes in University policy, working for expanded and improved educational programs at Ball State, and lobbying at the city and state levels. One student is appointed to serve on the University's Board of Trustees. In addition, representatives from the Student Association are appointed to serve on numerous boards, committees, and councils on campus, including the University Senate and its committees.
Admission Requirements
Admission to Ball State is based on the strength of the student's high school curriculum, including successful completion of 4 years of English, 3 years of college-prep math (2 of algebra and 1 of geometry), 3 years of science (2 with a lab), and 3 years of social studies. A foreign language is not required but is highly recommended. Performance is measured by grades in the above courses or by the GED score. Ball State uses an Academic Index, a grade point average on a 4.0 scale computed by Ball State, based only on college-prep and academic course work completed. In addition, curricular patterns and grading trends in the above courses are considered. SAT or ACT scores must be submitted.
Transfer admission is considered if the student has a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale). Other conditions may apply. Prospective students should visit the Web site at http://www.bsu.edu/admissions for more information.
Application and Information
High school students should complete an application in the fall of their senior year. Application materials must be submitted by March1 for priority consideration for the fall semester and by December1 for the spring semester. Requests for visits and information should be addressed to:
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