Aquinas College

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a medium-sized city.

Overview

Aquinas College, established in 1886, is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The college was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids. The newly created college merged with the normal school in 1922 and received its charter in 1923. It became a co-educational institution in 1931 and was subsequently renamed as Catholic Junior College. In 1941, it became a four-year institution and was given the name Aquinas College after St. Thomas Aquinas. The college offers Bachelor's and Master's degrees in the fields of humanities, catholic studies, environmental studies, and computer information systems.

The sports teams of the college, nicknamed the Saints, participate in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The teams in cross country, tennis, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, golf, and lacrosse. The students are also active in the Catholic Life Club, the Sport Management Club, the Psychology Club, and the Dumb Ox Sailing Club.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Roman Catholic religious affiliation.
• Many students concentrating in education and teaching, mathematics, business and management, and liberal arts.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Unusually high availability of athletic financial aid.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Masters Colleges and Universities II.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Part-time classes are available.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Aquinas:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 2,159 in 2009-2010 (1,689 full-time equivalent).

About 33% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 67% of the class.

Undergrads are 86% of enrolled students and graduate students are 14%.

Students under 25 years old represent 76% of the student body. About 8% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

Room and Board

Aquinas provides on-campus housing for 876 of its 1,689 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

The school is in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 97 male students received the aid (men were 48% of those receiving aid) and 107 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 52% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Aquinas offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Master.

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Postbaccalaureate Professional (Education Dominant).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (8 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies
• Arts Management

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (126 awarded)

• Accounting
• Accounting and Finance
• Business Administration and Management
• Business Administration, Management and Operations
• Business, Management, Marketing & Related Support Services
• Business/Corporate Communications
• International Business/Trade/Commerce
• Management Information Systems

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (1 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (0 awarded)

• Environmental Science
• Environmental Studies

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (3 awarded)

• Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (127 awarded)

• Education
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Specific Learning Disabilities
• English/Language Arts Teacher Education
• Music Teacher Education
• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
• Social Science Teacher Education
• Social Studies Teacher Education
• Special Education and Teaching

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (2 awarded)

• Community Organization and Advocacy

FINE ARTS (0 awarded)

• Art History, Criticism and Conservation

LIBERAL ARTS (80 awarded)

• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• History
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• International Relations and Affairs
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature

MATHEMATICS (9 awarded)

• Mathematics

MEDIA (18 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs

MUSIC (3 awarded)

• Music Performance

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (19 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Health and Physical Education
• Sport and Fitness Administration/Management

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (9 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies
• Religious/Sacred Music

SCIENCE (22 awarded)

• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (14 awarded)

• Psychology