Furman University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large suburb.

Overview

Furman University was established in 1826 and is located in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The university was founded as the Men's Academy and Theological Institute. It was named in honor of Richard Furman of Charleston, South Carolina. It is the oldest and the most selective private college in South Carolina.

The university has a diverse student body that represents more than 45 states and over 46 foreign countries. The campus spreads across an area of 750 acres and comprises of more than 30 buildings. The university offers degrees in over 40 fields of study.

Furman University has an active student life and features numerous honor societies. Among them are Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa, and several other departmental honoraries.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in music, science, media, religion and philosophy, liberal arts, and nutrition and exercise therapy.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• High faculty salary.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Unusually high availability of athletic financial aid.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Baccalaureate Colleges, Liberal Arts.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students have meal (board) plans.
• Students may study abroad.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• 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 Furman:

Click a column header to sort.

Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 2,977 in 2009-2010 (2,998 full-time equivalent).

About 41% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 59% of the class.

Undergrads are 83% of enrolled students and graduate students are 17%.

Students under 25 years old represent 90% of the student body. About 3% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 100% are full-time and 0% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Furman provides on-campus housing for 2,500 of its 2,998 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 20 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Southern Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 171 male students received the aid (men were 67% of those receiving aid) and 85 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 33% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

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

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Postbaccalaureate With Arts & Sciences (Education Dominant).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (11 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (99 awarded)

• Accounting
• Business Administration and Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (5 awarded)

• Computer Science
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (1 awarded)

• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (90 awarded)

• Education
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Specific Learning Disabilities
• Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances
• Education/Teaching of Individuals with Mental Retardation
• Elementary Education and Teaching
• Elementary and Middle School Administration/Principalship
• English/Language Arts Teacher Education
• Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching
• Music Teacher Education
• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Reading Teacher Education
• Secondary School Administration/Principalship
• Teacher Education/Profess Development, Levels & Methods
• Teaching English as Second/Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

ENGINEERING (0 awarded)

• Engineering

LIBERAL ARTS (240 awarded)

• Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature
• Asian Studies/Civilization
• Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• General Studies
• German Language and Literature
• History
• Latin Language and Literature
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Urban Studies/Affairs

MATHEMATICS (7 awarded)

• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Mathematics

MEDIA (35 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric

MEDICINE (12 awarded)

• Neuroscience

MUSIC (27 awarded)

• Music Performance
• Music Theory and Composition
• Music

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (41 awarded)

• Health and Physical Education
• Kinesiology and Exercise Science

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (28 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (97 awarded)

• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (23 awarded)

• Psychology