Grand Valley State University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large suburb.

Overview

Grand Valley State University, or GVSU, is an American liberal arts university located in Allendale, Michigan. It was founded in 1960. The main campus in Allendale covers an area of 1,237 acres. Grand Valley offers over 200 areas of study including more than 70 undergraduate majors and over 25 graduate programs. GVSU is organized into the following academic divisions:

• College of Community and Public Services
• College of Education
• College of Health Professions
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• College of University-wide Interdisciplinary Initiatives
• Kirkhof College of Nursing
• Padnos College of Engineering and Computing
• The Seidman College of Business

GVSU has an active Greek life. There are several fraternity and sorority communities that have more than 600 undergraduate students participating in over 20 chapters. The University also offers special programs for students such as the Autism Center and the Center for Business Ethics and Charter schools. GVSU also operates WGVU TV and Radio stations WGVU-AM and WGVU-FM.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in hospitality, medicine, media, family and social work, photography and commercial art, and mathematics.
• Large number of students.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High female/male ratio.
• Superior share of faculty on tenure track.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Masters Colleges and Universities I.

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.
• Weekend study is an option.
• 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 Grand Valley State:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 23,892 in 2009-2010 (21,520 full-time equivalent).

About 39% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 61% of the class.

Undergrads are 79% of enrolled students and graduate students are 21%.

Students under 25 years old represent 79% of the student body. About 4% 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

Grand Valley State provides on-campus housing for 5,224 of its 21,520 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010).

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 183 male students received the aid (men were 56% of those receiving aid) and 141 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 44% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Grand Valley State offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Professional Practice).

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)

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (785 awarded)

• Accounting
• Business/Commerce
• Business/Managerial Economics
• Finance
• International Business/Trade/Commerce
• Management Science
• Marketing/Marketing Management
• Taxation

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (84 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (33 awarded)

• Natural Resources/Conservation

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (16 awarded)

• Dance
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (595 awarded)

• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Education
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Reading Teacher Education
• Special Education and Teaching

ENGINEERING (67 awarded)

• Engineering

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (9 awarded)

• Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (313 awarded)

• Public Administration
• Social Work

FINE ARTS (57 awarded)

• Fine Arts and Art Studies

HOSPITALITY (114 awarded)

• Hotel/Motel Administration/Management

LAW (30 awarded)

• Legal Assistant/Paralegal

LIBERAL ARTS (733 awarded)

• Anthropology
• Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics
• Economics
• English Composition
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• History
• International Relations and Affairs
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Russian Studies
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (72 awarded)

• Mathematics
• Statistics

MEDIA (296 awarded)

• Advertising
• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs
• Journalism
• Radio and Television

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (10 awarded)

• Health/Health Care Administration/Management

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (61 awarded)

• Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
• Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist
• Physician Assistant

MEDICINE (286 awarded)

• Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
• Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies

MUSIC (36 awarded)

• Music

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (230 awarded)

• Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (47 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Occupational Therapy/Therapist
• Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (84 awarded)

• Film/Cinema Studies
• Photography

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (14 awarded)

• Philosophy

SCIENCE (280 awarded)

• Bioinformatics
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Biological and Physical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Biopsychology
• Biostatistics
• Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences
• Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Chemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Physics

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (173 awarded)

• Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (336 awarded)

• Physical Therapy/Therapist
• Psychology
• Social Psychology