James Madison University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a small city.

Overview

James Madison University, also referred to as JMU, Madison, or James Madison, is a public, coeducational, research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. The University was established in 1908 as State Normal and Industrial School for Women. After four name changes, JMU finally gained its present moniker on July 1, 1977. The University campus stretches over an area of approximately 655 acres.

The University has the following colleges:

• College of Arts and Letters
• College of Business
• College of Education
• College of Graduate and Outreach Programs
• College of Integrated Science and Technology
• College of Science and Mathematics
• College of Visual and Performing Arts

The JMU campus is home to a number of Greek fraternities and sororities. Approximately 12% of the students are members of the Greek houses.

JMU's athletic teams are called the James Madison Dukes. The official mascot is the Duke Dog. The institution sponsors football, basketball, soccer, swimming, diving, volleyball, baseball, lacrosse, field hockey, golf, track and field, and softball.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in nutrition and exercise therapy, therapy and counseling, music, media, law, and art studies.
• Large number of students.
• Numerous part-time students.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High yield: the portion of accepted students who enroll.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• Superior share of faculty on tenure track.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).

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 have meal (board) plans.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• 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 James Madison:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 18,454 in 2009-2010 (18,225 full-time equivalent).

About 19% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 31% of the class.

Undergrads are 88% of enrolled students and graduate students are 12%.

Students under 25 years old represent 92% of the student body. About 2% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 50% are full-time and 50% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

James Madison provides on-campus housing for 6,118 of its 18,225 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 19 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Colonial Athletic Association for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 154 male students received the aid (men were 53% of those receiving aid) and 139 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 47% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

James Madison offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship).

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Doctoral, Humanities/Social Sciences Dominant.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (111 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (840 awarded)

• Accounting
• Business Administration and Management
• Business/Managerial Economics
• Finance and Financial Management Services
• Finance
• International Business/Trade/Commerce
• Marketing/Marketing Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (105 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (31 awarded)

• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (343 awarded)

• Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching
• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Education
• Health Teacher Education
• Mathematics Teacher Education
• Special Education and Teaching

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (120 awarded)

• Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies
• Public Administration
• Social Work

FINE ARTS (23 awarded)

• Art History, Criticism and Conservation

HOSPITALITY (79 awarded)

• Hospitality Administration/Management

LAW (75 awarded)

• Advanced Legal Research/Studies, Gen (LLM, MCL, MLI, MSL, JSD/SJD)

LIBERAL ARTS (887 awarded)

• Anthropology
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• Foreign Languages and Literatures
• Geography
• History
• International Relations and Affairs
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Technical and Business Writing

MATHEMATICS (40 awarded)

• Mathematics

MEDIA (327 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (27 awarded)

• Health/Health Care Administration/Management

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (127 awarded)

• Audiology/Audiologist and Hearing Sciences
• Physician Assistant
• Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist

MUSIC (80 awarded)

• Music Performance

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (115 awarded)

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

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (256 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Health and Physical Education
• Occupational Therapy/Therapist

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (24 awarded)

• Philosophy and Religious Studies

SCIENCE (288 awarded)

• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Physics
• Science, Technology and Society

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (436 awarded)

• Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling
• Psychology
• Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology
• School Psychology