Established in 1895 as Fairmount College, Wichita State University is now a public, four-year, co-educational institution in Wichita, Kansas. As of February 2011, WSU has 14,823 students and 448 faculty members on a 330-acre campus with a student-to-teacher ratio of 20:1. It is the only public higher education institution in an urban setting in all of Kansas.
WSU is a part of the Missouri Valley Conference, NCAA Division I. The most popular degrees at WSU are nursing, teacher education and professional development, general psychology, and accounting.
Washburn University in Topeka has a 160-acre campus and offers more than 200 programs to its student body. WU features the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the schools of Applied Studies, Law, Nursing and Business. The school has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1941.
The total student body consisted of 6,652 students, as of February 2011. Sixty-one percent of students are female, while 39 percent are male. The most popular degree is in nursing.
Emporia State University was founded in 1863 and was the first public higher education institution in Kansas. The average undergraduate class size is 23, while the student-to-faculty ratio is 18:1. ESU is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
Emporia claims it has "outstanding and highly accredited programs" in library and information management, business, and liberal arts and sciences. This university also has campuses away from the main campus in Emporia in Overland Park, Kansas City and El Dorado.
Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, has approximately 7,000 students and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1. The public university offers more than 100 courses in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Technology and Business.
PSU boasts that approximately 80 percent of PSU graduates "are either gainfully employed or enrolled in advanced studies" within six months of graduation. The job placement for Pittsburg State University Nursing graduates is 100 percent.
Athletic programs include baseball, football, golf, cross country, softball and volleyball.