About Shawnee State University
Shawnee State University is the regional public university for south-central Ohio. As the only open-access public university in Ohio named an Opportunity College by the Carnegie Classification, we take students as they come and send them into careers that pay.
Where learning works.
We offer more than 100 degrees and areas of study, small classes where your professors actually know you, and the first hands-on learning requirement of its kind at an Ohio public university. Every student completes a real-world experience before they graduate. Not as an option. As the standard.
Whatever brought you here, there's a place for you at SSU.
The home of Experiential Learning
At SSU, you won’t graduate without doing the work. Every student is given the opportunity to complete a real job experience before graduation.
What Sets Shawnee Apart
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Hands-On Learning
You won't spend four years in a lecture hall. Our Experiential Learning Requirement puts you in internships, clinics, labs, studios, and the field before you graduate. It’s the first requirement of its kind at an Ohio public university.
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Faculty Who Know Your Name
Your professors have spent real time in their fields. They bring that into the classroom and stay invested in what happens to you after graduation. Small class sizes make that possible here in a way it isn't at bigger schools.
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Affordable by Design
One of the lowest tuition rates in Ohio. The Shawnee Advantage locks in your tuition, room, and meal plan for all four years. The number you see when you start is the number you'll see when you graduate. No surprises.
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A Campus Worth Calling Home
There's always something going on here. Athletics, student clubs, arts, recreation, and a college town along the Ohio River that's more than just a backdrop. Getting involved is easy because the community is already here.
Hands-On Learning
At SSU, you won’t graduate without doing the work. Every student is given the opportunity to complete a real job experience before graduation.
It starts your first semester. Hands-on projects. Professors who know your name — and who’ll let you text them the night before a test. An internship, a co-op, research with a faculty mentor, a semester abroad. You’ll leave with experience, not just a transcript.
Occupational Therapy and Plastics Engineering Technology students spent a semester doing something most programs only describe: assessing a real client need, justifying it with evidence, and physically building the solution.
That’s the Shawnee difference.
Faculty Who Know Your Name
Your professors have spent real time in their fields. They bring that into the classroom and stay invested in what happens to you after graduation. Small class sizes make that possible here in a way it isn't at bigger schools.
Affordable by Design
One of the lowest tuition rates in Ohio. The Shawnee Advantage locks in your tuition, room, and meal plan for all four years. The number you see when you start is the number you'll see when you graduate. No surprises.
A Campus Worth Calling Home
There's always something going on here. Athletics, student clubs, arts, recreation, and a college town along the Ohio River that's more than just a backdrop. Getting involved is easy because the community is already here.
Shawnee State is one of only two Ohio four-year public institutions to receive this classification – and the only one serving a unique open access mission.
Find Your Program
Not sure where you fit? Start with what you're interested in and go from there. With more than 100 degrees and areas of study, chances are we have something built for you.
Come See It for Yourself
There's something about standing on campus and meeting the people who'll teach your classes that a webpage can't do. So don't take our word for it. Schedule a visit and we'll show you around, answer your questions, and help you figure out if SSU is the right fit.
What We Do
We prepare today's students to succeed in tomorrow's world. At Shawnee State, that means placing students at the center of every decision we make, every program we build, and every resource we put in front of you. We're here to make sure learning works, for you, and for the community you're going back to.