Welcoming the Class of 2030
The biggest first-year class in a decade.
Shawnee State’s class of 2030 is the largest first-year class in nearly ten years — and the first that will graduate under the university’s new Experiential Learning Requirement.
New undergraduate enrollment at Shawnee State is up 11% this fall. That is the largest first-year class in nearly a decade, and it did not happen because the university got louder.
“Shawnee State University is no longer a hidden gem,” said SSU President Eric Andrew Braun. “Word is getting out that SSU has fantastic programs and people, is extremely affordable, and our graduates are fueling an in-demand workforce that has made Ohio the #1 state for business in the U.S.”
Right on time.
The class of 2030 arrives at a specific moment. They are the first cohort that will graduate under the Experiential Learning Requirement — the university’s new rule that no undergraduate leaves without completing real work outside a classroom. An internship. A co-op. Undergraduate research. A clinical placement. Service learning. A semester abroad. A creative or entrepreneurial project of their own.
Which means the students who walk across the stage in 2030 will do it holding a transcript and a résumé.
The next class starts in fall 2027. Applications are open.
“Word is getting out that our graduates are fueling an in-demand workforce that has made Ohio the #1 state for business in the U.S.”
Dr. Eric Andrew Braun
President, Shawnee State University
You won’t graduate without doing the work.
Starting with students who entered in fall 2026, every Shawnee State undergraduate completes at least one approved hands-on experience before they graduate. It is a requirement, not a recommendation.
Learn more about Experiential Learning at SSU