About MTSU

Middle Tennessee State University, a coeducational, tax-supported institution founded in 1911, is located in Murfreesboro less than a mile from the exact geographic center of the state. Murfreesboro, a historic city of over 140,000, is 32 miles southeast of Nashville via I-24 and is easily accessible from any direction. MTSU students and personnel can enjoy the advantages of a metropolitan atmosphere without the impersonalization associated with a big city.

The large and beautifully landscaped campus of approximately 500 acres has more than 200 permanent buildings totaling almost 6.0 million square feet. Visitors may take a virtual tour at tour.mtsu.edu/ or schedule a visit at www.mtsu.edu/schedule-a-visit/index.php.

The University is made up of eight undergraduate colleges-the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Media and Entertainment, the University College, the University Honors College-and a College of Graduate Studies. MTSU offers curricular breadth in a variety of programs ranging from traditional ones on which the school was founded to new, innovative ones designed for a rapidly changing society. Designated a regional university, MTSU provides services and continuing education to the central Tennessee area.

Some 72.1 percent (672) of the institution’s 932 full-time faculty members hold terminal degrees. The student body numbers 20,183 and comes from 95 Tennessee counties, 45 states, and 89  foreign countries.

Statement of Mission

Middle Tennessee State University offers exceptional academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels that prepare students to thrive in their chosen profession and prioritize student success. As one of Tennessee’s largest comprehensive universities, MTSU places high value on outstanding teaching, research, creative activity, and public service that support the emerging needs and challenges of our state, nation, and world.

Approved March 19, 2024 by the MTSU Board of Trustees

Purpose

To fulfill its mission as a comprehensive, public institution of higher education, the University’s diverse community of students, faculty, and staff

• educates and challenges students through a broad array of high-quality, affordable bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, and doctoral programs grounded in a common core of arts and sciences;
• collaboratively promotes excellence through innovative teaching and learning, research, creative activity, service, and engagement;
• fosters a student-centered environment conducive to lifelong learning, personal development, and success for all students, including first-generation, Pell-eligible, transfer, veteran, non-traditional, and international students;
• enhances access through unique programs, distance learning, and advising to meet the needs of a diverse student population;
• supports student learning through effective teaching and advising, experiential and integrative learning, emerging technologies, research, and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities;
• attracts and retains exceptional faculty and staff and develops resources to support excellence in instruction, research, creative activity, and public and professional service;
• develops and sustains academic partnerships, entrepreneurial activities, and public service to support instruction, research, and communities throughout the region;
• promotes ongoing engagement with its alumni, partners, and friends; and
• serves as an emerging center for international study, understanding, and exchange.

Middle Tennessee State University educates students to

• think logically, critically, and creatively;
• make sound judgments informed by ethical, moral, and aesthetic values;
• acquire knowledge of a discipline or a group of related disciplines;
• examine, analyze, and shape the rapidly changing world through scientific knowledge, creative undertakings, and an understanding of culture and history;
• communicate clearly and precisely and understand the proper role of free expression and civic engagement in our society; and
• demonstrate the effective and adaptive use of current and evolving technologies.

Vision

To provide the highest quality education and student experience, enabling members of our community to excel in professional, scholarly, and public life.

Community Standards and Values

MTSU is committed to developing and nurturing a community devoted to learning, growth, and service. Each person who joins or affiliates with the community does so freely and accepts and practices the following core values and expectations:

• Honesty and Integrity. The notions of personal and academic honesty and integrity are central to the existence of the MTSU community. All members of the community will strive to achieve and maintain the highest standards of academic achievement in the classroom and personal and social responsibility on and off campus.
• Respect for Diversity. The MTSU community is composed of individuals of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, religions, cultures, and ways of thinking. We respect individual differences and unique perspectives as we acknowledge our commonalities. 
• Engagement in the Community. All members of the community are encouraged to participate in educationally purposeful activities that support and enhance the MTSU experience. Active involvement and personal investment in academic and student life are hallmarks of an engaged citizen.
• Commitment to Nonviolence. MTSU is committed to the principles of non-violence and peaceful conflict resolution. Community members will freely express their ideas and resolve differences using reason and persuasion.

*Values in bold appear in the True Blue Pledge.

The History of the University

Middle Tennessee State University began as Middle Tennessee State Normal School, opening its doors on Monday, September 11, 1911.

In 1909, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation to improve the system of public education by establishing a General Education Fund and creating three normal schools, one in each of the three grand divisions of the state. These institutions were to establish teaching standards or “norms,” hence the name. The Murfreesboro school began with four buildings on a dusty site that just a year earlier had been farmland.

Opening with a two-year program for training teachers, Middle Tennessee State Normal School evolved into a four-year teachers college in 1925 with the power of granting the Bachelor of Science degree. In 1943, the General Assembly designated the institution a state college. This new status marked a sharp departure from the founding purpose and opened the way for expanding curricular offerings and programs. In 1965, the institution advanced to university status.

Several significant milestones chart the progress from normal school to university and beyond. During the progressive movement from a two-year normal to a university, several significant milestones may be identified. Responding to the expressed needs of the institution’s service area, the Graduate School was established in 1951. The Bachelor of Arts was added that same year. To effect better communications and improve administrative supervision, the schools concept was introduced in 1962.

As MTSU developed and grew, new degree programs included the Doctor of Arts in 1970 and the Specialist in Education in 1974. Library resources dramatically increased, and sophisticated computer services aided instruction and administration. A highly trained faculty enabled the University to continue growth in program offerings. In 1991, the University’s six schools-five undergraduate and the graduate school-became colleges. In 1998, MTSU’s Honors Program became the Honors College, the first in the state. In 2006, the Division of Continuing Studies and Public Service changed to the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning. In 2002, approval was granted to redesignate three D.A. programs to Doctor of Philosophy programs, and subsequently five others have been approved. In the 2010 reorganization, Continuing Education and Distance Learning became the University College, and the College of Education and Behavioral Science became the College of Education and the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences. The Doctor of Education was approved in 2012.

Since 1911, MTSU has graduated more than 150,000 students. Despite the University’s growth from a campus of 100 acres, 125 students, and a faculty of 18, to an academic city of over 500 acres, 20,000 students, and a faculty of 932, the institution is still essentially a “people’s university” with a concern for the diverse needs of the area that it serves. In 1986, James McGill Buchanan (‘40) became the first MTSU alumnus to be awarded the Nobel Prize. Buchanan received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his development of the theory of public choice, a way of studying the expenditure of public funds. In 2011 the University celebrated it’s Centennial year with the theme “A Tradition of Excellence.” As the University looks forward to the next 100 years, the theme is exemplified as everyone in the University community-students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends-strives to be the best.

Accrediting Agencies and Memberships

Middle Tennessee State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, specialist, and doctorate degrees. Middle Tennessee State University also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Middle Tennessee State University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).