Points of Pride
Rankings
University-Wide
- Named a “Military-Friendly” school for the tenth year in a row for 2021-2022 by Viqtory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs, STEM Jobs and Military Spouse magazine
- For the 11th year in a row, Georgia Southern University was named one of the nation’s top eco-friendly campuses in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges
- Top 10 in Georgia’s Top Universities, Top 2 for Best Value and Top 5 for Online Programs in 2021 by James Magazine
- 50 Best Nonprofit Colleges and Universities for Online Doctorates 2020 by Nonprofit Colleges Online
- Ranked in theTop 49 Most Affordable Online Schools in 2021 by Best Value Schools
- For the fourth year in a row, Georgia Southern University has been recognized as a Gold Level Campus by Exercise is Medicine® on Campus (EIM®-OC) in 2021 for the University’s diligence to make physical activities a standard on campus.
- Georgia Southern is ranked one of the Best for Vets in 2021 according to CollegeFactual
- Georgia Southern University is included in the national Campus Pride Index for LGBTQ+ inclusivity
- Ranked in The Top 25 Colleges With The Best Weather by Best College Reviews
- Top Adult Programs and Top Online Adult Programs for 2021 by Abound
- One of The 50 Most Beautiful College Arboretums by Best College Reviews
- #1 for the 2021 Best Online Colleges in Georgia by EDsmart
- #1 of 8 in the 2020 Best Education Options for Veterans by Veterans News Report
- #1 in the 2020 list of lowest cost for higher education for Best College Towns and Cities ––Savannah by WalletHub
- #1 for Best Online Colleges in Georgia for 2021 by Learn.org
More University-Wide Rankings
Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing
- #1 in the 2021 Top 50 Master’s in Computer Science Degree Programs by Intelligent.com
- # 1 for Best in Georgia Offering Manufacturing Engineering Programs for 2021 by Plexuss
- #3 in 30 Most Affordable Online Master’s Degrees in Computer Science 2021 by Computer Science Degree Hub
- #3 in the 20 Best Online Master’s in Computer Science Degrees by BestMastersDegrees.com
- #4 in Georgia for the Top Game Design Schools for 2020 by Animation Career Review
- #4 for Best Online Master’s in Computer Science: Students Before Profits 2020 by Nonprofit Colleges Online
More CEC Rankings
College of Arts and Humanities
- Ranked in the 20 Outstanding University and College Choir Programs list by Online-Bachelor-Degrees.com
- #2 for Best in Georgia Offering Public Relations Programs for 2021 by Plexuss
- #2 in Best Online Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies: Students Before Profits Award, by Nonprofit Colleges Online
- #5 in Georgia for 2021 Graphic Design School Rankings by Animation Career Review
- #7 for Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in the 108 Most Affordable Online Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Best Buy by GetEducated.com
More CAH Rankings
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
- #2 for Best Criminology Schools in Georgia (Undergraduate) for 2021 by Plexuss
- #2 for Best International Relations Schools in Georgia (Undergraduate) for 2021 by Plexuss
- #4 for 2020 Most Affordable Online College for Sociology Degrees by OnlineU
- #4 for 2020 Most Affordable Online Public Administration Degrees by OnlineU
- #4 in Georgia for the MPA program in the 2020 Best Public Administration Colleges in Georgia
- #6 in the Top 10 Online Cyber Security Graduate Certificate Programs for 2021 by SecurityDegreeHub
- #7 in the 2020 Most Affordable Online Criminal Justice Degrees by OnlineU
- #7 in the 25 Best Bachelor’s in Fashion for 2021 by Bachelor’s Degree Center
- #10 in the South in Top Fashion Design Schools and Colleges 2020 by fashion-schools.org
More CBSS Rankings
College of Education
- #1 in 2021 for The Top 25 Master’s in Assessment And Measurement Degree Programs by Intelligent.com
- #2 for Best Value Master’s Degree Schools in Georgia for 2021 by Teaching Degree Search
- #2 in the 2021 Top 50 Master’s in Secondary Education Degree Programs by Intelligent.com
- #2 in the Best 25 Masters in Education Administration Programs in 2021 by Best Value Schools
- #2 in the Top 24 Online Master’s Programs in Early Childhood Education in the nation by Best College Reviews
- #2 in Best 35 Online Master’s in Early Childhood Education for 2020 from College Choice
- #3 for Best Value Schools in Georgia by Teaching Degree Search
- #3 in 2021 for The Top 50 Master’s in Education Degree Programs by Intelligent.com
- #3 in 2021 for The Top 50 Master’s in Educational Leadership Degree Programs and Best for P-12 Education by Intelligent.com
- #4 in the Top 20 Best MATs in Elementary Education Online 2020 by Top Education Degrees
- #4 in the 2021 The Top 50 Master’s in Education Administration Degree Programs and Best Hybrid Option by Intelligent.com
- #5 in Best Doctorate In Curriculum and Instruction Online: Students Before Profits 2020 by Nonprofit Colleges Online
- #6 in the Top 50 Most Affordable Master’s in Higher Education Online Programs 2021 by Best Colleges Online
More COE Rankings
College of Science and Mathematics
- # 7 in the 30 Best Bachelor’s in Geography for 2021 by College Rank
- #11 for Best Colleges for Biology Majors in Georgia for 2020 by Niche
- #18 in the Top 25 Bachelor’s in Mathematics for 2020 by BachelorsDegreeCenter.com
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
- #1 in the 13 Best Schools for a Master’s in Public Health by SR Education Group
- #71 in Public Health 2021 by U.S.News
Parker College of Business
- #1 for 2021 for Online MBA programs in Georgia with the lowest debt at graduation by Discover Business.US
- #1 in the list of 2020 Best Online MBA Programs in Georgia by MBACompass.com
- #1 in the 2021 listing of the The Top 50 Online Master’s in Business Administration by Intelligent.com
- #1 in the 2021 Top 50 Master’s in Economics by Intelligent.com
- #1 for Most Affordable College Online for a Master’s in Economics 2020 by OnlineU
- #2 in the 2021 Top 50 Master’s in Accounting Programs by Intelligent.com
- #3 for 2021 in the 21 Best Online Master’s Degree Programs for Economics by Best Value Schools
- #3 for 2021 for Online MBA programs in Georgia with the highest three-year graduation rates by Discover Business.US
- #4 in the Best 15 MBA Programs in Georgia for 2021 by Best Value Schools
- #4 in Master’s in Economics Online: Top 8 Values for 2020 by College Values
- #5 in the 10 Best Online Master’s Programs in Economics 2020 by Master’s Programs Guide
More PCOB Rankings
Waters College of Health Professions
- #1 in the 2021 Top 50 in Master of Science in Nursing by Intelligent.com
- #1 in the 2021 Top 50 Respiratory Therapy Degree Programs by Intelligent.com
- #1 in the 2021 Top 50 Master’s in Coaching by Intelligent.com
- #1 in the 2021 ranking of The Top 50 Online Sports Management Degrees (master’s degree) by Intelligent.com
- # 1 for Best in Georgia Offering Recreation and Leisure Studies Programs for 2021 by Plexuss
- #1 in 20 Most Affordable Online BSN Degrees by College Choice
- #2 in the Top 15 Best Sports Psychology Degree in 2021 for the Master of Science, Kinesiology, Sport and Exercise Psychology concentration by Best Value Schools
- #2 in the 2021 Top 49 Master’s in Training And Development Degree Programs and best for Concussion Management by Intelligent.com
- #2 in the 10 Most Affordable Doctorate in Nurse Practitioner Online by Grad School Hub.
- #2 in The Three Best Online Sports Management Degree Programs in Georgia by Sports Management Degree Hub
- #2 for the Master of Science in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Coaching Education among 15 Best Online Master’s in Coaching Education by Sports Management Degree Hub
More WCHP Rankings
Centers and Institutes
- #19 for The 30 Most Amazing Higher Ed Natural History Museums by Best College Reviews
- Garden of the Coastal Plain is in The 50 Most Beautiful College Arboretums by Best College Reviews
Academics
Nine colleges, schools and departments offer 141 degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels on three campuses – Statesboro, Savannah and Hinesville.
Currently, Georgia Southern University’s total enrollment stands at more than 26,000 students from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 102 nations.
Georgia Southern is partnering with the U.S. Air Force to help active-duty, National Guard and reserve personnel pursue education through the General Education Mobile (GEM) program. GEM is a landmark partnership between Air University, the Community College of the Air Force, and civilian academic institutions. Georgia Southern’s participation in the partnership makes the University one of only 96 institutions of higher learning where airmen are approved to take classes remotely.
Members of the Air Force, especially those serving in the Georgia Air National Guard, who want to pursue a civilian education in a traditional setting will be able to attend classes at Georgia Southern’s campuses located in Savannah, Statesboro and Hinesville.
The consolidation of Georgia Southern University and Armstrong State University went into effect Jan. 1, 2018, a year after the University System of Georgia Board of Regents announced the plan to consolidate Georgia Southern and Armstrong State. Georgia Southern is now the fifth largest public university in Georgia and the largest south of Atlanta.
Georgia Southern ranked in the top 5 percent of schools for gender diversity according to College Factual. In the 2019 rankings for gender diversity at colleges and universities nationwide, Georgia Southern University ranked No. 82 out of 2,486, with a gender diversity of 49.1 percent male and 50.9 percent female.
College Factual analyzed the age, gender, race and location of origin of enrolled students to rank colleges based on diversity. Georgia Southern ranked above the national average in all measures.
In 2017, Georgia Southern University established its first permanent scientific field station known as the Effingham Wetlands. The property of about 1,400 acres, is located in Effingham and Chatham counties.
Georgia Southern University’s Department of Biology is the largest center for biology research and education in southern Georgia.
Georgia Southern’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing opened the state of Georgia’s first undergraduate Manufacturing Engineering program in August 2015.
Georgia Southern University has been named a top four-year university on the Phi Theta Kappa’s 2018 Transfer Honor Roll for creating pathways to support transfer students. It was recognized on a list of only 112 colleges and universities in the U.S.
The Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus in Savannah is a designated National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence. The University is one of only 14 institutions in the country to earn this designation from the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center.
The Armstrong Campus in Savannah was designated as the first college campus in the country to have a collegiate chapter of the National Latina Organization MANA, which represents the interests of Latina women, youth and families in the areas of education, health and well-being, financial literacy, equal and civil rights and immigration reform.
The Eagle Battalion is proud to have the largest Army ROTC Nursing program in the nation. Georgia Southern’s School of Nursing is consistently ranked among the top in the country. The strong relationship between these elite programs has ensured that our Nurse Cadets receive top quality education and experience while being held to high academic and ethical standards, preparing them for becoming both Army Officers and leaders in the field of medicine.
The Betty Foy Sanders Georgia Artists Collection, one of Georgia Southern University’s largest permanent collections, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The collection was established in 1967 by former Georgia first lady Betty Foy Sanders, a Statesboro native.
Georgia Southern University’s accreditation has been reaffirmed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) through the year 2025. The reaffirmation demonstrates the University’s commitment to the highest educational standards.
Georgia Southern University received an honorable mention designation for the 2017 Climate Leadership Awards from Second Nature and the U.S. Green Building Council. The Climate Leadership Awards recognize advanced leadership in sustainability, climate change mitigation and resilience at college and university campuses. The honorable member designation is the second highest an institution can receive. The finalists included only nine four-year institutions, among them, Furman University, Duke University, two Ivy League schools and three universities from California, all widely known and supported for their commitment to sustainability. Second Nature is a national nonprofit that works to accelerate climate action in, and through, higher education.
Athletics
Georgia Southern sponsors 17 NCAA Division I varsity athletics programs, 15 of which compete in the Sun Belt Conference. Rifle competes in the Southern Conference while women’s swimming and diving competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA).
The Georgia Southern men’s basketball program has finished in the top three of the Sun Belt Conference in three of their four seasons in the league. In spring 2019, the Eagles advanced to the semifinals for the third straight season in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament before the season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia Southern’s football program has a rich history, winning six NCAA Division I-AA National Championships before moving up to the FBS in 2014. In that first year, the Eagles won the Sun Belt Conference with a perfect league mark and won their first bowl game in school history a year later, trouncing Bowling Green 58-27 in the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The Eagles have made three appearances in an NCAA postseason bowl game since joining the Sun Belt Conference.
The Georgia Southern men’s golf squad hosts one of the top college golf tournaments in the country each March in the Schenkel Invitational. Teams from around the country have descended upon Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro for 40 years for the competition. In spring 2020, the Eagles entered the 41st edition of the tournament as the defending champions before it was postponed due to the pandemic.
Georgia Southern hosted the 2019 Southern Conference Rifle Championships at the ultramodern $5.8 million Shooting Sports Education Center in Statesboro. The 30,000-square-foot facility features indoor archery and firing ranges, as well as an outdoor archery range.
Student-athletes continue to earn top honors in the classroom, as the nearly 400 student-athletes who make up the Georgia Southern Athletics Department earned a 3.08 GPA for the 2019-2020 academic year. This mark surpasses the previous high of 3.01 set in 2015-16 and matched in 2016-17. It marks just the third time in department history the Eagles have posted a 3.00 or higher for an academic year. Additionally, the department’s 3.21 spring GPA is the highest semester GPA in Georgia Southern Athletics history.
Facilities
Center for Engineering and Research
Georgia Southern University’s new Center for Engineering and Research building is set to open in fall 2020. Located on the Statesboro Campus at the corner of Akins Boulevard and Forest Drive, the three-story, 132,000-square-foot building will be the new home for the Manufacturing Engineering program. The new building will house state-of-the-art applied research facilities where faculty and students will conduct research to strengthen existing companies and attract new companies to the region.It also will provide collaborative spaces for interdisciplinary research projects.
Health Professions Academic Building
The new building housing the Waters College of Health Professions opened in the 2018-19 academic year on the Armstrong Campus. The $22 million state-of-the-art facility is being used by faculty to teach and train students in health-related fields ranging from nursing to radiology and sonography. Designed to simulate the environment of a hospital or medical facility, it serves as a model for health care training to help meet regional workforce development needs.
Interdisciplinary Academic Building
Georgia Southern University’s new $33.6 million Interdisciplinary Academic Building opened in the 2018-19 academic year on the Statesboro Campus. The 110,000-square-foot building houses teaching space for a variety of academic disciplines including interior design, fashion merchandising and apparel design, history, foreign languages, writing and linguistics, and international studies.
Nessmith-Lane Partial Renovation
Georgia Southern University is currently working with East Georgia State College on a project to renovate a portion of the East Georgia State College – Statesboro Campus Building, located on Highway 301 South, and renovate a portion of the Nessmith-Lane Building located on the Statesboro Campus. The project is currently in the design selection phase and the design should be complete by winter 2020 in preparation for the construction phase.
University Museum Exhibit Renovations
What began as a simple project to repaint the Georgia Southern Museum turned into a two-year undertaking to renovate the entire building. Built in 1937 as the original library in the Rosenwald building, the Museum now is a state-of-the art exhibit space. There are now two permanent galleries. One side of the rotunda displays the ever popular mosasaur skeleton and related natural history. The other side exhibits the cultural history of Georgia’s Coastal Plain. Visitors will see a more complete natural and cultural history from 75 million years ago.
A new third gallery displays the changing exhibit. The first to be displayed is “Saints and Sinners: Salvation and Damnation in Latin American Folk Art”. The presentation examines how Europeans, Americans, Africans and their descendants wrestled with existential questions of life, death and afterlife in a uniquely Latin American way.
Armstrong Campus Starbucks
More than 1,500 square feet of space has been renovated in coordination with Eagle Dining Services. The renovated space offers a new Starbucks to the campus community.
Armstrong Campus Health Center Renovation
A project to upgrade and expand the Health Center on the Armstrong Campus is complete. The project added a new reception area, one new exam room and addressed ADA access issues.
Pirate Athletic Center and Volleyball Gymnasium Renovations
Plans to renovate the old Pirate Athletic Center and Volleyball Gymnasium are underway and in the design firm selection phase. The project will transform the space into a new student support area and is anticipated to provide a one-stop shop area for students to receive the support services presently provided by the Academic Success Center, Academic Advisement Center, TRIO Student Support Services, First Year Experience, Major/Career Exploration Center and the Office of Testing Services.
Outreach
Bright from the Start has awarded Georgia Southern University’s Child Development Center (CDC) the highest possible accolade, a three-star rating, on its quality assessment report, Quality Rated.
Quality Rated is a system to determine, improve and communicate the quality of child care programs in Georgia. The system assigns a quality rating to early and school-age care and education programs that meet a set of defined program standards. Institutions volunteer to be observed by Quality Rated.
Georgia Southern is partnering with the U.S. Air Force to help active-duty, National Guard and reserve personnel pursue education through the General Education Mobile (GEM) program. GEM is a landmark partnership between Air University, the Community College of the Air Force, and civilian academic institutions. Georgia Southern’s participation in the partnership makes the University one of only 96 institutions of higher learning where airmen are approved to take classes remotely.
Members of the Air Force, especially those serving in the Georgia Air National Guard, who want to pursue a civilian education in a traditional setting will be able to attend classes at Georgia Southern’s campuses located in Savannah, Statesboro and Hinesville,
Georgia Southern University students performed 46,415 community service hours for the year ending July 31, 2019. The hours had an estimated monetary impact of $932,104. The Office of Leadership and Community Engagement (OLCE) hosts 17 volunteer trips every week on the Statesboro and Savannah campuses through Serve912, the office’s local service initiative. OLCE ‘s bigger community service events include the Alternative Break Program and Treasure Savannah, a biannual day of service for students, faculty and staff on the Armstrong and Liberty campuses.
City of Statesboro employees are improving their health and wellness thanks to the help of Georgia Southern University faculty and students who have customized a worksite wellness program that meets the needs of the city’s diverse workforce. The mutually-benefiting partnership not only allows for learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate exercise science students, but it also provides wellness education and programming to city employees.
Georgia Southern Statesboro Campus, city of Statesboro team up to improve health >
Georgia Southern and Nine Line Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote veteran education with the help of the Armstrong Campus’ Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center (SARC). Aquaponics, or soilless farming, mixes aquaculture, the farming of fish, and hydroponics to fuel the growth of plants in water. Through the program with Nine Line Foundation, homeless veterans can enroll in the Georgia Southern aquaponics training program to learn new skills and reengage in society. The SARC, a 4,100 square-foot greenhouse, has four independent recirculating systems, each containing 900-gallon tanks capable of holding more than 100 mature tilapia.
The Department of Biology at Georgia Southern University and The Orianne Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles, have announced a partnership. The memorandum of understanding between the University and The Orianne Society is designed to enhance cooperation and further the mission of research and education by both partners.
Georgia Southern University’s Department of Biology is the largest center for biology research and education in southern Georgia. Thus, for its part, the department will provide access to state-of-the-art laboratory space and equipment for scientists from The Orianne Society. Access to laboratory facilities will significantly increase the research infrastructure available to The Orianne Society and will facilitate mutually beneficial collaborations with the University’s faculty and students. Scientists from The Orianne Society will have the opportunity to work as visiting scholars in the Department of Biology.
Scientists from The Orianne Society will also continue to contribute regularly to the Georgia Southern University herpetology collection, strengthening one of the largest collections of amphibians and reptiles in the Southeast.
Research
The Georgia Southern School of Nursing has received a $1.6 million grant to help better prepare students to work in the psychiatric/mental health care field through the new Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program. The BHWET Program supports students in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) specialty track of the BSN-DNP program, and aims to develop and expand the behavioral health workforce for rural and medically underserved populations in South Georgia.
Jose Sanchez, a graduate student in the Georgia Southern Department of Biology, received a highly competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship to conduct ecological research at the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve in southern Chile. Sanchez was one of only three students selected to participate after a nationwide search. The fellowship was funded by a NSF International Research Experience for Students grant. The grant, administered by the University of North Texas, is designed to fund interdisciplinary research and biocultural conservation in the world’s southernmost forests.
Georgia Southern University’s School of Nursing received a $1.3 million federal grant for an Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) project that will create innovative academic-practice partnerships to prepare nurse practitioners for service in rural and underserved communities in Southeast Georgia. The grant will create partnerships between the School of Nursing and five federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in order to increase the number and readiness of family nurse practitioner (FNP) and psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) students in Georgia.
Georgia Southern’s College of Science and Mathematics has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow University biology students and faculty to use the Bo Ginn Fish Hatchery as a resource to better understand the future of ecosystems in the southeastern U.S. Most of the experiments at the hatchery will explore the ways rainfall changes due to climate change will affect ephemeral ponds, which are vital habitats for many aquatic species in the region.
Georgia Southern Waters College of Health Professions Assistant Professor Tamerah Hunt, Ph.D., has teamed up with researchers from the Seattle Pediatric Concussion Research Collaborative and Seattle Children’s Center for Childhood Health, Behavior and Development to develop the program, One Team, which addresses safety and concussion awareness in youth sports. The researchers received a $1.6 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement the program in ages 9-13 youth football and soccer leagues in Puget Sound and southern Georgia.
Last updated: 8/3/2021
