About USAO
History
Celebrating a century of service as Oklahoma's only public liberal arts college, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma – nationally ranked for quality and value – is a recognized leader and innovator in interdisciplinary studies.
Like the best private liberal arts colleges, USAO offers small classes, award-winning faculty committed to teaching (91 percent have the terminal degree), and a campus culture that fosters close faculty-student interaction and undergraduate research opportunities. USAO dedicates itself to educating the whole student, encourages personal development through public service, and offers nationally ranked teams in five sports. The college was founded in 1908 as a women's institution, the first college created by Oklahoma's first legislature. USAO is one of only seven state institutions with similar missions ever created in the United States. Other than the University of Oklahoma, USAO has the oldest original mission of any state college or university in Oklahoma. Located in Chickasha, USAO is the only Oklahoma college to be named a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Continue Reading...
Mission
The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma is the state's public liberal arts college. Its mission is to provide the public with a distinctive and accessible liberal arts and sciences education. In combining an interdisciplinary core curriculum with superior instruction in major fields of study, USAO aims to provide a thorough education that prepares students for meaningful, purposeful lives.
Objectives
USAO has adopted the following set of objectives consistent with its mission and the functions assigned by the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education:
1. To provide an outstanding general education program for the State of Oklahoma with strong offerings in the liberal arts and sciences. This program will feature interdisciplinary team-teaching and will extend throughout the undergraduate experience.
2. To offer programs of study approved by the State Regents for Higher Education, culminating in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees.
3. To offer a limited number of career, professional, and specialized degree programs which would be especially strengthened when combined with an interdisciplinary, liberal arts foundation.
4. To provide a learning environment suited to the needs of academically and artistically talented students while offering students the advantages of an interdisciplinary, liberal arts program.
5. To assemble a faculty whose interests, knowledge, and experiences transcend their specialized fields of graduate study and who are dedicated to liberal arts education.
6. To operate on a flexible trimester plan which will permit some students to complete a baccalaureate degree in three years and allow all students to progress in their academic programs at a rate which they desire.
7. To foster scholarly activities appropriate to the nature and the needs of the university.
8. To provide cultural, educational, and professional opportunities and services which enrich the university and the community.
Accreditation
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Since 1920
National Council For Accreditation of Teacher Education
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Council on Education of the Deaf
National Association of Schools of Music
Member of
American Council on Education
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
Association of American Colleges and Universities
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
Safety Report (filed with the US Department of Education)
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Student Right to Know Disclosures
