University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

According to the school, Science and Arts of Oklahoma is celebrating over a century of service as Oklahoma’s only public liberal arts college and is nationally ranked for quality and value as well as 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, and a campus culture that fosters close faculty-student interaction and undergraduate research opportunities. USAO is a proud member of the exclusive, national Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Ranked among the 240 unique Colleges of Distinction in a national publication by that name, 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. Coeducational since 1965, its mission has never changed, thus making it one of the oldest state-supported liberal arts colleges in the nation. Because of these special qualities, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education charged USAO in 2006 to raise its admission standards to the highest in the state system for the purpose of attracting the best and bright students who seek a rigorous and affordable liberal arts experience. Located in Chickasha, Oklahoma, just 40 minutes southwest of Oklahoma City, USAO is the only college to be named a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. On campus, students enjoy more than 500 new dormitory and apartment units, which are part of a $25 million project enhancing student life.