Below are boilerplate summaries about Georgia State University and various aspects of the institution that have some relation to research. Otherinformation about Georgia State and its Colleges and Schools can be found on the GSU website at:
About Georgia State University
Founded in 1913 as an evening college, Georgia Statehas been a public research university since 1995 and is Georgia State is now the largest institution in the University System of Georgia. Its January 2016 consolidation with Georgia Perimeter College increased its enrollment to more than 51,000. Georgia State offers more than 250 degree programs in 100 fields of study, taught by more than 1,500 faculty members who generate groundbreaking research and educate one of the most diverse student populations in the nation (
Georgia State’s urban campus embraces experiential learning, providing students a wealth of practical experiences in Atlanta, Georgia’s capital and the center of the Southeast’s largest and most internationally connected metropolitan area. Ranked in the top 4 most innovative schools in the nation ( the university has expanded experiential learning opportunities for students threefold over the past five years. Its students work and learn and enjoy career-boosting access to dynamic urban, corporate, nonprofit and government internship opportunities while they study. This access and this network of organizations offer important and often life changing educational advantages for undergraduate and graduate students. Students and faculty provide organizations and companies throughout metro Atlanta with perspectives drawn from the latest research as well as creative energy that helps foster a dynamic environment of growth and development. This reciprocal relationship defines Georgia State’s well-earned reputation as a campus without borders.
Academics: Eight schools and collegesconstitute the university: The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Law, the Honors College, the School of Public Health, and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. In addition GSU has five satellite campuses that make up the Perimeter College which offers associates degrees and tracks towards enrollment into bachelors programs on the main campus. GSU offers more than 250 degree and certificate programs in over 100 fields of study. More than 9500 degrees are conferred each year. Georgia State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Students:More than 51,000 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled as of fall 2017. Full-time undergraduate, graduate, and professional students come from every state in the U.S. and 170 countries.
Faculty: The total full-time faculty for fall 2017 was more than 1,500. At least 88% of the total full-time instruction faculty have the highest degrees in their fields.
Diversity:Georgia State is strongly committed to enhancing diversity at all university levels, and has made major strides in recruiting and successfully graduating students belonging to historically underrepresented groups (i.e. ethnicity, race, religion, differently-abled, etc.). A national leader in graduating students from diverse backgrounds, Georgia Stateboasts one of the most diverse student bodies in the country ( University’s objectives pertaining to student diversity are to provide meaningful educational experiences and interactions among a diverse undergraduate and graduate student body. To this end, Georgia State supports a University environment that values diversity and promotes intercultural growth for students by providing targeted programming and training which allows undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to develop intercultural skills and maturity and a wide array of diversity-related services and programs to better serve underrepresented populations.
Georgia State’s strategic planreflects the University’s interest in preserving and increasing the numbers of diverse faculty linked to its intellectual mission to provide the best possible education for all students. Faculty diversity is educationally relevant because it motivates students to incorporate different considerations, sensibilities, and lines of reasoning, which augment their analytical abilities. Diverse faculty and administrators contribute different perspectives to the University administration and assist in the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, strengthen the professional lives of those faculty here through greater opportunities for mentoring, and reinforce student perceptions of diversity.
Service and Experiential Learning:At Georgia State, experiential and service learning is explicit in the mission statement of our institution: “Georgia State’s urban campus embraces experiential and service learning, providing students a wealth of practical experiences in Atlanta, Georgia’s capital and the center of the Southeast’s largest and most internationally connected metropolitan area.” Experiential and service learning at Georgia State helps students achieve benchmarks in several domains: 1) written and verbal communication; 2) critical thinking; 3) problem-solving; 4) application of knowledge to career plans, as well as to local, national, and global awareness; and 5) professional preparedness. These gains improve our students’ college experience as well as their college to career readiness.
The university has expanded experiential and service learning opportunities for students threefold over the past five years. Its students work and learn and enjoy career-boosting access to dynamic urban, corporate, nonprofit and government internship opportunities while they study. This access and this network of organizations offer important and often life changing educational advantages for undergraduate and graduate students. Students and faculty provide organizations and companies throughout metro Atlanta with perspectives drawn from the latest research as well as creative energy that helps foster a dynamic environment of growth and development. This reciprocal relationship defines Georgia State’s well-earned reputation as a campus without borders.
Learning by doing is a key concept in Georgia State’s new My Experience program which combines previous service and experiential learning programs across Georgia State’s five campuses. Georgia State has over 350 My Experience course opportunities for students including academic internships, study abroad programs, field experiences, research experiences, service learning, and other types of experiential learning both inside and outside the classroom. The Office of Civic Engagement partners with over 313 organizations and departments to offer students service-learning and volunteer opportunities.Moreover, Georgia State has over 60 study abroad programs for students to choose from.
Facilities: Georgia State’s main campus occupies downtown Atlanta, spanning 71.48 acres with 63 buildings. Established in 1913, the main campus of GSU has 245 classrooms, 297 teaching laboratories, 185 open laboratories, 631 research laboratories, and 5,115 offices. Additional campuses include the Panthersville, Language Research and Indian Creek Lodge locations in Decatur, the Hard Labor Creek location in Social Circle, the North Metro at Alpharetta location in Alpharetta, and two Robinson College of Business MBA Centers in Dunwoody and Atlanta (Buckhead). Outside of Georgia, Georgia State also occupies CHARA at Mt. Wilson in California for astronomical research.
Research: Georgia State University ranks among the nation’s top 115 public and private universities in theCarnegie Foundation’selite category ofResearch Universities/Very High Research Activity. This category represents the highest level of research activity for doctorate-granting universities in the U.S.
The Carnegie classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four decades. The very high research activity designation further confirms that Georgia State is competing with the Nation’s top universities.
Today, Georgia State is one of the nation’s premier urban public research universities, solving global challenges in human health. Researchers at Georgia State utilize the university’s state-of-the art facilities and work across the disciplines to address critical quality of life issues, such as cancer, obesity, inflammation, vaccines, child and adult literacy, and public health issues related to smoking, among others.
Georgia State made it a priority to encourage its researchers to pursue more funding for their scientific research endeavors and have significantly increased its research award funding over the past four years. Annual research awards of just over $147 million were received in fiscal year 2017, marking the sixth year in a row the university has set a research funding record.The total exceeds last year’s record of $120.1 million. Externally funded research activity at the university has climbed 81 percent over the past three years. This past year one of the largest funding increases came from industry research grants and contracts, which grew nearly fivefold.
Mission Statement(Research)
Georgia State University, an enterprising public research university, transforms the lives of students, advances the frontiers of knowledge and strengthens the workforce of the future. The university provides an outstanding education and exceptional support for students from all backgrounds. Georgia State readies students for professional pursuits, educates future leaders, and prepares citizens for lifelong learning. Enrolling one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation at its urban research campus, at its vibrant branch campuses, and online, the university provides educational opportunities for tens of thousands of students at the graduate, baccalaureate, associate, and certificate levels. Georgia State’s scholarship and research focus on solving complex issues ranging from the most fundamental questions of the universe to the most challenging issues of our day. The scholarly work and artistic expression of the university’s faculty create new knowledge, extend the boundaries of imagination, and enhance student learning. The university’s presence in the Atlanta metropolitan area provides extraordinary experiential learning opportunities and supports the work of faculty tackling the challenges of an urbanizing nation and world.
Strategic Plan(Research)
Georgia State University adopted its revised Strategic Plan 2011-2016/21 in January 2017. The Plan’s Goals and Initiatives were framed by the overarching goal of Georgia State University “to be recognized as a dynamic academic community where teaching and research combine to produce leaders and create solutions to conquer the challenges of the 21st century.” Five Goals, each with its own set of Initiatives, are outlined in the Strategic Plan.
Graduate Research
Georgia State offers internationally recognized graduate programs at the master’s, specialist and doctoral levels. In Fall of 2017, over 7000 students were enrolled in one of more than 100 fields of study across nine colleges, schools and institutes: the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, the College of the Arts, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Law, the Institute for Biomedical Sciences, the J. Mack Robinson College of Business and the School of Public Health. In fiscal year 2016, Georgia State conferred almost 2500 graduate degrees across these fields of study.
Graduate students are supported in various ways by their home departments and colleges, as well as by the office of the Associate Provost for Graduate Programs (OAPGP). The OAPGP partners with graduate students, faculty, administrators and staff to identify and expand upon best practices for graduate and professional programs and relies on the latest data and context for graduate programs nationwide to support initiatives for prospective and current students that cross program and college boundaries.
With a mission to strengthen and grow Georgia State’s graduate programs, the office provides marketing support and processes graduate applications using a state-of-the-art application and customer relationship management tool. The office further strives to attend to each student’s progression to degree completion through its coordination of graduate policies and procedures, university-wide student orientation activities, writing workshops for completing theses and dissertations, assistance with scholarship and fellowship applications, central fellowships targeting degree completion and workshops focused on students’ professional development.
Undergraduate Research
The Georgia State University Honors College Undergraduate Research Programprovides undergraduates the opportunity to engage in research across campus. Undergraduate students from all majors and at any level have the opportunity to work in labs, compose music, serve as editors, build business plans, and engage in many other types of research opportunities.
The University Assistantship Program matches students with faculty and staff mentors to work on research or career-related projects. For the 2017-2018 academic year, the program supports 317 students, and the Office of the Provost provided $500,000 to fund these positions. The program includes representation from each college.
The honors thesis project provides an opportunity for students to develop a topic or project and demonstrate the results of scholarship and research in an appropriate format. The thesis is one of the culminating achievements of a scholar’s undergraduate career.
The Honors College also offers interactive research skills workshops intended to introduce students to the research enterprise as an initial step toward building competent undergraduate researchers at Georgia State University.In addition, they sponsor an interdisciplinary undergraduate research conference that highlights and recognizes the research being conducted across Georgia State’s campus.