Georgia Southwestern State University
| Address: | Georgia Southwestern State University
800 Georgia Southwestern State Univ. Drive
Americus, GA 31709-4693 |
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| Type: | State University |
| Phone: | Main: 800-338-0082 Admissions: 229-928-1273 Financial Aid: 229-928-1378 Compliance, Ethics, and Reporting Hotline: 877-516-3451 |
| Website: | www.gsw.edu |
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| Links: | Mission Statement Apply Online Directory Degrees & Majors Authorized Library Compliance, Ethics, and Reporting Hotline |
Institution Overview
Founded in 1906, Georgia Southwestern State University is located in Americus, one of Georgia's most historic and graceful antebellum cities. The university provides a wide variety of undergraduate and master's degree programs serving the southwestern region and attracting students from throughout Georgia and the southeast.
More than 2,400 residential and commuter students are enrolled and the student body averages 24 years of age. Students come primarily from Georgia, but some 30 states and 37 nations also are represented among enrollees.
The University offers 40 bachelor's degree programs in arts and sciences, business administration, computing and mathematics, education and nursing; master's degree programs in education, business administration, computer science, plus a specialist program in education and pre-professional programs in law, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and various allied health-care professions. GSW also boasts the only glass blowing program in the state of Georgia.
Georgia Southwestern and the Georgia Institute of Technology offer a dual-degree program in engineering leading to a bachelor's degree in science or mathematics from Georgia Southwestern and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Georgia Tech. The University also offers cooperative programs with South Georgia Technical College and several two-year institutions within the University System, culminating in a baccalaureate degree from Georgia Southwestern.
The campus is located on 270 wooded acres in Americus, a city of nearly 19,000 boasting two National Historic Sites, and a National Register Historic District. The campus features a lake for fishing and boating, a large covered swimming complex and the Student Success Center facilitates a number of fitness areas, including a rock climbing wall, racquetball courts, an intramural gym, and a state of the art fitness center. As of May 2008, The University owns and operates an 18 hole golf course, Southwestern Golf Links, adjacent to campus.
With the addition of Southwestern Oaks and Southwestern Pines, GSW’s new apartment and suite-style residence halls, on-campus living was at capacity for a second straight year in 2007 with a record high of 760 students.
The university has strong ties to the community. Its Southwest Georgia Writing Project has trained hundreds of area teachers during intense summer programs and the Center for Asian Studies provides education and exchange opportunities. A variety of free campus lectures, concerts and art exhibits are open to the public. Both President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter attended the university, as well as former Attorney General Griffin Bell, and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving was founded there in 1987.
The school competes in the Peach Belt Conference in the NCAA Division II. Intercollegiate sports include men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, women’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s softball, and men’s and women’s tennis. Students may participate in such extracurricular activities as intramural sports, cultural events in music, theater, visual arts and lectures; and more than 60 student clubs and organizations, including honor societies, fraternities and sororities.
Originally named the Third Agricultural and Mechanical School, the university was named Georgia Southwestern College in 1932 and became part of the University System of Georgia. In 1996, it became Georgia Southwestern State University. Having celebrated its centennial in 2006, Georgia Southwestern was named to the Georgia Register of Historic Places.