Dayton, Ohio

The University

Established in 1850 by the Marianists, the University of Dayton (UD) is a Catholic leader in higher education, committed to educating students as value-centered leaders in their chosen professions and in society.  More than 10,000 students attend UD, including 6,600 full-time undergraduate students.  Students attracted to the University come from most states and many countries.  More than 95 percent of full-time undergraduates live on campus.  The technology-enhanced learning and student computer initiative provides every student living in a UD residence with high-speed data access to learning resources and collaboration tools.  Extensive programs of study are offered in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Schools of Business Administration, Education and Allied Professions, Engineering, and Law. 

The residential nature of the campus encourages active extracurricular involvement.  More than 170 clubs and organizations exist on campus, including more than thirty service organizations, forty academic and professional clubs, thirteen honor societies, recreation/sports clubs, theatrical and musical performance groups, and fraternities and sororities.  NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics, as well as intramural sports, are also prevalent.  Men’s intercollegiate teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, and tennis.  Women’s intercollegiate sports include basketball, crew, cross-country, golf, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.  Club sports such as archery, lacrosse, rugby, and soccer are also popular.  A variety of special events include everything from symposia and concerts to parents’ weekends and a huge Christmas on Campus celebration each December 8. 

The John F.  Kennedy Memorial Union offers a variety of services for the University community, including numerous cultural, educational, social, and recreational activities.  The facility includes a theater; an art gallery; a food court containing a pizzeria, bakery, grill, delicatessen, and candy counter; Flyer TV, a student-run television station; and the commuter lounge.  A $1 million renovation to the Kennedy Union games room provides bowling lanes, billiards, a cyber café, games, a lounge, and performance space. 

Location

The campus is located on a 123-acre hilltop, 2 miles from the city of Dayton.  The Dayton metropolitan area is a vibrant, growing community of approximately 950,000 people in southwestern Ohio.  Top cultural, recreational, and entertainment programs are available during the year.  Varied business, industrial, research, and educational enterprises provide students with extensive work opportunities related to their academic disciplines. 

Majors and degrees

The College of Arts and Sciences offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies, art history, chemistry, communication (electronic media, journalism, communication management, communication studies, public relations, and theater), criminal justice studies, economics, English, fine arts, geology, history, international studies and human rights, languages (French, German, and Spanish), mathematics, music, philosophy, photography, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, theater, visual communication design and women’s studies. 

The Bachelor of Science is awarded in applied mathematical economics, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer information systems, computer science, environmental biology, environmental geology, geology, mathematics, physical science, physics, physics-computer science, predentistry, premedicine, and psychology. 

The School of Business Administration offers the Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, business economics, entrepreneurship (available sophomore year), finance, international business, management information systems, management (leadership), marketing, and operations management. 

The Bachelor of Science in Education is awarded in the ADA didactic program in dietetics, exercise science/fitness management, exercise science/fitness and nutrition, exercise science/pre-physical therapy, physical education, and sport management through the Department of Health and Sport Science.  Through the Department of Teacher Education, a Bachelor of Science degree is awarded in art education, Catholic religious studies (available sophomore year), foreign language education, early childhood education, intervention specialist (special education), middle childhood education, and adolescence to young adult education. 

The School of Engineering awards the Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering.  The School of Engineering also offers a Bachelor of Science in engineering technology, one of the few four-year programs available in the country.  Programs include computer engineering technology, electronic engineering technology, industrial engineering technology, manufacturing engineering technology, and mechanical engineering technology. 

The University also offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (art education, fine arts, photography, and visual communication design), Bachelor of Music (music composition, music education, music performance, and music therapy), and Bachelor of General Studies.  Undeclared admission options are offered in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Business Administration, Education and Allied Professions, and Engineering.  A prelaw program (including advising and assistance in course selection) is available to students in all degree programs.  Combined bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are also available in some majors.

Academic Programs

The academic year consists of two semesters, with two 6-week sessions available during the summer.  While graduation requirements vary according to academic majors, a minimum of 120 semester credit hours is required of all bachelor’s degree programs.  Students following four-year programs must successfully complete requirements in communication, English, mathematics, and philosophy and/or religious studies.  Likewise, the University has instituted a program of study for all students that provides a general education in the humanities, arts, and social and natural sciences.  This program develops students’ abilities to integrate their knowledge and express themselves effectively.  The University offers two distinct programs for its most academically accomplished students.  Both the University Honors Program and the John W.  Berry Sr.  Scholars Program provide UD students with an enhanced undergraduate education.  The programs’ academic benefits and privileges are numerous and multifaceted but are unified by the distinctive qualities of undergraduate research, international experience, and service and leadership.  Several opportunities also exist for students to integrate traditional academic majors with many progressive, innovative programs.  These programs include study abroad, cooperative education and internship programs, the ability to earn the B.A. or B.S. degree with teacher certification, and multidisciplinary programs. 

Academic Facilities

ArtStreet, which opened in fall 2004, is an innovative living and learning complex that combines student residence quarters with performance and visual arts spaces, a recording studio, a radio station, and a café.  At the Arena Sports Complex, a practice track and football practice field were completed in fall 2003.  Additional construction includes a baseball facility, an area for long jumping and pole vault, a softball field, and track throwing fields.  A new residence hall, Marianist Hall, includes student housing, a bookstore, post office, credit union, food emporium, worship space, and learning center.  The student housing component consists of three 4-story residential wings with a total of 400 beds. 

Construction began in spring 2004 on a new fitness and recreation complex, the RecPlex.  The facility will include four courts for basketball and volleyball; three racquetball courts; two courts for aerobics, basketball, floor hockey, inline hockey, lacrosse, a rope course, soccer, tennis and volleyball; two aerobics/multipurpose rooms; sixty cardiovascular machines; sixty weight machines; a free-weight area; a 1/8-mile track; administrative offices; classrooms; a climbing wall; a juice bar; a lounge; men’s and women’s locker rooms; an eight-lane natatorium; an outdoor deck; a sand volleyball court; and a whirlpool. 

The first phase of the central mall project, which provides green space adjacent to Kennedy Union, was completed in fall 2003.  The second phase of the project, which provides for a tiered plaza area connecting the upper walkway on the north to the green space, is currently underway. 

Other recently completed campus construction projects include the Science Center, a 44,000-square-foot facility that connects Sherman and Wohlleben Halls.  New construction and renovations provide for laboratories, classrooms, offices, and gathering spaces.  In addition, University-owned houses in the student neighborhood have been and continue to be rebuilt or renovated.