Research and Learning Opportunities

Academic programs

Missouri State University wants to help you student find and follow their passion. That’s why we offer:

  • 100+ undergraduate majors with 190+ options
  • 120 minors
  • 13 undergraduate certificates
  • 30 accelerated master’s programs

Each program’s website can provide answers to your questions about specific majors. If your student hasn’t decided what to major in yet, that’s ok! Browse through our options together and discuss areas that might be a good fit. Many students at MSU choose to double major or minor, if they have several areas of interest.

Advising support

As a new student at Missouri State, your son or daughter will be assigned to an academic advisor who will provide advice about:

  • Which classes to take
  • How to fulfill various degree requirements
  • Accessing campus resources and policies
  • Academic and personal growth 

Your student will first meet with an advisor during SOAR (Student Orientation, Advisement and Registration) to select the classes for the first semester. Students with declared majors will then be assigned an advisor in their field of interest. Undeclared students will be placed with an academic advisor in our Academic Advising and Transfer Center.

Unique learning communities

Our unique learning communities are designed to engage your student in the learning process while introducing them to other students:

  • Honors College
    Missouri State’s Honors College provides an opportunity for those students who have demonstrated academic excellence to further challenge themselves in a wide variety of course work.
  • IDEA Commons
    IDEA Commons is the university’s vision for an urban research park in Springfield, blending together the concepts of innovation, design, entrepreneurship and the arts. It’s a collaborative community effort — bringing together corporations, the university, lofts, nonprofits and retail space.
  • Learning communities
    Living Learning Communities are residential education units that integrate academic learning and community living around a certain theme. Past LLCs have been offered for first-year students, deciding students, the sophomore students, future health care professionals and business students.

Special opportunities

At MSU, a remarkable education also includes learning opportunities that extend beyond the expected classroom setting:

  • LOGOS: A Journal of Undergraduate Research
    LOGOS: A Journal of Undergraduate Research is a publication sponsored by the Honors College and dedicated to showcasing the outstanding scholarship of current and former Missouri State undergraduate students from every academic discipline.
  • Education abroad
    The Office of Education Abroad provides opportunities for your students to learn in the United States and more than 70 countries, with trips ranging from one week to one academic year. The ultimate goal behind any education abroad experience is to increase students’ cultural competence and to develop global leaders of tomorrow.
  • Service-learning
    Missouri State offers several service-learning opportunities for your student through our citizenship and service-learning office. Service-learning will allow your student to get involved within the community and to gain hands-on professional experience tying what they are learning in the classroom to their preferred career fields. Not to mention, it looks great on a résumé!
  • Public affairs
    MSU has a statewide mission in public affairs that supports our goal of developing educated persons. This means that the faculty and staff members at Missouri State are dedicated to distinguishing ourselves from other institutions of higher education and to educating your student on how to imagine the future. Our public affairs mission has three main pillars — ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement.