We invite you to consider Ball State, one of the hidden gems of US public higher education. In the heart of the American Midwest, a 3 ½ hour drive southeast from Chicago, Ball State University is a safe, secure, and healthy place to experience Education Redefined. Please review the 6 university-wide, and 17 specific academic program national rankings and recognitions Ball State has received from experts across the country. Among the more than Ball State University was recently named the Nation's Top Wireless Campus!

But to be honest, you probably want to hear about BSU from our international students. Please review the videos on this site to learn more about why our international students choose to come to Ball State, what their experiences have been, and also hear from recent international graduates about whether they felt Ball State prepared them well for their futures.

Ball State University began as a small, private teacher training school that opened in 1899. The early campus and buildings were purchased by the Ball brothers--five Muncie industrialists--and given to the state of Indiana in 1918.

In 1922, in recognition of the generosity of the Ball family, the Indiana General Assembly changed the school's name to Ball Teachers College. The institution became a university in 1965 in recognition of its growth in enrollment, physical facilities, and the variety and quality of its educational programs.

Learn more in our historical walking tour.

Ball State University is a state-assisted doctoral institution located in Muncie, Indiana, a mid-sized Midwestern city one hour northeast of Indianapolis. The dynamic residential campus is home to more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students from across the US and over 90 countries.

Our nationally recognized academic programs, hands-on learning experiences, innovative technology, expert faculty, personal attention, and supportive campus environment prepare bright students for professional careers and leadership roles in many specialized fields.

Ball State University is ranked a doctoral/ research-intensive institution by the Carnegie Foundation. Degree offerings include 170 bachelor's, 88 master's, 16 doctoral, eight associate, and four specialist programs in seven academic colleges:

• Applied Sciences and Technology
• Architecture and Planning
• Miller College of Business
• Communication, Information, and Media
• Fine Arts
• Sciences and Humanities
• Teachers College

Learn more about our academic colleges and departments, or view detailed program data in our Fact Book.

Total number of students: 20,030

No. of undergraduates: 17,082

No. of postgraduates: 2,958

Male/Female: 46/54%

International students: 553

No. of disabled: 446

Student-Faculty Ratio: 17 to 1

Employed after 6 months: 90%

Among Ball State University's 145,000 living alumni are top corporate executives, leading educators, elected officials, and noted entertainers. Famous alumni include television celebrity David Letterman, "Garfield" cartoon creator Jim Davis, and Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter.

Ball State awards more than 5,000 graduate and undergraduate degrees each year in spring, summer, and winter commencement ceremonies.

The Pride Guide is a listing of the more than 300 student organizations at Ball State. The organizations are divided into categories which correspond to the adjacent links. Simply browse the listings and use the contact information to learn more about the organization. If there is no contact information listed or if you would like to start your own student organization call the Office of Student Life at 285-2621.

• All Campus Organizations
• Departmental and Professional Organizations
• Greek Organizations
• Honorary and Professional Fraternities and Sororities
• Multicultural Organizations
• Performing Arts Organizations
• Religious Organizations
• Residence Hall Councils
• Service Organizations
• Special Interest Groups
• Sports and Recreation Groups

Average rent per month:
$250

Popular student renting areas:
Typically students living off-campus find apartments within five or six blocks of campus.

Ball State offers two different types of living accommodations for students: residence halls (dormitories) and the University Apartments. The following information is provided to help you make the decision on which type of living space to request. 

• For the 4th year in a row Ball State was recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the national publication's annual list of first-year "Programs to Look For."

• Ball State was ranked as the nation's #1 wireless campus in a 2005 survey conducted by Intel Corporation and published in U.S. News & World Report.

• The Princeton Review has named Ball State one of the best universities in the Midwest the past two years and one of the best 150 values among the nation's most academically outstanding colleges.

• U.S. News & World Report rates Ball State's campuswide, interdisciplinary efforts to assist students with the transition from high school to college as a "program to look for" in the first-year experiences category.

• Ball State was named one of 13 "Institutions of Excellence in the First College Year" by the national Policy Center on the First Year of College in 2003.

• Ball State was listed as one of 27 schools with top residence hall programs for freshmen in the 2003 Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges.

• Ball State was recognized in a 2004 book by communications and media author Leonard Mogel as one of eight schools in the country with top broadcasting programs.

• The online master's program in nursing was listed as the 8th largest by U.S. News & World Report in 2005.

• For the second consecutive year, the educational leadership department has been ranked by Leadership Excellence magazine as one of the nation's top leadership development programs, ranking 11th for 2006.

• The finance program was ranked 11th nationally for quality teaching in an independent study published in the spring 2006 issue of Advances in Financial Education.

• The counseling psychology program was ranked 11th in North America for scholarly productivity in four esteemed psychology journals, according to a study published in The Counseling Psychologist in 2005.

• The landscape architecture department was ranked as the nation's 5th best undergraduate program and the Midwest's best graduate program by Design Intelligence in the 2007 edition of America's Best Architecture and Design Schools.

• The architecture program was ranked 13th in the nation overall and seventh for best value in architectural education by Design Intelligence in the 2004 edition of America's Best Architecture and Design Schools.

• The master's program in student affairs administration in higher education has been rated 14th among 186 programs by members of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

• U.S. News & World Report ranked the graduate entrepreneurship program 25th in 2007 offered by business schools and, for the 4^th consecutive year, USN&WR ranked the undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the top 10.

• The American Institute for Physics has listed Ball State as one of 22 schools with the best professional master's degree programs in physics.

• Ball State's graduate program in secondary education is ranked 55th in U.S. News & World Report's first expanded listing of the nation's top 100 programs in that field.

• U.S. News & World Report recognized Ball State as having one of the best undergraduate business programs in the nation in the 2006 rankings.

• Two studies published in the journal Psychology in the Schools in 2005 ranked the school psychology doctoral program among the nation's best for scholarly productivity and successful graduates.

• A Ball State digital media sharing and storage project was recognized as one of the nation's 100 most innovative technology solutions by InfoWorld magazine in 2003.

• Students, faculty, and staff in the telecommunications program won two more regional Emmy Awards in 2006, giving Ball State a total of 18 Emmys and 50 nominations since 2001. Two telecommunications students earned a gold Student Academy Award in 2006 for their short film, Perspective. Another student won the same award in 2005.

• Teachers College recently received the Best Practice Award for Global and International Teacher Education from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

• The counseling psychology program was named department of the year by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) in 2005. The H.H. Gregg Center for Professional Selling was recently certified by the Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training for its high educational standards.

Admission requirements for entry to Ball State University vary depending upon your desired level of study.

Freshman

BSU has a competitive admission process in which new applicants are evaluated on academic performance as well as standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and other talents.  BSU looks at the "whole picture" when evaluating you for admission.

You are a freshman if all of the below statements are true:

1. You have completed high school or secondary school
2. You have not attended a university or college or other post-secondary institution
3. You wish to attain a bachelor's or associate degree

For more detailed information on Freshman application procedures CLICK HERE.

Transfer

You are a transfer student if:

• You have attended a university or post-secondary institution for at least 1 semester, but you have not completed a bachelor's degree.

For more detailed information on Transfer  application procedures CLICK HERE.

Graduate

You are a graduate student if:

• You have already received a bachelor's degree that is comparable to the U.S. bachelor's degree of (4) years or have obtained a master's or doctoral degree from an accredited institution in your country or in the U.S.A.

For more detailed information on Graduate application procedures CLICK HERE.

Conditional

You will be required to submit the following in order to receive a letter of conditional admission:

1. Submit an official TOEFL score between 173/500 and 213/550 and sit for an English proficiency test upon arrival to determine what remedial English courses must be completed before beginning full academic courses; or
2. Attend the Intensive English Program at BSU until you successfully complete the program or submit a TOEFL score of 213/550 or higher.
3. Submit autobiographical statement

For more detailed information  CLICK HERE.

Ball State offers several types of financial assistance to highly qualifed international graduate and undergraduate applicants.

• Undergraduate

Freshman and transfer international applicants are given automatic consideration for International State Boards (ISB) that provide either half or full-tuition scholarships ($8,521 or $17,042 for the 2007-08 academic year). The scholarship committee takes into consideration the applicants' academic achievement in secondary school and university as well as accomplishments outside the classroom. ISB merit scholarships are renewable for up to 8 semesters.  These scholarship decisions will be made at the time of admission.  In order to be considered for an International State Board, which are merit scholarships, applicants will still need to demonstrate a minimum of $22,000 of funding available (to allow for issuance of an I-20 if at least a half-tuition ISB is awarded).  Applications for admission must be received by October 15th for January admission, and May 15th for August entry.

New in 2007-08, there are two unique scholarship opportunities for undergraduate international applicants who are either attending a CIS (Council of International Schools) member school or who apply through and are recommended by an EducationUSA advising center.  Click on the links above for more details on these awards.  These scholarships, International Partner Awards (IPA), represent approximately an $11,000 tuition award per year that recognizes our partnerships with these international education organizations.  For both of these awards, applicants will still need to demonstrate a minimum of $19,000 per year to have their files reviewed for admission. 

• Graduate

A significant number of Ball State's international graduate students receive financial assistance through Graduate Assistantships  and Doctoral Fellowships. During the 2005-2006 school year, 298 out of 900 graduate assistantships awarded were given to international graduate students. 

Assistantshps and fellowships require students to work for a Ball State department or office 20 hours per week while classes are in sesssion and provide a tuition waiver. Assistantships are available from both academic departments and university administrative offices. 

For current assistantship and fellowship openings, please refer to the websites of the Graduate School and the Career Center.

Online Application Forms

If you are applying to Ball State University as a traditional degree-seeking student for bachelor's, master's or doctoral level studies, please click here for the online degree-seeking application.

If you are applying to Ball State University as part of an exchange program between your current university & Ball State, please click here for the online exchange student application. 

If you are applying to Ball State University for a distance education program, please click here for the on-line distance education application.

Printable Application Forms

If you are applying to Ball State University as a traditional degree-seeking student for bachelor's, master's or doctoral level studies, please click here for a pdf_version of the degree-seeking application and instructions.

If you are applying to Ball State University as part of an exchange program between your current university & Ball State, please click here for a pdf_version of the exchange student application and instructions.

Road:
Below are the most direct routes to getting to Ball State University from several nearby cities and regions:

• Chicago / Lafayette / Northern Illinois / Northwestern Indiana
• Cincinnati / Southern Ohio / Southeastern Indiana / Eastern Kentucky
• Cleveland / Akron / Northeastern Ohio
• Columbus / Dayton / Central Ohio
• Detroit / Eastern Michigan
• Evansville / Vincennes / Southwestern Indiana / Western Kentucky
• Fort Wayne / Northeastern Indiana
• Grand Rapids / Kalamazoo / Western Michigan
• Indianapolis / Central Indiana
• Lansing / Flint / Central Michigan
• Louisville / South Central Indiana / Central Kentucky
• St. Louis / Terre Haute / West Central Indiana / Central Illinois
• South Bend / Elkhart / North Central Indiana / Southwestern Michigan
• Toledo / Northern Ohio

Air:
Indianapolis International Airport is located 110 km southwest of Muncie.

Taxi:
From the Indianapolis International Airport to the university (approximately 110 km) is roughly $100.

Local:
Buses make up the majority of local public transport. Students have BSU shuttle buses running through campus and can ride city of Muncie buses for free with student ID.