Shawnee State University is a prestigious public university in Portsmouth city in Ohio, United States of America. Although the history of the institute dates back to 1945, when the Ohio University built an academic center at Portsmouth High School, the foundation of Shawnee State University was only laid in the year 1985, as the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Vern Riffe, introduced the bill to form the university. On April 2, 1986, Gov. Richard Celeste signed HB 739, creating Shawnee State University. The bill became law on July 2. In its first year, Shawnee State University enrolled 2,797 students. Currently, over 3250 students are enrolled at the university and nearly 1000 of them are residing on campus.

Shawnee State University offers over 70 Master’s, Bachelor’s, and Associate (2 years) degree programs for students to pursue. From which they can choose an area of study that combines their skills and passions. The university has the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Professional Studies, and School of Education under its supervision. Academic departments at the university include Business Administration, Engineering Technologies, Humanities & English, Performing, Digital & Fine Arts, Health Sciences, Individualized Studies, Natural Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Nursing, and Social Sciences. Students pursuing Bachelor’s degree can pursue in any of the following disciplines – History, Healthcare Administration, Accounting, Geology, and others. The university also offers online certificate degrees.

Shawnee State University offers an excellent campus life, with well-equipped housing units, top-class infrastructure, healthcare facilities, recreational facilities, round-the-clock security and surveillance, and vibrant social life, above all. All these experiences outside classroom programs add to your academics. Clubs on the university campus include Fantanime, Art Club, History Club, Geology Club, Chemistry Club, Pre-Med Club, Political Science Club, International Game Developer’s Association (IGDA), Sexuality and Gender Acceptance (SAGA), as well as an international group named the Other World Society.

Career Services at Shawnee State University offer resources and support to every student right from the first day, which helps to prepare them for a career ahead of graduation. The service cell also provides support for alumni who are pursuing new goals and can help pave the path to success. Students at Shawnee can make the best use of their Handshake account, a career platform that helps aspiring graduates to find various internship and job opportunities, connect with recruiters and students from other colleges and allow them to set job alerts. Students can make appointments with the Career Services and register for upcoming SSU career events through this platform. Through internships, recruiters will be provided with trained and skilled employees fit for job roles in their specialized areas.

Shawnee State University awards financial aid amounting to a hefty $25 million annually through a combination of loans, grants, scholarships, and college work-study programs. Much of this assistance is need-based and is determined by FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). However, merit scholarships are offered strictly based on the students’ academic achievements and are not tied to need-based financial assistance.

The university also has notable alumni. Some of the great names from its alumni network are Candice Cassidy, Ted Strickland, and Lavanya Vemsani.