Recent Articles
Missouri Colleges: A Profile of College Degree Programs & Post-Secondary Education in Missouri
Looking for career advancement? Find a degree program in your subject area.
Considered one of the nation's home of top-tier institutions, Missouri has a reputation of excellence in teaching and research. Missouri offers more than 286 degree programs — including 40 online degree options — and is designated as having a comprehensive doctoral with medical/veterinary by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Missouri is recognized nationally and receives top rankings for its programs in many areas, including journalism, dispute resolution, family and community medicine, campus writing program and Freshman Interest Groups. Missouri provides its colleges and universities with an educated work force of doctors, veterinarians and lawyers.
Missouri has a diverse enrollment with 30,200 students. The favorite state for the best and brightest, Missouri attracts more valedictorians, Curators Scholars and twice as many of the state’s Bright Flight Scholars than any other state. Nearly one-third of freshmen come from the top 10 percent of their high school classes. Money magazine, Men's Journal, MSN.com and others have all called Missouri, one of America’s best places to live because of its excellent quality of life. Citizens across the state connect with Missouri's colleges and universities by participating in Extension programs in every county.
One hundred-twenty-eight institutions throughout the state have signed a participation agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the IV federal financial-aid programs. The national average is 85.
Total Number of Students Enrolled in Missouri Colleges
• Total Number of Missouri Undergraduate Students Enrolled 2007-2008: 311,271
(National Average – 305.956)
• Total Number of Missouri Graduate Students Enrolled 2007-2008: 61,768
(National Average – 44,972)
• Total number of Missouri First-Professional Degree Students Enrolled 2007-2008: 11,327
(National Average – 6,877)
Total Number of Degrees Awarded by Missouri Colleges
• Average Number of Missouri Bachelor’s/Undergraduate Degrees Awarded: 35,755
(National Average – 29,884)
• Average number of Missouri Master’s/Graduate Degrees Awarded: 17,368
(National Average – 11,855)
• Average Number of Missouri Doctor’s First Professional Degrees Awarded: 1,573
(National Average – 1,188)
These figures combined mean, the state of Missouri produces an average of 78,992 degree-holders per completions component (i.e. July 1, 2006June 30, 2007), while the national average is 68,322 total degrees awarded per completions components
Missouri’s more than 120,000 students are enrolled at the State’s:
• 34 public institutions
• 56 private, not-for-profit schools
• 38 private, for profit schools
Of these 128 public and private institutions 34 are public institutions (the national average for public institutions is 33 per state), 56 are private not-for-profit (the national average for private not-for profits is 31) and 38 are private for profit schools (private, for profits the average per state is 20).
A lot of dynamic institutions and learner centered communities can be found in Missouri. The national average for public two-year institutions is $2,063 per academic year, while Missouri averages $5,535 per academic year. For public four-year institutions the national average amounts to $5,950 per academic year, and Missouri averages to $7,707 per academic year. While the national average for private four-year institutions is at $21,588 per academic year, Missouri averages $22,657 per academic year.