WELCOME

Welcome to Truman State University. It is our hope that during your time here, you will develop into an educated citizen prepared for the world around you. 

VOLUME CXVI

August 2020

2020-2021 ACADEMIC YEAR GENERAL/GRADUATE CATALOG EFFECTIVE DATE

This General/Graduate Catalog becomes effective on August 17, 2020. It is published for informational purposes and should not be construed as the basis of a contract between a student and the University. Every effort is made to provide information that is accurate at the time the General/Graduate Catalog is prepared. However, regulations, policies, fees, curricula, courses, and other matters contained herein are subject to change at any time during the period this General/Graduate Catalog is in effect.

TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY: VISION

Educating students for the benefit of all:

Truman will demonstrate its public liberal arts and sciences mission by developing educated citizens needed to protect our democracy and offer creative solutions to local, state, national and global problems. It will do so through transformative experiences that foster critical thought, daring imagination and empathetic understanding of human experiences at home and around the world. Truman graduates will be citizen-leaders committed to service; globally competitive; able to thrive in the complexities of an advanced, technical and multicultural world; and inspired to live healthy and meaningful lives.

TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY: MISSION

The mission of Truman State University is to provide an exemplary undergraduate education to well-prepared students, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, in the context of a public institution of higher education. To that end, the University provides affordable undergraduate studies in the traditional arts and sciences as well as selected pre-professional, professional, and master’s level programs that grow naturally out of the philosophy, values, content, and desired outcomes of a liberal arts education.

TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY: VALUES

Truman demonstrates dedication to the liberal arts education of our students by:

• Focusing on students and their personal, social, and intellectual growth within a supportive and challenging environment;
• Cultivating a diverse, engaged community of high achieving students, faculty, and staff;
• Providing affordable access to an exceptional education; and
• Committing to continuous improvement through assessment; in order to prepare citizens for the intellectual and ethical challenges of the global community.

TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY: GOALS

The University will achieve its mission through emphasizing and supporting excellence in teaching, in pure and applied research, and in public service consistent with the educational emphasis and goals of the University. The highest goals of a liberal arts education are to ignite the individual’s curiosity about the natural and social universe and then aid him or her in developing the skills and personal resources to channel knowledge into productive, satisfying activity. In pursuing these goals, the University seeks to cultivate in its students:

• intellectual integrity, celebration of difference and diversity, informed ethical values, and courageous aspiration toward the best for oneself, one’s family, one’s society, and the world;
• a sense of the joys and uses of creative and critical thought, including skills of intellectual problem-solving through effective reading and research, clear writing, and articulate speech; and
• the willingness and ability to exercise personal and intellectual leadership in his or her chosen field of endeavor.

In addition, Truman State University recognizes its duty to:

• maintain a student-centered and student learning-centered living and learning environment that will attract, nurture, and challenge diverse, outstanding students;
• prepare its students to succeed in rigorous professional and graduate programs;
• provide a physical environment and support services that will help members of the University achieve their educational goals and enhance their social and physical development, and that will further serve as a source of pride to the University, the alumni, the community, and the state;
• offer services to the community, the region, and the state in the areas of research and public service that are natural outgrowths of the academic mission of the University, and strive to ensure that the University serves as a cultural resource for the broader community of which it is an integral part;
• develop and maintain sources of public and private support, and merit such continued support through public accountability for the quality of its programs and the utilization of its resources; and
• provide appropriate encouragement and recognition of each member of the University community who contributes to the fulfillment of the University’s goals.

GRADUATE CHARACTERISTICS

Truman graduates are creative, socially responsible leaders and engaged world citizens. They are responsible, informed, and compassionate. Upon graduation, they will have the tools and characteristics that will enable them to be active, successful participants in their worlds. They will be known to:

• ask questions and passionately seek knowledge;
• strive for personal integrity and professional excellence;
• demonstrate courageous, visionary, and service-oriented leadership;
• act ethically, responsibly, and with reflective judgment;
• appreciate ambiguity and thrive in unfamiliar rapidly changing situations;
• understand and articulate well-reasoned arguments;
• welcome and value new and diverse perspectives;
• live emotionally and physically healthy lives; and
• give generously of their time, talents, and financial resources to causes in which they believe.