Welcome to the Home of the SUU Thunderbirds

Published: July 29, 2016 | Read Time: 4 minutes

The Carter Carillon Bell TowerSouthern Utah University (1897) is an arts and sciences university promoting experiential education leading to personal growth, intentional social responsibility and professional excellence. Division I athletics, the nations “most outdoorsy” university, a brand new arts complex and more than 160 student clubs on a residential campus provide vibrant student life. At SUU, students are encouraged to explore more than 150 quality academic programs, engage in award-winning, project-based learning and excel with the second-highest graduation rate in the state of Utah.

From its beginnings as a small teacher training institution in 1897, Southern Utah University in Cedar City has grown and evolved to what it is today - proudly ranked as Utah’s fully accredited liberal arts and sciences university. The spirit of the founders of SUU to support education and to foster student success remains evident on campus. The key to this success is the unwavering dedication to students that starts with faculty members, who are among the most esteemed scholars in their respective fields. SUU professors are fully committed to delivering a personalized education in classes that are purposely kept small to allow maximum interaction with students and the development of strong mentoring relationships.

In 2015, the National Society for Experiential Education awarded SUU’s EDGE Program with the Outstanding Experiential Education Program Award, highlighting how experiential education is woven into the undergraduate curriculum.

Speaking of the award and the university as a whole, SUU President Scott L Wyatt stated, “Our project-based learning program has taken an enormous amount of work over the last five years, and I am extremely proud of what our faculty and staff have accomplished. Our students and their future employers are the beneficiaries.”

Southern Utah University offers more than 100 acclaimed associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degree programs to meet a broad range of career goals and life aspirations. All programs are fully accredited and offer a spectrum of diverse and engaging options for student education. In addition, the University maintains a rich and expansive program of cultural enhancement and athletics that offers students a robust and valuable campus experience, benefitting the entire southern Utah region.

At SUU, educators are interested in contributing to a student’s character as well as his or her intellect. Besides the excellent personal training received in the classroom with an 18:1 student/faculty ratio, SUU offers some of the most enriching extracurricular activities, including a roster of nearly 160 clubs and organizations, the Utah Summer Games and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. SUU is the region’s cultural center.

The new arts complex, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts, incorporates visual arts, live theater and dynamic arts education on the SUU campus. It serves as the home of the Southern Utah Museum of Art and the Utah Shakespeare Festival, attracting thousands of visitors year-round and creating a vibrant arts mecca in the heart of southern Utah.

The University has 17 NCAA Division I athletic teams and is a proud member of the Big Sky Conference, with three Big Sky championships in softball, cross country and football. Striving to reach the highest possible graduation rate, SUU focuses on the social, cultural and intellectual development for all of its student-athletes. The Athletic Department is committed to excellence in academics as well as athletics, providing quality programs that assist in complimenting and fulfilling the University’s educational objectives and mission.

SUU students canyoneering the Subway at Zion National ParkSUU is a dynamic teaching and learning community where students and staff immerse themselves in–and are inspired by–the diverse and stunning natural landscape that surrounds the campus. Opportunity to harness and integrate its unique geographic location into the educational experience is around every bend, and to highlight its unique location, SUU has filed to trademark the title of “University of the Parks.”

A degree from SUU is a valuable investment to anyone’s future. Graduates enjoy a 94 percent job placement rate and 87 percent of them are working in the field of their choice. Southern Utah University is driven to fulfill the charge in our Vision Statement – that is, to “promote personalized learning, and academic integrity (to) enable students and graduates to honor thought in all its finest forms and to excel in life.”

With incredible natural wonderlands nearby and Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah, both within a three-hour drive from campus, Southern Utah University offers students a world of possibilities and the opportunity to gain an education that leads to life and career success. 


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