Profile of OU

OU is home to over 30,000 students and more than 2,000 full-time faculty, which gives it the critical mass to be a thriving research university without being so large that communication and collaboration across departments and fields is difficult. 

The diverse student body hails from all 50 states and 100 foreign countries, and OU is also a regional leader in minority enrollment: last year, 22.4% of students were ethnic minority students. The quality of the students is also impressive: OU ranks in the top five in the nation per capita among all public universities in the number of National Merit and National Scholars enrolled.

OU's President, former U.S. Senator David Boren, has led a record-shattering fundraising campaign to enhance the university's resources: the fundraising drive raised a record half-billion dollars in contributions.  Since 1994, the donor base has risen from 17,000 to nearly 100,000 supporters, and the university's endowment has nearly quadrupled, to more than $850 million.

At the same time, over the past decade, research and sponsored programs expenditures at OU have more than doubled, and OU continues to set new records for funding for externally sponsored research. OU ended the 2004 fiscal year with total expenditures of $210 million – the first time in the University's history that annual expenditures have passed the $200 million mark.

Starting now and in the coming years, graduate students at OU will be reaping the benefits of more financial resources for fellowships, larger numbers of faculty with whom to work, and the establishment of new intellectual resources and the expansion of others. 

The History of Science Collections' 91,000 volumes constitute a priceless asset for students and scholars in history of science and related disciplines. But this resource is only one asset among many. For example, the newly-opened Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is one of the two largest natural history museums in the world associated with a university and the Western History Collections contain one of the nation's largest collections of documents and photographs relating to the American West.  And those first-class resources have great faculty to go along with them.

Every month innovative programs are being launched, every semester offers a richer array of courses, lectures, and conferences, and every year reveals new avenues that have opened up for growth and creativity. There is much, much more to show you and tell you about -- so be sure to contact us and arrange a visit in person! We would love to show off the university, our students, and our colleagues to you.