Radford University
Radford, Virginia
Founded in 1910, Radford University is a comprehensive, mid-sized university located in the heart of Virginia’s New River Valley. With small class sizes, rigorous academics, a strong emphasis on service to others, and a beautiful, 204-acre campus, Radford University provides an education that is focused on developing the student both inside and outside of the classroom. Radford University’s Honors Academy, LEAD Scholars Program, Service Learning, Scholar-Citizen Initiative, and International Education provide further opportunities for motivated students to pursue additional academic engagement, community engagement, and leadership opportunities.
Radford University features a student body of more than 9,400. Known for successful student-faculty collaborations, the university provides limitless opportunities for learning, growth, and collaboration. The university is committed to the development of mature, responsible, well-educated citizens who succeed in a complex, multicultural, and ever-changing world. The university’s size enables it to provide its students with the broad opportunities and advantages often associated with a larger university. Radford University provides unique opportunities for students and faculty members to develop highly personalized relationships that enrich the educational experience. Radford University has been nationally recognized for being a “best value” college, providing a high-quality education at affordable price.
Get to know Radford University
College Highlights
Radford University offers academic engagement opportunities both inside and beyond the classroom through undergraduate research, community engagement, study abroad, learning communities, and the Honors Academy. In addition to these support offices and programs, Radford offers several signature experiences.
SCHOLAR-CITIZEN INITIATIVE
The Radford University Scholar-Citizen Initiative (SCI) offers students from all majors the opportunity to apply academic skills and disciplinary knowledge to the challenges facing local, national, and global communities. The diversity of experiences in which students can immerse themselves provides them with career skills—like problem-solving, adaptability, and interpersonal communication—that are useful in every work environment. SCI experiences prepare students for their lives after college by integrating classroom and co-curricular activities. Students put their intellectual skills to work for the public good while emphasizing collaborative problem-solving, intercultural awareness, and self-reflection.
SELU
Radford University’s SELU Conservancy is located along the Little River, just minutes from campus. It is primarily used as an outdoor classroom and research site. The Barn houses a science lab for field work on the lower level, and the attached silo is home to the observatory. The Farm at SELU is a 1930s homestead replica used for teaching and community outreach. Similarly, the SELU Teams Course is used for education and outreach.
RARE
The Radford Amazonian Research Expedition (RARE) project aligns with the university’s commitment to providing undergraduates of all majors with transformative academic experiences. RARE gives students unique opportunities to explore the world and their place in it. As participants in RARE, students enjoy an experience that is equal parts education and exploration. Students encounter rare and endangered species, visit local markets, see the impact of deforestation first hand, and hike and study in a truly one-of-a-kind place.
MAKING AND INNOVATION MOVEMENT
Radford University seeks to empower students and faculty to create the objects of their imagination by fostering a culture of innovation and Making. Several programs and many courses engage students through innovation, creativity, project-based learning, and Making skills. Beyond the classroom, students at Radford University engage in Making through a variety of challenges, charrettes, competitions, workshops, and events sponsored by student clubs and others. In addition to the disciplinary specific makerspaces, Radford University is home to campus-wide makerspaces, offering equipment and expertise in digital and physical Making.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
The Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarship (OURS) advances a sustainable culture of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activities. OURS supports student-faculty teams that are tackling big questions facing humanity. This support occurs at all phases of student-faculty projects with a focus on mentoring, funding new projects, and providing internal and external opportunities to disseminate the triumphs of established projects. OURS broadly defines research as anything that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to a discipline. It believes that students of all majors, class standing, and GPA are capable of creating meaningful new knowledge with proper guidance.
CLASS SIZE
The number of sections of each class size.
2-9: 150 | 10-19: 398 | 20-29: 399
30-39: 209 | 40-49: 68 | 50-99: 97 | 100+: 7
ENROLLMENT BY ETHNICITY
Nonresident aliens: 1%
Hispanic/Latino: 7%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic: 17%
White, non-Hispanic: 66%
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 0%
Asian, non-Hispanic: 2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: 0%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic: 5%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown: 2%
Great teaching has deep roots in the Radford University experience with a long history of dedicated and passionate faculty. Radford University faculty are committed to engaging their students—both inside and outside the classroom—exposing them to “doing” their disciplines, showing them the world, and assisting in their growth to becoming engaged citizens.
The university’s goal is to ensure that all students have access to high-quality experiences in their academic career, gaining the relevant knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to be career-ready and engaged citizens upon graduation.
UNIVERSITY 100
University 100 is a one-credit, graded course that actively supports students in making a successful transition from high school (or a previous institution) to Radford University while providing a solid foundation on which students can build a successful college career. Each course is supported by a faculty member and peer mentor. Peer mentors represent the very best that Radford has to offer. They teach in the classroom, counsel new students with academic difficulties, reassure and orient new students to the opportunities and expectations of RU, and serve as “role models” for the type of citizens that RU produces. Various sections of the University 100 course are offered and adapted to meet the unique needs of new freshmen, transfer, commuting students, as well as for specific colleges, majors, and programs.
Radford University’s BE S.E.E.N. (Be Seen Through Student Engagement and Education Now) is a program that begins on the first day of classes and continues through mid-October with six-themed weeks of activities. The activities are created to connect academic and campus life to a variety of interests.
CORE CURRICULUM
The Core Curriculum is a foundational learning experience with which students improve their ability to think—both critically and analytically—and begin to take possession of the learning process. With few exceptions, Core Curriculum courses introduce students to a broad academic discipline or field of study, teaching them how scholars discover and create knowledge in that area. This curriculum places a clear emphasis on the proficiencies central to a liberal arts education for the modern world.
WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSES
Through the university’s core curriculum classes, students are exposed to intensive written and oral communication classes. Students will demonstrate competencies rooted in the principles of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
SPECIAL STUDY OPTIONS
Programs available at this institution.
Accelerated program
Distance learning
Double major
Dual enrollment
English as a Second Language (ESL)
Honors Program
Independent study
Internships
Student-designed major
Study abroad
Teacher certification program
LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Radford University offers six unique freshman learning communities (Biology Connections, CORE Connections, Accelerated Research Opportunities, Community of Artists, RU Makers, and Environment/Community Connections) that provide students opportunities to deeply engage with faculty, academics, and peers with similar interests.
Learning communities are small groups of students that typically take one or more courses together while focusing on a common theme or discipline. Faculty- and peer- instructor teams work together to assign readings, create assignments, and coordinate activities that connect the courses. Students engaged in learning communities are able to build both intellectual and social relationships with classmates and faculty through shared experiences and increased time together. Students participating in living-learning communities also benefit from the coordination of residence hall teams with their academic partners to create additional programming in their living environment.
DIVERSITY AND GLOBAL LEARNING
Radford’s International Education Center serves international students through the process of applying to and attending the university. The Center encourages and enables current students to participate in high-quality study abroad experiences, facilitating innovative international programming on campus.
The Intensive English Program is designed to help adult international students meet their personal, academic, and professional goals through intensive English language study. Through its work, the LCI@RU increases diversity in the university’s student population by enabling outstanding international candidates to meet English-language admission requirements.
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion is a resource to all students, staff, and faculty through a variety of programs, activities, and services. The Center provides a concentrated focus on the progress, success, and concerns of underrepresented populations on Radford University’s campus.
SCHOOL LOCATION
Radford University is located in the city of Radford (population 15,859) in southwestern Virginia, adjacent to the historic New River and near the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
ATHLETICS
Competing in the Big South Conference, Radford University operates an outstanding NCAA Division I athletic program of 16 men’s and women’s sports. The university’s athletics complex includes an array of modern fields, courts, and stadiums. A comprehensive intramural program provides the entire student body with opportunities to participate in recreational and competitive sports.
Mascot: The Highlander
Colors: Red and white
RESIDENCE LIFE
Percent of students living on campus.
First-time, first-year (freshman) students: 95%
Undergraduates: 45%
Campus housing options.
Coed dorms
Apartments for single students
Special housing for disabled students
Special housing for international students
Theme housing
Wellness housing
SERVICE-LEARNING
By combining academic theory with practical, real-life experience, Radford provides students with a broader and deeper understanding of course content.
INTERNSHIPS
Radford University recognizes that students with internship or practicum experience as part of their undergraduate career are more likely to receive job offers. Internships are coordinated through academic departments and may take many forms: for credit or not for credit; paid or unpaid, part-time or full-time, and short-term or long-term. The Career Center can help students locate potential internship opportunities.
CAPSTONES
Capstone project opportunities are offered across all colleges and are required in the Honors Academy. These independent projects are completed in close consultation with faculty mentors and are intended to solidify the academic knowledge and other educational experiences that students have acquired while at Radford University.
Admission
ADMISSIONS FACTORS
Very Important
Rigor of secondary school record
Important
Academic GPA
Considered
Class rank | Standardized test scores | Application Essay
Recommendation(s) | Interview | Extracurricular activities
Talent/ability | Character/personal qualities | First generation
Alumni/ae relation | Volunteer work | Work experience | Level of applicant’s interest
FRESHMAN PROFILE
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
25th Percentile: 480 | 75th Percentile: 580
SAT Math
25th Percentile: 460 | 75th Percentile: 550
ACT Composite
25th Percentile: 17 | 75th Percentile: 23
ACT Math
25th Percentile: 16 | 75th Percentile: 22
ACT English
25th Percentile: 16 | 75th Percentile: 23
Tuition & Cost
Tuition (in-state): $7,922
Tuition (out-of-state): $19,557
Fees: $3,288
Room: $5,281
Board: $4,114
What Others are Saying
Contact Radford University
Contact Admissions
radford.edu/content/admissions/home/new-freshman
(540) 831-5371
admissions@radford.edu
Campus Location
801 East Main Street
Radford, VA 24142
(540) 831-5000