Miami University (Ohio)
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Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a
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research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest university in Ohio and the tenth-oldest public university in the United States. The university enrolls 18,600 students in Oxford and maintains regional campuses in nearby
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, Middletown, and West Chester. Miami also operates the international Dolibois European Center in
Differdange Differdange (; or locally ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with List of towns in Luxembourg, town status in south-western Luxembourg, west from the Luxembourg City, country's capital. It lies near the borders with Belgium and France an ...
, Luxembourg. Miami University provides a
liberal arts education Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refer to s ...
; it offers more than 120 undergraduate degree programs and over 70 graduate degree programs within its seven schools and colleges in
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
,
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
,
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
,
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
and the
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
s. It is a member of the
University System of Ohio The University System of Ohio is the public university system of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is governed by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Unlike other state university systems outside Ohio such as the University of California Syste ...
. It is
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among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". Miami University has a long tradition of Greek life; five social Greek-letter organizations were founded at the university, earning Miami the nickname "
Mother of Fraternities The Mother of Fraternities usually refers to Union College in Schenectady, New York, U.S., or Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, U.S, both of which founded many early collegiate fraternities. Origin In the 19th century, multi-chapter collegiate f ...
". Today, approximately one-third of the undergraduate student population are members of the Greek community. Miami's athletic teams compete in the
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
and are collectively known as the
Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference ...
. They compete in the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
in all varsity sports except
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
, which competes in the
National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference. The league was formed on July 9, 2011 and began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a ...
.


History


Old Miami (1809–1873)

The foundations for Miami University were first laid by an Act of Congress signed by President
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, stating an academy should be northwest of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
in the
Miami Valley The Miami Valley is the land area surrounding the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, USA, and includes the Little Miami, Mad, and Stillwater rivers as well. Geographically, it includes Dayton, Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton, and other c ...
. The land was within the
Symmes Purchase The Symmes Purchase, also known as the Miami Purchase, was an area of land totaling roughly in what is now Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties of southwestern Ohio, purchased by Judge John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey in 1788 from the Contine ...
; Judge
John Cleves Symmes John Cleves Symmes (July 21, 1742February 26, 1814) was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison and, thereby, the ...
, the land's owner, purchased it from the government with the stipulation that he set aside land for an academy. Congress granted one township to the
Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...
in the District of Cincinnati to build a college, two days after Ohio was granted statehood in 1803. The Ohio Legislature selected a township off Four Mile Creek, passed "An Act to Establish the Miami University" on February 2, 1809, and created a board of trustees. The township originally granted to the university was known as the
College Township The "College Township" was the full survey township located in the northwest corner of Butler County, Ohio, now corresponding to the civil township of Oxford, designated by the Ohio General Assembly to be the site of the state university now cal ...
and was renamed
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
, in 1810. The university temporarily halted construction due to the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
.
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
tried—and failed—to move Miami to the city in 1822. Miami created a
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
in 1818 to teach frontier youth, but it was disbanded after five years. Though financed by means of a government land grant, Miami University initially was inaugurated and operated by
Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
, with explicit legislative encouragement for religious education having been enshrined in the
Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...
. Robert Hamilton Bishop, a Presbyterian minister and professor of history, was appointed to be the first president of Miami University in 1824, stating in his inaugural speech that all teaching at Miami University should be based in the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. The first day of classes at Miami was on November 1, 1824. At its opening, there were 20 students and two faculty members in addition to Bishop. The curriculum included
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
,
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
,
algebra Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...
,
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, and
Roman history The history of Rome includes the history of the Rome, city of Rome as well as the Ancient Rome, civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman la ...
; the university offered only a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
. An "English Scientific Department" was started in 1825, which studied modern languages,
applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...
, and
political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
. It offered a certificate upon completion of coursework instead of a diploma. The school provided public prayers twice a day and required all students to partake in a public worship every Sunday. Miami students purchased a
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
and in 1827 published their first periodical, ''The Literary Focus''. It promptly failed, but it laid the foundation for the weekly ''Literary Register''. '' The Miami Student'', founded in 1867, traces its foundation back to the ''Literary Register'' and claims to be the oldest college newspaper in the United States. A theological department and a farmer's college were formed in 1829; the farmer's college was not an
agricultural school Agricultural education is the systematic and organized teaching, instruction and training (theoretical as well as hands-on, real-world fieldwork-based) available to students, farmers or individuals interested in the science, business and technol ...
, but a three-year education program for farm boys.
William Holmes McGuffey William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was an American college professor and president who is best known for writing the ''McGuffey Readers'', the first widely used series of elementary school-level textbooks. More than 120 m ...
joined the faculty in 1826 and began his work on the ''
McGuffey Readers The Eclectic Readers (commonly, but informally known as the McGuffey Readers) were a series of graded primers for grade levels 1–6. They were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, and ...
'' while in Oxford. By 1834 the faculty had grown to seven professors and enrollment was at 234 students. Eleven students were expelled in 1835, including one for firing a pistol at another student. McGuffey resigned and became president of
Cincinnati College The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
, where he urged parents not to send their children to Miami. Alpha Delta Phi opened its chapter at Miami in 1833, making it the first fraternity chapter west of the Allegheny Mountains. In 1839, Beta Theta Pi was created; it was the first fraternity formed at Miami. In 1839 Old Miami reached its enrollment peak, with 250 students from 13 states; only Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth College, Dartmouth were larger. President Bishop was forced to resign by the board of trustees in 1840 due to the failure of his appeals for unity in face of the Old School–New School controversy, which had caused factions to rise against each other trying to take over the university's administration. Old School adherents won out by focusing on his Abolitionism, anti-slavery beliefs, lenient disciplinary methods, and an agreement he had struck with the New School Lane Seminary, allowing students of both institutions to learn at the other. He was replaced as president by George Junkin, former president of Lafayette College, a strict Old School adherent with strong anti-Methodism, Methodist and Proslavery, pro-slavery views; Junkin resigned in 1844, having proved to be unpopular with students. By 1847, enrollment had fallen to 137 students. Students in 1848 participated in the "Snowball Rebellion". Defying the faculty's stance against fraternities, students packed Old Main, one of Miami's main classrooms and administrative buildings, with snow and reinforced the snow with chairs, benches and desks from the classroom. Those who had participated in the rebellion were expelled from the school and Miami's student population was more than halved. By 1873, enrollment fell further to 87 students. The board of trustees closed the school in 1873 and leased the campus for a grammar school. The period before its closing is referred to as "Old Miami."


New Miami (1885–present)

The university reopened in 1885, having paid all of its debts and repaired many of its buildings; there were 40 students in its first year. Enrollment remained under 100 students throughout the late 1800s. Miami focused on aspects outside of the classics, including botany, physics, and geology departments. With its reopening a change in religious policy occurred, the school no longer required faculty to be ordained Presbyterian ministers. In 1888, Miami began inter-collegiate football play in a game against the University of Cincinnati. By the early 1900s, the state of Ohio pledged regular financial support for Miami University and enrollment reached 207 students in 1902. The Ohio General Assembly passed the Sesse Bill in 1902, which mandated coeducation for all Ohio public schools. Miami lacked the rooms to fit all of the students expected the next year, and Miami made an arrangement with the Oxford Female Institute, Oxford College for Women to rent rooms. In the same year, David McDill became Miami's first non-Presbyterian president, stressing its non-denominational, but Christian nature during his inauguration. By 1905 faculty personnel belonging to Presbyterian churches constituted 13 out of 27 positions, still a relative but no longer an absolute majority. In 1902, the Ohio legislature also authorized the establishment of the Ohio State Normal School "to provide proper theoretical and practical training for all students desiring to prepare themselves for the work of teaching." The normal school was Miami's first professional college and would evolve into the College of Education, Health, and Society. Miami's first African-American student, Nelly Craig, graduated from the Ohio State Normal School in 1905. Hepburn Hall, built in 1905, was the first women's dorm at the college. By 1907, the enrollment at the university passed 700 students and women made up about a third of the student body. Andrew Carnegie pledged $40,000 to help build a new Alumni Hall (Miami University), library for the university. The McGuffey Laboratory School opened in 1910 and was soon housed with the teacher preparation students in the new McGuffey Hall, completed in 1917 and named to honor former professor William Holmes McGuffey. Enrollment in 1923 was at 1,500 students and had reached 2,200 students by the early 1930s. In 1928, Miami founded the School of Business Administration and acquired the Oxford College for Women. The next year, the School of Fine Arts was established. The conservative environment found on campus called for little change during the problems of the Great Depression and only about 10 percent of students in the 1930s were on government subsidies. During World War II, Miami changed its curriculum to include "war emergency courses", a Navy Training School took up residence on campus, and the population of the university consisted of a majority of women. Due to the G.I. Bill of Rights, G.I. Bill, enrollment at Miami had grown to 5,000 by 1952. In 1954, Miami created a common curriculum for all students to complete to have a base for their other subjects. By 1964, enrollment reached nearly 15,000. To accommodate the growing number of students, Miami University opened its first regional campuses at Miami University Middletown in 1966 and Miami University Hamilton in 1968. The Dolibois European Center was also established in 1968 in Luxembourg City, which would move to Differdange Castle in 1997; it is home to a study abroad program where students live with Luxembourgish host families and study under Miami professors. On April 15, 1970, a student sit-in at Rowan Hall, home of Miami's Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, Naval ROTC program, in opposition to the Vietnam War resulted in 176 students being arrested. King Library (Miami University), Edgar W. King Library was completed in 1972. In 1974, the Western College for Women in Oxford was sold to Miami, and President Phillip Shriver oversaw the creation of an interdisciplinary studies college known as the Western College Program. Responding to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, trustees changed the athletic teams nickname from the "Redskins" to the "RedHawks" in 1997. The School of Engineering and Applied Science was created in 1999. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring Miami University for its 200th anniversary. In the same year, the Farmer School of Business building was completed on the East Quad and the Miami University Voice of America Learning Center opened in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio. In 2014, the Armstrong Student Center was completed to replace the Shriver Center, which was repurposed. All campuses were closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening partially that fall. Miami established the Honors College, its first residential college, the following year. The Clinical Health Sciences and Wellness Facility opened in 2023 to combine clinical and academic health departments and services. The McVey Data Science building opened in 2024, funded by alumnus Richard McVey to house departments in computer science, statistics and analytics.


Campuses


Oxford

Miami University's main campus is in
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
; the city is in the
Miami Valley The Miami Valley is the land area surrounding the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, USA, and includes the Little Miami, Mad, and Stillwater rivers as well. Geographically, it includes Dayton, Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton, and other c ...
in southwestern Ohio about northwest of
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
and southwest of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. Oxford is a college town, with over 70% of the residents attending college or graduate school. Development of the campus began in 1818 with a multipurpose building called Franklin Hall; Elliott and Stoddard Halls, Elliott Hall, built in 1825, is Miami's oldest standing building and residence hall. Miami is renowned for its campus beauty, having been called "The most beautiful campus that ever there was" by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost, a friend of then Miami artist-in-residence Percy MacKaye. Miami's campus buildings are predominantly built in the style of Georgian Revival architecture, most of which are built "to human scale" at three stories or less. The area of Miami's Oxford campus consists of 2,138 acres (8 km2). There are four museums on campus, including the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum, William H. McGuffey House, William Holmes McGuffey Museum, and the Karl Limper Geology Museum.


Academic buildings

The original portion of campus starts at the intersection of South Campus Avenue and East High Street, where the Phi Delta Theta Gates lead into the slant walk path. In this area are the oldest academic buildings, including Hall Auditorium and McGuffey Hall, built in 1909, and Alumni Hall (Miami University), Alumni Hall, built in 1910. Harrison Hall and King Library (Miami University), King Library are also in this area. Going eastward along East Spring Street are Irvin Hall and Kreger Hall before the Armstrong Student Center, the largest building on campus. Surrounding Bishop Woods are Hughes Laboratories, Laws Hall (Miami University), Laws Hall, Shideler Hall, and Upham Hall (Miami University), Upham Hall. Buildings north of East High Street begin at the McVey Data Science Building on Tallawanda Road. Going eastward is the campus of the College of Engineering and Computing, which includes Benton Hall (Miami University), Benton Hall and Garland Hall/Engineering Building. Clustered around North Patterson Avenue are Pearson Hall (Miami University), Pearson Hall, the Psychology Building, and the Farmer School of Business. The Farmer School of Business is housed in a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City and Moody Nolan of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus which was the first building on the Oxford campus to receive a LEED certification. There are four streets south of East Spring Street with academic buildings. On South Campus Avenue is the Clinical Health Sciences and Wellness Facility. On Oak Street are Williams Hall (Miami University), Williams Hall and Phillips Hall; in between Spring and Maple Street is McMillan Hall; and between Maple and South Patterson Avenue are the Shriver Center, Hiestand Hall and Art Building, and the Center for Performing Arts (Miami University), Center for Performing Arts. Also along Patterson Avenue is Bachelor Hall (Miami University), Bachelor Hall before the entrance to Western Campus, which includes Boyd Hall, Hoyt Hall (Miami University), Hoyt Hall, Peabody Hall (Miami University), Peabody Hall, and Presser Hall.


Historic landmarks

* The Dewitt Log Homestead was built in 1805 and is the oldest extant structure in Oxford Township, Butler County, Ohio, Oxford Township. * Elliott and Stoddard Halls (Miami University), Elliott and Stoddard Halls, built in 1825 and 1836, are the oldest buildings on campus. * Langstroth Cottage is a National Historic Landmark built in 1856. It was the home of L. L. Langstroth who conducted research and breeding of honey bees. * William H. McGuffey House is a National Historic Landmark built in 1833. It was the home of author and professor
William Holmes McGuffey William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was an American college professor and president who is best known for writing the ''McGuffey Readers'', the first widely used series of elementary school-level textbooks. More than 120 m ...
and believed to be the site where he wrote the first four McGuffey Readers. * The former Oxford Female Institute in uptown Oxford served as a university dorm until 2001 and has since been leased as the Oxford Community Arts Center. * The Western College for Women, Western Female Seminary Historic District denotes the Romanesque and Colonial Revival architecture of the former Western College campus. The Western Campus was also home to the orientation sessions for the volunteers of Freedom Summer in June 1964, a significant campaign of the civil rights movement.


Dolibois European Center

The John E. Dolibois European Center in
Differdange Differdange (; or locally ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with List of towns in Luxembourg, town status in south-western Luxembourg, west from the Luxembourg City, country's capital. It lies near the borders with Belgium and France an ...
, Luxembourg, serves as a study abroad campus for students and houses about 125 students per semester. It offers continuing classes pertaining to students' studies, typically in architecture, business, French, German, history, and political science. Students live in homestays with Luxembourgish host families and are encouraged to travel in Europe through university-led study programs and in their free time. It was established in 1968 and named after Miami alumnus John E. Dolibois, former United States Ambassador to Luxembourg.


Regional campuses

Miami University has three satellite campuses. Miami University Middletown, located in Middletown, Ohio, was founded in 1966 as Ohio's first regional campus. Miami University Hamilton, located in Hamilton, Ohio, was established in 1968, and the Miami University Voice of America Learning Center, located in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio, was established in 2009 to house the Farmer School of Business MBA program. Miami's regional campuses are non-residential and offer a handful of bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, one certificate program, as well as beginning course work for most four-year degrees, and the MBA and MEd programs at Oxford. Combined, Miami's regional campuses enroll 4,664 students. Middletown and Hamilton compete in independent sports as members of the Ohio Regional Campus Conference, competing under the monikers "Middletown ThunderHawks" and "Hamilton Harriers".


Organization and administration

Miami University has seven primary academic divisions, which include five undergraduate colleges in addition to a residential Honors colleges and programs, honors college: *College of Arts and Science *Farmer School of Business *College of Creative Arts *College of Education, Health, and Society *College of Engineering and Computing *Graduate School *College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science (Miami Regionals) As a public university, Miami is part of the
University System of Ohio The University System of Ohio is the public university system of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is governed by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Unlike other state university systems outside Ohio such as the University of California Syste ...
. It is governed by a board of trustees which oversees the administration of the university and holds subcommittees on investment, finance and audit, and academic and student affairs. This includes oversight on programs offered by the university and financial expenditures. The board has 17 members, nine of which are voting members appointed by the List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio. Six are university alumni who reside outside of Ohio, while the remaining two are enrolled students of the university. The office of the College president, president manages Miami University's fiscal and business operations, supporting the academic and research missions across all campuses. The office works with the board of trustees to set the vision, direction, and priorities of the university, in addition to serving as a university figurehead and liaison. The 22nd and current president is Dr. Gregory P. Crawford, who entered the role in 2016. Crawford previously served as vice president and associate Provost (education), provost at the University of Notre Dame. Other administrative departments include that of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, which includes the deans of each of the eight academic colleges and the Dolibois European Center. The Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Services and Treasurer's department oversees university finances, procurement, and audits. The office of the Vice President for Student Life, Senior Vice President for University Advancement, Vice President for Information Technology, and Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management round out the university's administrative faculty. As of the end of fiscal year 2023, Miami University's financial endowment was $739 million.


Academics

Miami University is a large, primarily residential teaching university with a focus on Undergraduate education, undergraduate studies. The university offers more than 100 majors, 48 minors, and 11 co-majors. In the 2022–2023 academic year, the most popular majors were finance, marketing, psychology, computer science, and biology. Miami offers master's degrees in more than 50 areas of study and doctorate, doctoral degrees in 12, the largest of which are doctoral degrees in psychology. To enroll in graduate courses, students must first be accepted into the Graduate School, and then into the department through which the degree is offered. Although tuition for the Graduate School is roughly the same as for an undergraduate degree, most of the graduate programs offer graduate assistantships as well as tuition waivers. As of 2024, Miami's annual Tuition payments, tuition was $18,162 for Ohio residents and $40,822 for out-of-state residents. Its in-state tuition rate is the highest of all public universities within the University System of Ohio.


Undergraduate admissions

Miami University extends offers of admission to applicants after holistic review that includes examination of academic rigor and performance, admissions test scores, personal essays, and recommendations. Admission to Miami University is classified as "more selective" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and ''U.S. News & World Report''. The Princeton Review gives Miami University an "Admissions Selectivity Rating" of 88 out of 99. For first-year undergraduates enrolled in fall 2025, Miami University received 42,751 applications and accepted 30,102 (70.4%). Of the 42.8% of admitted students who submitted ACT or SAT test scores, the middle 50% ranges (25th percentile–75th percentile) were 25–31 and 1220–1390, respectively. Miami University's freshman University student retention, retention rate is 89.2%, with 83% going on to graduate within six years. Miami University is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 21 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 28 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.


Curriculum

The College of Arts and Science is the oldest and largest college at Miami, with almost half of the undergraduate student body enrollment. It offers 70 majors covering a broad range of areas of study across the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
, natural sciences, and social sciences, as well as pre-law, pre-medical and interdisciplinarity programs. The curriculum emphasizes creativity, research, and global perspectives. 10 of the 12 doctoral degrees offered by Miami are provided through the College of Arts and Science. Miami's Farmer School of Business is a nationally recognized school of business that offers nine majors. The school also offers graduate MBA, accountancy, and economics degrees. It is named after Miami University alumni and benefactors Richard T. Farmer, founder of Cintas, and his wife Joyce Barnes Farmer. Miami's College of Creative Arts offers 14 majors through its five departments: architecture and interior design, art, emerging technology in business & design, Music, and Theatre. Each department has its own portfolio or audition admission requirements, which are separate from the standard admissions requirements for the university. Art and music majors choose concentrations within their programs. The McGuffey Hall, College of Education, Health & Society offers 20 undergraduate majors spanning six departments, which include educational leadership, educational psychology, family science and social work, kinesiology and health, sports leadership and management, and teacher education. As of fall 2009, nearly 3,500 full-time and part-time undergraduates were enrolled in the school. The College of Engineering and Computing offers 10 accredited majors at the Oxford campus, and moved into a new $22 million engineering building in 2007. The college has five departments, including chemical, paper, and biomedical engineering; computer science, cybersecurity, and software engineering; electrical and computer engineering; mechanical and manufacturing engineering; and interdisciplinary programs. The school also offers four master's degrees in computer science, chemical engineering, computational electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering. The Miami University Honors College was established in 2021, replacing the former university honors program on campus. Around 400 students are admitted to the Honors College every year and are required to produce publishable research. Based in Peabody Hall (Miami University), Peabody Hall on the Western Campus, the Honors College is Miami's only residential college and fosters one-on-one interaction with faculty-in-residence.


Libraries and publications

King Library (Miami University), Edgar W. King Library is the primary academic library at Miami. It opened as an undergraduate library when the south section was completed in 1966; it became the main library when the north section was completed in 1972. King Library is home to Miami University Libraries’ humanities, government, law, and social sciences collections as well as the Walter Havighurst special collections and university archives. It additionally houses King Café, centers for academic writing, information management and digital scholarship, and a library makerspace. In addition to King Library, the university's library system also includes the Wertz Art & Architecture Library in Alumni Hall (Miami University), Alumni Hall, the Rentschler Library at Miami University Hamilton and the Gardner-Harvey Library at Miami University Middletown. Prior to the construction of King Library, Alumni Hall was the main university library. The Miami University Press was established in 1992 and specializes in works of poetry, fiction, and those that detail the history of Miami University.


Reputation and rankings

In its 2025 rankings, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the university's undergraduate program 136th (tied) among 436 national universities, and 69th among public national universities. ''U.S. News'' also ranks Miami University tenth for undergraduate teaching. Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine listed Miami as one of the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2015, ranking Miami 55th nationally. Miami University has appeared on the list since it was first published in 1998. ''Forbes'' ranked Miami 155th in the United States among all colleges and universities and listed it as one of "America's Best College Buys". Miami was named as one of the original eight "Public Ivies" by Yale University admissions officer Richard Moll in 1985. It was listed again in a 2001 publication by college guide authors Howard Greene and Matthew Greene. In March 2014, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the undergraduate business program for the Farmer School of Business at 23rd among all U.S. undergraduate business schools and was ranked 8th among public schools. ''Entrepreneur (magazine), Entrepreneur'' ranked Miami's Institute for Entrepreneurship in its top ten undergraduate programs in the nation. ''The Wall Street Journal'' ranked Miami 22nd among state schools for bringing students directly from undergraduate studies into top graduate programs. The ''Journal'' also ranked Miami's Executive mba, accelerated MBA program ninth globally. Miami's accountancy program received high marks from the Public Accounting Report's rankings of accountancy programs; its undergraduate and graduate programs ranked 17th and 20th respectively. Miami also receives high marks for its campus. Newsweek rated Miami at 19th in its 2012 list of Most Beautiful Schools and poet Robert Frost described it as "The most beautiful campus that ever there was."


Student life


Student body

As of 2020, Miami University has a total enrollment of 22,971 admitted students. The Oxford campus encompasses 18,669 students, of which 16,522 are at the Undergraduate education, undergraduate and 2,147 at the Graduate school, graduates and professional. Within offers for admission in fall 2021, 44% of students were from Ohio, with offers for students from all 50 U.S. states, the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia and 122 countries abroad. Miami University encompasses 1,614 international students from 67 countries. Of the regularly enrolled international students, the most represented countries are typically China, Vietnam, India, Nepal, and South Korea. With a gender distribution of 49% male students and 51% female students, Miami University's gender disparity between men and women is far below the national average, making it one of the most equally balanced undergraduate institutions in the United States.


Student organizations

For the 2017–18 academic year, Miami had over 600 registered student organizations. These clubs and organizations run the gamut from varsity sports clubs to professional fraternities, from political and religious groups to fashion, theatre and LGBTQ+ organizations. The university recognizes the Associated Student Government (ASG) that represents student interests to faculty, administrators, and the Ohio Legislature. It is the official Students' union, student government of Miami University. It has an executive branch chaired by the student body president with 13 members who work with administrators in all areas of student life as well as academics and a legislative branch made up of 50 senators who voice student concerns, write and vote on legislation on a weekly basis. The Miami University Marching Band is the largest student organization on campus, typically fielding around 250 to 275 students. It represents the college at all home Miami RedHawks football, football games, as well as at various away games, bowl games, parades, and marching band festivals.


Mock trial

Miami University participates in the American Mock Trial Association and has won two National Championship Tournament titles, with the most recent in 2018, where Miami beat Yale University in the final round. The school has made 17 top-ten finishes. In the 2019 season, Miami sent two teams to the National Championship Tournament. Miami A earned twelve ballots in their division, just one ballot short of division champions Yale A. Miami earned honorable mentions in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, Miami failed to earn a bid to the NCT. This marked the end of the longest-running NCT streak in the American Mock Trial Association; Miami had not missed an NCT since at least 2005. Miami has sent two competitors to Trial by Combat, a one-on-one competition for outstanding AMTA competitors.


Media organizations

Miami has a variety of media outlets. The student-run newspaper, '' The Miami Student'', claims to have been founded in 1826, which would make it the oldest university newspaper in the United States. However, the first issue is dated May 1867, and the paper refers to itself as "the oldest college newspaper west of the Alleghenies." The Miami Student Magazine is a sister publication to the newspaper. The bi-annual publication includes feature writing and short stories. The undergraduate literature and art magazine, ''Inklings'', is available in print and online. RedHawk Radio (WMSR) is Miami's only student radio station. Miami University Television (MUTV) is available on cable in Oxford, Ohio. ''UP Magazine'' is Miami's student-run fashion magazine that publishes an issue each semester and also maintains a blog.


Miami University Men's Glee Club

Aside from the university's student newspaper, the university's oldest and longest-running academic student organization is the Miami University Men's Glee Club. Founded in 1907 by professor Raymond H. Burke, composer of Miami's fight song and alma mater, the glee club is among the oldest and largest groups of its kind in the nation. Its roughly 80 singers are selected by audition and perform on campus and around the world. The Glee Club has performed with major symphony orchestras, among them the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Throughout its history, the Glee Club has worked with renowned composers, conductors and singers such as Morten Lauridsen, Martina Arroyo, Max Rudolf (conductor), Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Paul Salamunovich, A. R. Rahman, A.R. Rahman, and most recently Italian tenor Friar Alessandro, Alessandro Brustenghi. In 2014, the Glee Club performed a Memorial Day service at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, as part of its biannual international tour, and later won the First European Prize with Great Distinction at the Concours Europeen de Chant Choral 2014 (European Choir Competition). The Glee Club also hosts one men's a cappella singing group, The Cheezies.


Residential life

Miami University requires first and second-year students to live on campus. Elliott and Stoddard Halls, built in 1828 and 1835 respectively, are used as Dormitory, dormitories. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The campus has a total of 46 residence halls, the newest of which opened in 2018. The residence halls are organized into eight quads throughout campus. Residence halls have representatives that participate collectively in the Residence Hall Association and the student senate.


Greek life

Miami has a long tradition of Greek life, beginning in 1832 with the founding of the Miami chapter of Alpha Delta Phi. Miami is nicknamed the
Mother of Fraternities The Mother of Fraternities usually refers to Union College in Schenectady, New York, U.S., or Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, U.S, both of which founded many early collegiate fraternities. Origin In the 19th century, multi-chapter collegiate f ...
for the number of fraternities that started on its campus, including three known as the Miami Triad: Beta Theta Pi (1839), Phi Delta Theta (1848), and Sigma Chi (1855). Other Greek organizations founded at Miami include Phi Kappa Tau (1906) and Delta Zeta (1902). As of the fall of 2017, there were 2,556 sorority members and 1,544 fraternity members. Miami hosts about 50 different fraternities and sororities governed by three different student governing councils. In 2004, Miami University's office of Greek affairs was endowed with a $1 million gift from alumnus Cliff Alexander, a member of Sigma Nu. In the 2017 fall semester, the Greek community recorded 11,847 service hours and raised $96,839 for philanthropy, philanthropic causes. The university has suspended various chapters of Greek organizations for disorderly conduct, hazing, and alcohol violations.


Traditions

The university's student body has two notable superstitions. Stepping on the large copper replica of the university's seal by Upham Hall (Miami University), Upham Hall is believed to bring bad results for a student's exams; inversely, it is considered good luck to rub the heads of the copper turtles supporting the Delta Delta Delta sundial before exams. When two students meet at Miami, enter into a relationship, and then get married, they are called "Miami Mergers". Couples are encouraged to register with the university's alumni association, which has sent Miami Mergers an annual Valentine's Day card since 1973. In 2022, 14,406 Miami Merger couples received a Valentine's Day card from the association. Another campus superstition is that couples who kiss under the arch of Upham Hall at midnight will become Miami Mergers. Green Beer Day is an unofficial day-long party near the Miami University campus where celebrants drink green-dyed beer on the Thursday before Miami's spring break. It was established in the early 1980s by local bar owners. Green Beer Day has been called one of the university's "biggest traditions", although it is not sanctioned by the university, which has worked to combat binge drinking in preparation for the event.


Athletics

Miami's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (NCAA), Division I sports teams are called the Miami RedHawks, RedHawks; the program offers 18 varsity sports for men and women. They compete in the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
(MAC) in all varsity sports except ice hockey, which competes in the
National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference. The league was formed on July 9, 2011 and began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a ...
. Miami's athletic teams had several names before 1928, when Miami Publicity Director R.J. McGinnis coined the nickname "Redskins". In 1996, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, which works with the university on Native American relations, withdrew its support for the nickname. The board of trustees voted to change the nickname to the RedHawks in 1997. The current athletic director is David Sayler, who was hired to the position in December 2012. Miami is nicknamed the "Cradle of Coaches" for the coaches that have trained through the Miami RedHawks football program, including College Football Hall of Fame inductees Paul Brown, Carmen Cozza, Weeb Ewbank, Ara Parseghian, Earl Blaik, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and Jim Tressel. Two former players, John Harbaugh and Sean McVay, coached their respective teams to victories in Super Bowl XLVII and Super Bowl LVI, with McVay becoming the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl at age 36. Former Miami quarterback Ben Roethlisberger became a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Miami's football team plays in Yager Stadium (Miami University), Yager Stadium; they formerly played in the now demolished Miami Field. The current head coach is Chuck Martin (American football), Chuck Martin, who was named head coach on December 3, 2013. The RedHawks compete each year against the Cincinnati Bearcats football, Cincinnati Bearcats for the Victory Bell (Cincinnati–Miami), Victory Bell, a tradition that dates back to 1888. The Battle of the Bricks is also played annually against the Ohio Bobcats football, Ohio Bobcats. The RedHawks are 8–7 all-time in bowl games and have secured 23 conference titles as of the 2023 season. The Miami RedHawks men's basketball team has appeared in 17 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA basketball championship tournaments, reaching the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship#Regional semifinals and finals, Sweet Sixteen four times, most recently in 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1999. Notable former student-athletes have included Randy Ayers, Ron Harper, Wally Szczerbiak, and Wayne Embry. The team competes in Millett Hall and is coached by Travis Steele. Miami RedHawks men's ice hockey team started in 1978 coached by Steve Cady. The RedHawks made the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, NCAA national title game in 2009, but lost in overtime to the Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey, Boston University Terriers after leading much of the game. They have made 12 appearances in the NCAA tournament. The men's ice hockey team plays at the Goggin Ice Center as part of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The Miami University Synchronized Skating Team team began in August 1977 as a "Precision Skating Club" at Goggin Ice Center. The program achieved varsity status by 1996. The Miami University senior synchronized skating team are the 1999, 2006, and 2009 U.S. national champions. Miami won a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships, the first medal ever won by U.S. Figure Skating, Team USA for synchronized skating. The collegiate-level team has won 18 national titles; Miami created a junior-varsity level team beneath the senior level. At one time Miami had a competitive wrestling program, but eliminated the wrestling program, along with men's golf and tennis, in 1999 to better comply with Title IX regulations. Several members of the cut teams sued the university president, athletic director, and board of trustees, alleging that the removal of the teams violated their Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX protections. Enlisting the help of the Center for Individual Rights, the students took their case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, where a district judge denied their claims. The students appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, where two judges affirmed the district court's ruling.


Alumni

Miami alumni are active through various organizations and events such as Alumni Weekend. The Alumni Association has active chapters in over 50 cities. A number of Miami alumni have made significant contributions in the fields of government, law, science, academia, business, arts, journalism, and athletics, among others. Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States, graduated from Miami in 1852. Chung Un-chan, the 36th Prime Minister of South Korea, received his master's degree from Miami in economics in 1972. 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Paul Ryan (politician), Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, graduated from Miami in 1992. Five List of governors of Ohio, governors of Ohio graduated from Miami: William Dennison Jr. (24th), Charles Anderson (governor), Charles Anderson (27th), James E. Campbell (38th), Andrew L. Harris (44th), and Mike DeWine (70th), who also served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio. Other politicians include sitting U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington (state), Washington, former senators Calvin S. Brice, Oliver P. Morton, George E. Pugh, and John B. Weller, as well as numerous other federal representatives, state governors, state legislators, and ambassadors. Sidney Souers served as the first director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Rita Dove, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the first African-American United States Poet Laureate, graduated summa cum laude from Miami. political satire, Political satirist and journalist P.J. O'Rourke graduated from Miami in 1969. Prominent alumni in business include Brian Niccol, chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks and former CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill; Marne Levine, former chief business officer at Facebook and chief operating officer at Instagram; C. Michael Armstrong, former chairman/CEO of AT&T, former chairman/CEO of Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes Aircraft Co., and former chairman of the President's Export Council; Arthur D. Collins, Jr., former chairman/CEO of Medtronic; and Richard T. Farmer, founder/CEO emeritus of Cintas. In sports, Chris Rose is a studio host with the MLB Network and NFL Network. John Harbaugh, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and Sean McVay, head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, both played football for Miami. Paul Brown, the partial founder of both the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals and a head coach for both teams graduated from the class of 1930. Miami alumni that play in professional sports leagues include Dan Boyle (ice hockey), Dan Boyle of the NHL, Andy Greene of the NHL, Ryan Jones (ice hockey), Ryan Jones of the NHL, Alec Martinez of the NHL, Reilly Smith of the NHL, Jeff Zatkoff of the NHL, Hayley Williams (ice hockey), Hayley Williams of the Russian Women's Hockey League, John Ely (baseball), John Ely of the MLB, Adam Eaton (outfielder), Adam Eaton of the MLB, golfer Brad Adamonis, Milt Stegall of the Canadian Football League, CFL, 2002 National Basketball Association, NBA All-Star Wally Szczerbiak, and National Football League, NFL players Brandon Brooks (American football), Brandon Brooks, Quinten Rollins, Zac Dysert, and two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.


See also

* Miami University Press * Cradle of Coaches * Green Beer Day * Harker's Run (Ohio), Harker's Run * Miami Tribe of Oklahoma *
Mother of Fraternities The Mother of Fraternities usually refers to Union College in Schenectady, New York, U.S., or Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, U.S, both of which founded many early collegiate fraternities. Origin In the 19th century, multi-chapter collegiate f ...


Notes


References

Further reading *


External links

*
Miami University Athletics website
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