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SOU

Southern Oregon University

Ashland, Oregon Public 4-year Midsize suburb

Overview

Located in Ashland, Oregon, Southern Oregon University is a public four-year institution. The campus sits in a midsize suburban area. Fall 2024 enrollment was 5,113, made up of 4,235 undergraduates and 878 graduate students.

Southern Oregon University offers certificates, bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees across 91 programs. Its largest programs by number of graduates are Business Administration and Management, Education, General, and Psychology, General. It awarded 879 degrees and certificates in 2024-25.

68% of full-time first-year students return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio is 23 to 1.

Key figures

5,113
Students enrolled
68%
First-year retention
879
Degrees and certificates awarded, 2024-25
91
Programs and majors
23:1
Student-to-faculty ratio

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Delivery modes

CampusOnlineHybrid

Program levels

CertificateBachelorMaster

Programs and majors offered 91

Graduate counts are degrees and certificates awarded in each program between July 2024 and June 2025. Largest fields are listed first.

Education 12
Business, Management and Marketing 11
Psychology 1
Visual and Performing Arts 12
Communication and Journalism 2
Parks, Recreation, Fitness and Kinesiology 3
Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Studies 8
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Firefighting 1
English Language and Literature 2
Health Professions 5
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 3
Social Sciences 8
Natural Resources and Conservation 2
Computer and Information Sciences 5
History 1
Mathematics and Statistics 3
Physical Sciences 2
Area, Ethnic, Cultural and Gender Studies 3
Communications Technologies 1
Public Administration and Social Services 1
Agriculture and Veterinary Science 2
Foreign Languages and Linguistics 3

Outcomes

Retention is for students who started in fall 2023 and returned in fall 2024.

First-year retention, full-time students
68%
First-year retention, part-time students
42%
Student-to-faculty ratio
23:1

Degrees and certificates awarded

Awards conferred between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Bachelor's degrees
592
Master's degrees
222
Postbaccalaureate certificates
65

Enrollment

Students, fall 2024
5,113
Undergraduates, fall 2024
4,235
Graduate students, fall 2024
878
Full-time, fall 2024
50%
Students over the full 2024-25 year
6,910
Undergraduates, 2024-25
5,516
Graduate students, 2024-25
1,394
Full-time, 2024-25
48%
Size category
5,000 to 9,999 students

Student body

Share of all students enrolled during 2024-25. Small groups can round to zero and are not listed.

Women
63%
Men
37%
White
36%
Hispanic or Latino
8%
Black or African American
1%
Asian
1%
Two or more races
6%
American Indian or Alaska Native
1%
International (U.S. nonresident)
1%
Race or ethnicity unknown
45%

Online and flexible learning

Distance education in 2024-25.

Programs with a fully online option
2
Online graduate programs
Yes
Students studying fully online
14%
Students taking some online courses
35%
Weekend or evening classes
Yes

Campus and services

Setting
Midsize suburb
Academic calendar
Quarter
Carnegie classification
Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Athletic association
NAIA
Athletic conference
Frontier Conference; Cascade Collegiate Conference
President
Dr. Rick Bailey
Services and opportunities
Study abroad, ROTC, Teacher certification, Academic and career counseling, Student employment services, Job placement for graduates, Accepts AP credit, Credit for life experience
For veterans and service members
Yellow Ribbon Program, Dedicated veterans contact, Student veteran organization

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