James Madison University

James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison College in 1938, in honor of President James Madison, and named James Madison University in 1977. The university is situated in the Shenandoah Valley, with the campus quadrangle located on South Main Street in Harrisonburg.

James Madison University is considered "More Selective" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For the Class of 2012, the university received more than 22,648 applications, for an entering freshmen class of 4,325 for the 2012–2013 academic year. The retention rate for the 2011–2012 freshman class was 91.4%, and the ratio of female to male students is 60/40. Approximately 28% of all students are from out-of-state, representing all 50 states and 89 foreign countries.

Currently, James Madison University offers 115 degree programs on the bachelor's, master's, educational specialist and doctoral levels. The university comprises seven colleges and 78 academic programs. The university includes the College of Arts and Letters; the College of Business; the College of Education; the College of Health and Behavioral Studies; the College of Integrated Science and Engineering; the College of Science and Mathematics; the College of Visual and Performing Arts; and The Graduate School. Total enrollment beginning the Fall 2012 academic year was 19,927; 18,392 undergraduates and 1,820 graduate students. JMU granted 4,908 degrees in 2012; 4,096 undergraduate degrees, and 812 graduate degrees.

On October 2, 2009, James Madison University was granted a chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. Only about 10 percent of the country's colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. James Madison University's Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was the first academic honor society chartered at JMU. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ΦΚΦ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education".

Rankings

The school is nationally recognized for its academics. U.S. News & World Report has ranked JMU as the top public masters-level university in the South (3rd overall) for 16 consecutive years, and among public colleges Forbes.com ranks JMU 22nd in the nation.

JMU's College of Business is consistently ranked among the top 40 business programs in the nation by Bloomberg Business week. The University is also ranked 22nd overall in value for money in the nation amongst public colleges and universities, according to Kiplinger Magazine's 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. According to Business Week in its 2011 ranking of undergraduate colleges of business, JMU's undergraduate business school is ranked 12th in the nation, and 3rd in Virginia. JMU ranked third among public schools in the country and fourth among all public undergraduate business schools in the country for return on investment, according to Business Week. JMU's Master of Accounting Program recently ranked as the top passing rate on the CPA exam in the United States.

Money Magazine, in 1996 ranked JMU 5th in the nation for best value among in-state students. Princeton Review, in its 2007 rankings, called JMU one of "America's Best Value Colleges". For the 17th consecutive year James Madison University was ranked as the top public, master's-level university in the South in the highly regarded annual poll on academic quality conducted by U.S. News & World Report for its guidebook, 2011 America's Best Colleges. JMU also had the highest graduation rate of 81 percent among both public and privates colleges in the South. JMU's College of Business is consistently ranked among the top 40 business programs in the nation by Bloomberg Business week.