Southwest Baptist University ¹

Since 1878, Southwest Baptist University has been an evangelical Christian University with a long-standing Baptist heritage. As a distinctly Christian university, integrating faith with every academic pursuit is the cornerstone of an SBU education. We are committed to helping students grow mentally and spiritually. We encourage every student to integrate knowledge, character and faith into their everyday lives with the goal of preparing to be servant leaders in a global society. The academic quality of SBU students can be seen from these recognitions: The Forensics Team (speech and debate) has won the national championship of the Pi Kappa Delta National Forensics Tournament for 19 of the last 26 years; the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team won its 22nd consecutive regional championship in 2006; and our Computer Information Science teams have consistently earned top-10 finishes in national competitions and first-place finishes in Missouri. SBU has a long history of encouraging scholar athletes, many of whom have been named to NCAA Division II Academic All-Americans. The University's objective is to remain an affordable, high-quality, private Christian institution. Among recent honors: SBU has been named one of America's Best Christian Colleges for 10 consecutive years. For 11 years, SBU has been recognized as one of America's Best College Buys and one of the lowest priced Midwest universities. SBU is one of only eight colleges and universities in the United States being honored with the "Courts Redford Award for Excellence in Student Missionary Deployment" by the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board for SBU's "strong commitment of excellence" in deploying student missionaries in 2006. While every department at SBU addresses issues of faith in the classroom, these unique programs offer in-depth emphasis on ethical and cultural issues: The College of Business and Computer Science has adopted Psalm 15 as a guiding principle for students, to graduate servant leadership roles in business and computer science. The Intercultural Studies Program prepares students to answer the call to reach every nation, tribe and tongue through spiritual, academic and practical preparation- including a six-month period of study abroad. The SBU Honors Program recognizes servant leaders for their accomplishments and excellence in academics, intercultural experiences, and spiritual development. SBU students enjoy amenities of a beautiful, small-town campus, 30 minutes from Springfield and 90 minutes from Branson. The campus is close to many beautiful lakes, parks, and the Ozark Mountains.