The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees , graduate master's degrees and doctoral degrees , and is organized into eight colleges and schools and one Methodist seminary.
The university has approximately 3, students, including 1, graduate students. Classen , who sought to begin a Methodist university in conjunction with other development projects. Construction began in and the school opened in , three years before statehood, with an enrollment of students. Construction began in and classes started in with enrollment growing by almost students during that first year.
Epworth closed in after the school ran into financial difficulties. When the United States entered World War II, the school faced new challenges, including mounting debt and a need for new facilities. By , the student body was 75 percent female. This created a shortage of players and funds causing many of the athletic programs, such as the football team, to end operations. In the mids, after nearly 25 years of steady growth, the university again fell on hard times.
During his tenure as president facilities were improved, new academic programs were started and enrollment increased again. In it was announced that the university was out of debt and turned a surplus for the first time since In the s, the university upgraded and renovated campus facilities. Stephen Jennings became president in and began focusing on the university's centennial celebration and position the university for the future.
She was succeeded on by Kenneth R. Evans, who had previously served as president of Lamar University. On December 19, , part of the university campus was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The acre 0. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. The 38 million dollar state-of-the-art , sq ft 10, m 2 Wanda L.
