•  No. 1 Student Programming in the Nation

Ashland Universitys Campus Activities Board has been recognized by the National Association for College Activities for providing the No. 1 student activities programming in the nation.

AU received NACAs Excellence in Programming Award, taking first place in the category of undergraduate institutions with fewer than 2,000 students on campus.

Distinct Academic Programs

•  Teacher Education

Ashland University 's teacher education program, which offers pre-K through doctorate level courses, is one of the largest among independent and state institutions in Ohio . The undergraduate teacher education program is the largest academic program on campus and has been NCATE accredited since 1973. All of AU's education programs undergraduate, master of education, doctor of education and professional development services are recognized on a state and national basis.

Ashland University 's new College of Education Building, which was completed in the spring of 2006, is home to the undergraduate teacher education program as well as the master of education and doctor of education programs. The two-story, 52,000-square-foot building provides much needed student instructional space in the form of 12 classrooms, four seminar rooms, 60 faculty and staff offices, several commons or meeting areas, state-of-the-art media center, peer teaching studio with one-way viewing mirror and 120-seat lecture hall.

Ashland University's Education Website

•  Toxicology

Ashland University's Toxicology Website

•  Political Science/The Ashbrook Center

The Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs teaches the meaning and significance of America by providing an academic forum for the study, research, and discussion of the principles and practices of American Constitutional government and politics.

The Ashbrook Center's programs are directed to the scholarly defense of individual liberty, limited constitutional government and civic morality, which together constitute our democratic way of life.

Some of the world's most noted political figures, including Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, Margaret Thatcher, Dick Cheney, Benjamin Netanyahu, Henry Kissinger, and William J. Bennett have participated in the Center's programs. Renowned scholars from such schools as Harvard University, Duke University, the University of Virginia, and Claremont McKenna College have taken part in our conferences and lectures.

The Ashbrook Center was established and named in honor of the late Congressman who represented Ohio 's 17th Congressional district for 21 years. Representative John Ashbrook was a popular and forceful advocate and spokesman for limited constitutional government and reduced federal spending. That concept was re-emphasized by President Ronald Reagan when he personally dedicated the Center on May 9, 1983 .

The Ashbrook Center sponsors the Ashbrook Scholar program, hosts a series of campus lectures and conferences, publishes scholarly monographs and books, offers seminars that assist high school social studies teachers in deepening and broadening their understanding and appreciation of American history, and provides internship opportunities for our students who are interested in careers related to public affairs.

Ashbrook Center Website

•  Finance/The Trading Room

Ashland's program in Finance is distinctive because it includes the study of investment theory, which students put into practice by managing two portfolios of approximately $400,000 apiece on  real-time basis, the study for NASD Series 7 examination, the study for the NASD Series 66, networking with our Corporate Partners such as Edward Jones, AXA Equitable, New York Life, MetLife, and Smith Barney, and participating in national and regional conferences.

The Finance program also sponsored the creation and activation of the Institute for Contemporary Financial Studies, which is devoted to the scholarly development of solutions to real business problems.

Ashland's finance major is the fastest-growing program in the Dauch College of Business and Economics and graduated the most seniors of any major in the College at the May 2008 commencement.

Graduates from this program are being placed in prominent positions with Edward Jones, ING, Farmers Insurance Group,  National City, MBNA, Wells Fargo, MetLife, Putnam, Key Corp.,  AXA Equitable, UBS, KPMG, Cohen & Company, JM Smucker, Westfield Group, Stifel Nicolaus, and Stark Investments.

A key aspect of this program is the new Trading Room (named the Center for Financial Education) and Ashland University is one of the smallest universities in the country to have such a trading room.

Located in the Richard E. and Sandra J. Dauch College of Business and Economics, this real-life trading room environment functions as a classroom as well as a laboratory facility. Through a large screen television offering access to live coverage of CNBC and CNNfn, Bloomberg and other financial networks, and tickers and data walls, which update security prices and exchange rates continuously, students experience the challenges of an actual trading environment, real time market data and a vast amount of research data.

Individual double workstations include computers with software for simulated and real-time trading, settlement, analytics, pricing, portfolio management, research and derivative pricing.

The Eagle Investment Group, a student-run organization, manages approximately $800,000 of the University's endowment with an average return of 11.25 percent since the program began in 2000, when the Dow's average was 3.61 percent with the S&P500 at 2.48 percent during the same time frame.

•  Master of Business Administration

Ashland University offers one of the largest Master of Business administration programs in the state of Ohio and the program boasts a very high student satisfaction rate.  A national survey by a well-established educational assessment organization ranks MBA programs across the country on a seven-point scale and Ashland’s program received very high marks, including ranking first in seven of 13 categories when compared to nine other institutions in its Carnegie Classification.

Ashland University’s Master of Business Administration program is designed to provide mid-level professionals with a top-management perspective on organizational effectiveness by equipping them with the conceptual framework necessary to operate a business or functional area of a business. AU MBA students have the option of using their nine hours of elective credit to earn a specialization in a specific area of business, including:

• Project Management

• Entrepreneurship

• Human Resource Management

• Finance

• Global Management

Students also can propose a customized specialization, and seek approval from a faculty mentor and from the chair of the graduate business program.

Ashland’s MBA program is designed to help students develop their ability to lead people and manage resources to achieve organizational effectiveness by developing key managerial competencies. It directs students toward a more fruitful way of integrating their individual efforts with those of their colleagues by employing a team-based, integrated, cross-disciplinary approach to understanding organizational management.

Ashland offers MBA courses, both traditional format and online, at its main campus in Ashland as well as at off-campus centers located in Columbus and Massillon/Stark County, and sites in Westlake, Medina and New Philadelphia.

Master of Business Administration website