Baylor University Overview

Excellence in all areas is the hallmark of a Baylor education. Below is more information about the university's history, mission, long-term vision and academics.

History

Baylor University is the oldest higher education institution in Texas in continuous operation. Since receiving its charter from the Republic of Texas in 1845, Baylor has grown into the state's largest private university with approximately 14,000 students from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 70 foreign nations. Baylor's nationally ranked academic degree programs feature 145 bachelor's degrees, 74 master's degrees, 22 doctoral degrees and the juris doctor law degree. The 722-acre campus is located on the banks of the Brazos River in Waco, Texas, a metro area of more than 200,000 people. Baylor alumni number more than 100,000 men and women living throughout the globe.

Mission

Baylor University's mission reflects President Bush's core principles of service, compassion, leadership, education, family and faith and "seeks to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community."

In May 2002 President Bush said, "True faith is never isolated from the rest of life." This sentiment reflects the heart of Baylor's philosophy. Like the 17th and 18th century founders of Harvard, Yale and Princeton universities, Baylor's visionary leaders believe that intellectual excellence is compatible with orthodox Christian devotion. Academic excellence and faith are not only compatible, but they are also mutually reinforcing. A love of truth is a hallmark of the Christian faith, and true knowledge supports and deepens that love. While many universities have strayed from these founding principles, Baylor is one of America's few comprehensive academic universities seriously committed to a faith-based mission. Like Notre Dame University, Baylor is carving a distinct place in higher education through the leadership of intellectual entrepreneurs and a bold strategic vision.

Baylor is dedicated to shaping students in all aspects of life with a distinct focus on intellectual, moral, ethical, religious, philosophical, physical and social development. Oklahoma Congressman Ernest Istook, a Baylor graduate, recently said, "Baylor is not one of those universities that has a one-sided environment. Baylor tries to focus on the whole person."

Baylor 2012: A Bold Vision

Baylor 2012 is a bold, practical long-term vision for increasing Baylor's academic prominence while maintaining its Christian heritage and values. Through the addition of new faculty, facilities and programs, Baylor 2012 seeks to propel the university into the nation's top-tier or top 50 academic institutions in national rankings.

THESE 12 IMPERATIVES DEFINE BAYLOR 2012:

Establish an environment where learning can flourish.
Create a truly residential campus.
Develop a world-class faculty.
Attract and support a top-tier student body.
Initiate outstanding new academic programs in selected areas.
Guide all Baylor students, through academic and student life programming, to understand life as a stewardship and work as a vocation.
Provide outstanding academic facilities.
Construct useful and aesthetically pleasing physical spaces.
Enhance involvement of the entire Baylor family.
Build with integrity a winning athletic tradition in all sports.
Emphasize global education.
Achieve a $2 billion endowment.

Baylor Academics in Brief

Over the years Baylor's academic programs have received national and international recognition through solid rankings in U.S.News and World Report and other respected publications. Radio commentator Paul Harvey praised Baylor's academic excellence in April 2004. Harvey reported the results of a survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni of the top 50 universities, which included Ivy League, Big 12, Big 10 and the Seven Sister universities. Harvey praised Baylor because it was the only university to receive an "A" for its core course requirements in math, writing composition, U.S. history, government, literature, economics and the hard sciences of chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy and physics.

BAYLOR ORGANIZES ITS UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS INTO THE FOLLOWING MAJOR DIVISIONS: