Clayton State University

Institution Overview

Clayton State is well known for advancing the use of technology in the classroom and was among the first public universities in the nation to equip all students and faculty with notebook computers.

Clayton State University is a technological and baccalaureate university located just 10 minutes south of Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport in Morrow, Georgia. The university serves more than one million people living in the southern suburbs of metropolitan Atlanta. Some 4,700 students may pursue challenging baccalaureate and associate degree programs through the University System of Georgia, as well as vocational and technical degrees and certificates through the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education.

The main campus is located on 163 acres in Morrow, but the university also holds continuing education classes in Roswell at the Roswell Center for Business and Professional Development. Clayton State is a non-residential university attracting both traditional and non-traditional students whose average age is 26. The university also has the second-largest continuing education program in the state of Georgia.

This unique institution offers 15 undergraduate degree programs in the diverse fields of applied biology, middle-grades education, music, nursing, health-care management, allied health administration, dental hygiene practice and administration, administrative management, technology management, accounting, management, marketing, general business, information technology, and integrative studies. Associate's degrees are offered in 16 fields, including aviation maintenance technology, computer network technology, dental hygiene, drafting and design, information technology, paralegal studies, and paramedic technology.

Clayton State is well-known for advancing the use of technology in the classroom and was among the first public universities in the nation to equip all students and faculty with notebook computers through the Information Technology Project. In keeping with its tradition of pushing the envelope in the use of instructional technology, the university offers more than 100 courses online and was named the second-best Distance Learning Program in Higher Education by the U.S. Distance Learning Association.

There's more to the campus life than technology, however, and music lovers from around the nation also know Clayton State for its premiere concert venue, Spivey Hall, and the accompanying outstanding music program. Students participate in a wealth of extra-curricular activities, including 25 campus clubs and organizations, dances, concerts, films, festivals, lectures, recitals, and drama presentations. The school fields 10 NCAA Division II athletic teams.

Founded in 1969 as a junior college, the university became a four-year college in 1986. In 1994 the current mission of the institution was defined, leading the way for it to be named Clayton College & State University in 1996. The institution became Clayton State University in 2005.