About Salem State

Facts & Figures

President
Dr. Patricia Maguire Meservey

The University
Salem State University, established in 1854 as Salem Normal School, is a comprehensive, publicly supported institution of higher learning located approximately 15 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. Salem State enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing 27 states and 57 foreign countries, and is one of the largest state universities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Governance
Salem State is governed by an 11-person board of trustees. Nine trustees are appointed by the governor for five-year terms, renewable once; one alumni trustee is elected by the alumni association for a five-year term, renewable once; and a student trustee is elected by the student body for one year.

Budget
The university’s annual operating budget for FY11 is $130 million; state appropriations account for approximately 40 percent of this amount.

Endowment
The Salem State Foundation's FY09 endowment market value is in excess of $16 million.

Tuition and fees (FY11)
Undergraduate day students (12 credits/semester):
Full-time, in-state                 
$7,230 per year
              
Full-time, out-of-state   
$13,370 per year
(12 credits/semester)

Undergraduate evening students
In-state   
$705 per course

Out-of-state 
$810 per course

Undergraduate room and board begins at $4,592 per semester.

Graduate students:
In-state   
$870 per three credit course

Out-of-state 
$1,170 per three credit course

Graduate students are not housed on campus.

Financial Aid
Nearly 69 percent of students received in excess of $45 million in aid during the FY09 academic year.

Transfer Students
Salem State welcomes approximately 1,100 transfer students annually.

Campus
Salem State occupies 115 acres on five campuses less than a mile from downtown Salem.
The university is home to:
--Approximately 2,000 undergraduate resident students in three residence halls and two residential complexes
--Approximately 5,725 undergraduate commuter students
--A new library is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2012

Student body 
The university's (FY10) student population is comprised of:

Athletics
Salem State offers its students a chance to compete in intramural athletic clubs and in a variety of competitive intercollegiate conferences.
Salem State fields men's and women's teams in 17 sports.
Athletic teams compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III, the Little East Conference (LEC), the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC), the National Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA) Division III, and the New England College Athletic Conference (NECAC).

Salem State offers three different spirit groups, including basketball and ice hockey cheerleading, and the dance team.

Intercollegiate Sports:
  Baseball (m)
  Basketball (m/w)
  Cross Country (m/w)
  Field Hockey (w)
  Golf (m)
  Ice Hockey (m)
  Lacrosse (m)
  Soccer (m/w)
  Softball (w)
  Tennis (m/w)
  Volleyball (w)
  Club Ice Hockey (w)
  Club Lacrosse (w)

Student Life
Student life at Salem State features:
--A national, award-winning residence life program
--Opportunities for civic engagement and volunteer/community service
--Comprehensive career services with experiential learning opportunities
--Numerous student leadership programs
--Comprehensive multicultural programs and services
--Army and Air Force ROTC

Faculty
--Undergraduate student/faculty ratio: 18 to 1
--256 full-time faculty have earned doctorates (2009)
--74 full-time faculty have earned master's degrees or the equivalent

Among our faculty are:
--New England's 2008 Sociologist of the Year (The New England Sociological Association)
--Recipient of the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association's Counselor Educator of the Year Award
--Nine recent Fulbright Scholars

Academics
--29 majors and 59 minors
--More accreditations than any other public institution of higher education in Massachusetts
--Accredited by both the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
--Part of the Leadership Program of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
--A recipient of the Commonwealth Honors designation for its honors program
--Active cultivation of academic partnerships with colleges and universities throughout the world, including China, Japan and the Middle East

Top ten majors (in descending order)
Business Administration
Nursing
Education
Criminal Justice
Biology
Psychology
Communications
Sport and Movement Science
English
History

Impact on the region
--Salem State University is the second largest employer in the city of Salem and one of the top five employers on the North Shore
--The university generated more than $376 million in economic spending in Massachusetts in FY06, over $210 million of spending in Essex County and over $61 million in the city of Salem
--Salem State creates jobs for 1,263 Massachusetts residents, including 305 in Salem and 997 throughout Essex County

Civic Engagement
Our university community is engaged: 
--Students, faculty, staff and alumni participate in a multitude of civic engagement activities in Salem, the greater North Shore region, and throughout Massachusetts each year.
--Partnering organizations include but are not limited to: Danvers Historical Society, Greater Salem Boys & Girls Club, Haiti Relief Efforts, Lifebridge (Salem), Metrowest Humane Society (Ashland), Salem Sound Coastwatch, YMCA of the North Shore (Beverly), and Youth Opportunities Upheld, Inc. (Worcester).
--The university’s green commitment extends beyond reducing its negative environmental impacts to enhancing its positive impact by instilling sustainable ideals in the students, staff and faculty. Highlights of our efforts to lessen energy use and improve the environment include: new construction must be eligible for LEED® certification; retrofitting light fixtures with high efficiency models; replacing old heating and cooling controls; maintaining a paper recycling program; restoring the Central Campus tidal marsh channels to boost salinity and water flow; and the soft shell clam propagation and reseeding efforts at Cat Cove.
--Salem State has recently established a Center for Economic Development and Sustainability to provide resources, research opportunities and data relevant to the economic development and sustainability of the North Shore region.