About Salem State

Facts & Figures

President
Dr. Patricia Maguire Meservey

The College
Salem State College, 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 College enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing 27 states and 65 nations, and is one of the largest state colleges 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 5-year terms, renewable once; one alumni trustee is elected by the Alumni Association for a single 5-year term; and a student trustee is elected by the student body for one year.

Budget
The college's annual operating budget for FY09 is $118,519,670 million; state appropriations account for approximately 40 percent of this.

Endowment
The Salem State College Foundation's FY08 endowment market value is in excess of $12 million.

Tuition and fees (08-09)
Undergraduate day students (12 credits/semester):
Full-time, in-state                 
$6,520 per year
              
Full-time, out-of-state   
$12,660 per year
(12 credits/semester)

Undergraduate evening students
* In-state   
$190 per credit

* Out-of-state  
$225 per credit

Undergraduate room and board begins at $3,942 per semester.

Graduate students:
* In-state   
$250 per credit

* Out-of-state  
$340 per credit
Graduate students are not housed on campus.

Financial Aid
Nearly 70 percent of students received in excess of $38 million in aid during the FY2008 academic year.

Transfer Students
Salem State welcomes approximately 1,000 transfer students annually.

Campus
Salem State occupies 112 acres on five campuses less than a mile from downtown Salem.
The college is home to:
* approximately 1,500 undergraduate resident students in two dormitories and two residential complexes; a new 525-bed residence hall and dining facility is under construction
* approximately 6,200 undergraduate commuter students
* a new library will begin construction in 2010

Student body 
The college's (FY09) student population is comprised of:

Alumni Body
Total number of living alumni: 45,659
Massachusetts residents: 36,208
Other U.S. residents: 9,260
International: 191

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 21 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).

Intercollegiate Sports:
* Baseball (m)
* Basketball (m/w)
* Cross country (m/w)
* Field hockey (w)
* Golf (m)
* Ice hockey (m)
* Indoor track and field (m/w)
* Lacrosse (m)
* Outdoor track and field (m/w)
* Soccer (m/w)
* Softball (w)
* Tennis (m/w)
* Volleyball (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 multi-cultural programs and services
* Army and Air Force ROTC

Faculty
* undergraduate student/faculty ratio: 17 to 1
* 242 full-time faculty have earned doctorates (2008)
* 88 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
-- Three recent Fulbright Scholars

Academics
* 29 majors and 59 minors
* more accreditations than any other public institution of higher education in Massachusetts
* the only state college in Massachusetts accredited by both the National League for Nursing and 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
Psychology
Biology
Communications
Sport and Movement Science
English

Impact on the region
* Salem State College is the second largest employer in the city of Salem and one of the top five employers on the North Shore
* The college 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 3,459 Massachusetts residents, including 593 in Salem and 1,978 throughout Essex County

Civic Engagement
Our college community is engaged 
* Students from the college volunteer in the city, in the region and beyond as tutors, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Hurricane Katrina aid workers, and in other capacities
* Faculty and staff participate in Massachusetts' SERV program, contributing one day a month to voluntary service on behalf of regional non-profit organizations.
* Our alumni represent us both locally and globally, and their success brings honor to their alma mater
* At Salem State, we've prepared congressmen and mayors, Emmy-winning actresses, an NBA coach, several nationally-recognized teachers of the year, and the founders of major companies
* Over 80 percent of our 48,000 living alumni reside in the commonwealth of Massachusetts; 39 percent reside in Essex County
* Salem State is an increasingly green campus and has established a flourishing recycling program, cleared its Central Campus tidal marsh channels to boost salinity and water flow, established a soft shell clam propagation and reseeding effort at its Cat Cove aquaculture center, and is increasingly landscaping the campus with native trees and shrubs.