Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a school of dreams, students banding together to form a collective union of leaders, ready to take on the world. Armed with plentiful resources, countless career paths and endless opportunities, students are strapped for success and ready to pursue creativity and innovation.
Prospective Students
So you want to be a Shocker? Wichita State University offers an abundance of undergraduate and graduate level courses. Get your degree in a variety of fields from aerospace engineering to music and arts studies. Wichita State allows students to choose from more than 150 career paths or design their own courses of study through a nationally recognized accredited program.
The university welcomes traditional and non-traditional students with a 95 percent acceptance rate. Wichita State also encourages people to get involved with National Student Exchange and Study Abroad programs, both of which allow students to attend school elsewhere while paying WSU in-state prices. Attendees can also get real-world experience though cooperative education and internships maintained for college credit.
Student Life
Ask 100 different students what they love about Wichita State and you might get 100 different answers, many of which related back to student life and the ability to create their own unique college experience. At Wichita State University, students are encouraged to get involved with a multitude of organizations, fraternities, sororities and groups.
With on-campus housing, those who live on-campus have the luxury of study groups and around-the-clock socialization. While on campus, students will find activities, restaurants, stores, jobs and other resources looking to help tailor the college experience to their individual needs.
The university entertains more than 200 registered student organization, fraternities, sororities and intramural sports teams. If for some reason none of those interest you, there is plenty opportunity to form your own group. Wichita State also offers an immense student center, known as “The Rhatigan” or the “RSC,” equipped with bowling, video games, pool tables, an art gallery, bookstore and a food court.
Traditions
Every college has its own set of traditions that maintain campus spirit every year. In that regard, Wichita State University is no different. But, when it comes to carrying out age-old celebrations, there is no college that brings as much spirit to the party as the Shockers.
- Welcomefest - An all-out welcome back party equipped with food, fun, live music, inflatables, carnival games and prizes, and don’t forget free T-shirts for those who show up early. This two-week campus celebration happens at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. You never know what you’re going to see from intense team competitions and men walking around in high heels to people dripping in glow-in-the-dark paint.
- Hippodrome - This tradition is one of the oldest college traditions in the country. One of WSU’s most famous, Hippodrome brings the campus together through a full week of events. Some of the favorite activities include best leg competitions, hippo calling contests, casino nights and hilarious on-stage performances completely written and produced by Shocker students.
- Shocktoberfest - For one full week every October, student involvement coordinators put together an array of events to support many student organizations and campus departments. Some activities include a fall festival, door decorating competition and breakfast with Wichita State University president, John Bardo. The organization with the most points after all the competitions wins the coveted 5-foot-tall Shocktoberfest trophy and bragging rights for the next year.
Wichita State University History
Formerly called Fairmount College, Wichita State University has been around since 1895. That’s only about 25 years after Wichita was established as a city. The small Christian college has grown into a larger Division I academic paradise with more than 14,000 students.
Campus diversity has grown over the years, putting Wichita State at #6 when it comes to the number of international students at any doctoral-granting college in the country.
WuShock
With the birth of a mascot in the early 1900s, WSU created a sense of pride through college sports. At first, it was football. Today, Wichita has a basketball state of mind with the Shockers men’s basketball team gaining national attention after appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Similar to the creation of the Wichita flag, Wichita State’s mascot was born out of a design contest. But before there was WuShock, there was simply, the Wheatshockers. The name came from a nickname the football coach called his players, as most worked harvesting (or shocking) wheat in the summer to make money.
In 1948, Wilbur Elsea won a Kappa Pi Fraternity contest by embodying the school’s spirit into a visual symbol. Later, Jack Kersting suggested the name “Wu,” based on the college’s form name, Wichita University, or WU. Thus, WuShock was born. The mascot celebrates his 70th birthday in 2018 and still brings cheers when he makes an appearance on campus or in the community.
Learn more about your endless opportunities to grow and learn at Wichita State University, or enroll today at www.wichita.edu.