| Location: | Southeast |
| Setting: | Large Town Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Affiliation: | Seventh Day Adventists |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
Southern Adventist University, serving local, national, and international constituents, provides learning in a Christian environment where all are encouraged to pursue truth, wellness, and a life of service.
Southern Adventist University is a liberal arts university located in Collegedale, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The university operates a radio station, WSMC-FM, which plays mainly classical music as well as news from the BBC, National Public Radio, and Public Radio International. The station also provides live broadcasts of services from the Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Southern's roots stem from the establishment of Graysville Academy in Graysville, Tennessee, in 1892. The school moved to the community of Thatcher's Switch in 1916, renaming it Collegedale.
In 1942, Kenneth A. Wright became president of the school. During Wright's administration, Southern Junior College became accredited as a four-year institution. A new name, Southern Missionary College, was adopted in 1944. Two men and four women received Southern's first baccalaureate degrees two years later.
It earned the nickname "Southern Matrimony College" because many young people married while attending Southern.
Renamed Southern College of Seventh-day Adventists in 1982, the school became a university in 1996. On September 9, 1996, trustees voted on a new name: Southern Adventist University.
In mid-1997 Gordon Bietz became president of Southern Adventist University. Academic expansion has continued, with 10 graduate degrees now offered in business, education, psychology, nursing, computing, and religion. Fifty baccalaureate degrees are offered, 20 associate degrees, 38 minors, and two one-year certificate programs.
In the fall of 2005, undergraduate enrollment reached a record high in the school's 113-year history with 2,390 students pursuing their undergraduate degrees and 132 students studying for their graduate degrees. Southern is the largest undergraduate institution in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
On the morning of April 26, 2005, a fire broke out in the Thatcher Hall Dormitory. One student died and two others were injured. Though the fire has been ruled an accident, the cause has yet to be determined. The area of the building in which the fire occurred was not equipped with fire sprinklers, though smoke detectors and fire alarms were in place and functioned properly. Sprinkler systems are primarily, however, designed for building protection and not life safety (It should be noted that when fire sprinklers became mandatory the buildings predating this mandate were not required to be retrofitted with them provided that smoke detectors and fire alarms were in place and functional.) Sprinklers, as well as other fire safety measures that go well beyond what is required, have been installed in Thatcher Hall.
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| Percent of Students International: | 4% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 76% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 14,020 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 13,580 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 440 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 4,029 | 30% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 1,271 | 1% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 4,272 | 64% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 4,125 | 65% | |
Any Aid: |
77% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 74% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 46% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 410, Math: 410 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 540, Math: 500 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 73% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 19, Verbal: 19, Math: 17 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 24, Verbal: 25, Math: 24 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Recommended |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Not Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Not Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
