Company Profile

Company Overview

Grand Valley State University has established a reputation for creating unique learning opportunities that attract top students. Its liberal education focus emphasizes critical thinking, creative problem solving, and cultural understanding. Through personalized learning enhanced by active scholarship, we accomplish our mission of educating students to shape their lives, their professions, and their societies.


How we started

Grand Valley State University was chartered by the Michigan Legislature in 1960 in response to the need for a public, four-year college in the state's second largest metropolitan region. Since the first year, when there were 226 students and 14 faculty members, Grand Valley has become a comprehensive university with more than 24,000 students and more than 800 faculty members. For more information on Grand Valley's first 50 years, visit www.gvsu.edu/anniversary/.


An emphasis on academics

Grand Valley State University offers a wide array of liberal arts and sciences as well as professional degree programs in which the focus is on teaching and learning enhanced by active scholarship. A strong liberal education serves as the foundation for all undergraduate and graduate programs, fostering critical thinking, creative problem solving, and cultural understanding. This combination of educational offerings helps Grand Valley to fulfill its mission of educating students to shape their lives, their professions, and their societies.


Small classes, big thinkers

The average class size at Grand Valley is 27, which allows for more individualized interaction between professors and students. In addition, faculty members, who are actively engaged in their discipline and highly dedicated to teaching, teach all courses. As a result, students are not taught by teaching assistants. Instead they receive the benefit of responsive faculty and the opportunity to develop mentoring relationships.


Growing programs and facilities

The university offers degrees from its campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids, and Holland, and centers in Muskegon, and Traverse City. Students may choose from more than 200 programs, including 78 undergraduate majors and 29 graduate programs. The campuses offer state-of-the-art facilities, ranging from wireless academic buildings to modern living centers and performance and athletic facilities.


Our campuses: something for everyone

The largely residential Allendale Campus is 1,280 acres of beautifully wooded grounds. It incorporates a complete college experience with numerous student organizations, an array of nationally ranked NCAA athletics, and many year-round arts and entertainment events. Nearly 5,300 students live on campus in university living centers and apartments.

The Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus, which includes the L.V. Eberhard Center and Richard M. DeVos Center as well as the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, provides an important link to the business, health, and cultural community of Michigan's second largest city. With its focus on graduate and professional studies, the Pew Grand Rapids Campus serves more than 9,000 students.

Grand Valley's Meijer Campus in Holland gives students the opportunity to take a few classes or earn a complete degree. Full registration, advising, and library services complement its classrooms and laboratories. Grand Valley offers programs at university centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. In Muskegon, the university's Lake Michigan Center is home to Grand Valley's Annis Water Resources Institute. Also located in Muskegon is Grand Valley's Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, a business incubator and research and development center for alternative and renewable energy technologies.


Enriching the community

The university provides public services, art, entertainment, sports, and cultural programs for the region. Grand Valley's School of Communications and Music and Dance Department offer regularly scheduled plays and concerts. The university athletic teams are consistent leaders in their conference. Grand Valley is licensed to operate the region's public television and radio stations, which are affiliated with PBS and NPR, respectively. The WGVU AM/FM radio and TV stations provide local and network broadcasts, and offer educational and hands-on instructional opportunities for Grand Valley students.


Our supporters

Grand Valley has an endowment of $75 million, due in large part to the support and activity of the Grand Valley University Foundation. Gifts to the foundation from friends, alumni, faculty, and staff help ensure the continuation of Grand Valley as a vital public education resource in West Michigan.