Drake University - Overview
Drake University: Potential + Opportunity
With more than 70 majors in 6 colleges and schools, cutting-edge facilities and technology, professional and pre-professional programs, and options for undecided students, Drake University provides plenty of opportunity for students to meet their full potential.
At Drake, students can pursue interdisciplinary concentrations, design personal academic plans, combine majors, engage in independent studies or research, or create their own majors. Some of the most popular majors include journalism, business, pharmacy, law, science, liberal arts, and fine arts.
An emphasis on community service and responsibility enriches the lives of Drake students and reinforces the university's mission to prepare students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments, and responsible global citizenship.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty member ratio is 13:1. Of Drake's 275 full-time, associate, and assistant professors and instructors, 87 percent hold the highest degree in their field. These individuals are the ones who teach and inspire Drake students.
Students' Passion + A Vibrant Community
Drake's 3,300 undergraduate students come from 50 states and approximately 50 countries, which means students will meet people and make friends from a wide range of backgrounds. Drake's 150-acre campus is nestled in a residential neighborhood in the heart of Des Moines -- just 10 minutes from downtown and within easy access of all the opportunities in the political, cultural, and business hub of Iowa.
Approximately 97 percent of first-year students live in the residence halls, all of which have been renovated within the past six years. First-year students at Drake live in Carpenter, Crawford, Herriott, and Stalnaker residence halls, affectionately nicknamed "The Quads," and Morehouse Hall.
First-year students are assigned to one of these residence halls with other first-year students who have similar academic interests. This is where students meet their first friends on campus -- their roommates and neighbors -- and other individuals from many different backgrounds, both geographic and cultural. As students share hallways and social areas, they also share the Drake experience.
International Experience + Your Interests
Drake University offers study abroad options in more than 60 countries -- from Argentina to Wales. Opportunities include studies in a variety of subject areas and range from a few weeks in the summer to a full year abroad. Students who study abroad may also choose internships, service projects, intensive language study, or home-stays with local families, giving them great exposure to local culture.
Affordability + Results
The university is committed to ensuring that a Drake education is affordable, offering need-based as well as merit-based assistance and scholarships. Approximately 98 percent of Drake full-time undergraduate students receive financial aid, including both merit- and need-based assistance.
Drake awards more than 5,000 scholarships each year and more than $70 million in financial assistance is provided to Drake undergraduate students. Domestic students entering Drake direct from high school in fall 2010 averaged $15,640 in combined grants, scholarships, need-based loans, and need-based work study.
Nearly all Drake graduates (96 percent in 2009-10) find career employment or enter graduate school within six months after receiving their degrees.
Your Skills + Extracurricular Options
Drake students can choose to participate in more than 160 clubs and social and student organizations, most open to first-year students, including student government and professional societies. The university also has more than 20 intramural and club sports. Drake competes at the NCAA Division I athletics level as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Pioneer Football League.
One of the most notable weeks of the year on campus is Relays Week. Launched in 1910, the Drake Relays is one of the top track and field meets in the world. More than 20,000 spectators, 220 college and university teams, and world-class athletes come to campus for the spring event known as America's Athletic Classic