Ouachita Baptist University

Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is a private, liberal arts, undergraduate institution located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, which is about 65 miles southwest of Little Rock. The university's name is 

taken from the Ouachita (pronounced Wash'-uh-taw) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. The student body is approximately 45% male and 55% female.

Ouachita Baptist University was founded as Ouachita Baptist College on September 6, 1886 and has operated continually since that date. It was originally located on the campus of Ouachita Baptist High School. Its present location is on the former campus of the Arkansas School for the Blind, which relocated to Little Rock.

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Ouachita Baptist University focuses on undergraduate programs in the liberal arts. It offers 64 degree programs in eight academic schools: School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Frank D. Hickingbotham School of Business, Chesley and Elizabeth Pruett School of Christian Studies, Michael D. Huckabee

 School of Education, School of Fine Arts, Sutton School of Social Sciences, J. D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences, and School of Humanities. Most students earn a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), but the school also offers Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Bachelor of Music (B.M.), and Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) programs. Study abroad programs are offered through the Center for International Studies.

 Two classes in religion are part of the core curriculum and graduation requires seven credits of chapel (earned by regular chapel attendance during a semester).

OBU operates on the traditional credit hour system. The student to faculty ratio is approximately 13:1. The university has been highly ranked in a number of college surveys, including being ranked

 the No. 1 Regional College in the South by U.S. News & World Report for several consecutive years starting in 2008. There is a joint Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program with neighboring Henderson State University. The OBU ROTC program dates back to 1886 and has at times been 

called the "West Point of the Ozarks" for the large number of U.S. Army officers it produced.

The University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), National Association for Schools of Music, the

 Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education Programs (CAATE), and the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association