ASU is the largest university in the nation-with ambitions to grow even larger, enhance interdisciplinary applied research, and increase socioeconomic diversity. Location in the Valley of the Sun attracts plenty of out-of-staters who like the idea of seeing the sun every day. Administration’s relentless emphasis on growth makes the professional schools and Barrett, The Honors College, the best bets. Strong student support services.

With a history that dates to 1885, Arizona State University has transformed itself over the last decade into the nation’s largest public university. With no pretense of modesty, this mega-university, situated in a desert oasis that is one of the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas, describes itself as the model for a New American University-one where “massive innovation” is the norm and where an interdisciplinary culture is seen as the best means of developing “world-changing ideas.” ASU’s stated goal is to serve any Arizona student qualified for college-level work and, in the process, it has become a national model of how to navigate the emerging demographics of U.S. higher education. Research spending is up, as are student retention and graduation rates. Not surprisingly, ASU can seem overcrowded and overwhelming at times, but it provides motivated students who can find a manageable niche with countless opportunities for work and play.

The most populous of ASU’s four locations, the Tempe campus offers a beautiful blend of palm-lined walkways and contemporary urban architecture. It is home to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and engineering programs. Fifteen minutes by light rail brings you to the Downtown Phoenix campus, which looks like it sounds. It houses journalism, nursing, and public service programs and has a young professionals feel. The Polytechnic campus, a converted Air Force base, specializes in science and technology and boasts a desert arboretum, while West campus has the feel of a liberal arts learning community, with a large central lawn and a focus on interdisciplinary, collaborative studies. Each of the four campuses has a Pat Tillman Veterans Center, which brings together academic and student support services that serve the university’s continually growing enrollment of veterans and their dependents-currently more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The Greek Leadership Village, housing more than 950 students, and adjacent Greek Leadership Community Center recently opened on the Tempe campus.

The academic star at ASU is Barrett, The Honors College, a selective school-within-a-school that serves more than 7,200 students from every school and college across all four campuses. The overwhelming majority of participants reside in a cloistered complex on the Tempe campus that was designed by students, faculty, and staff working with nationally renowned architects. It features multiuse classrooms and meeting spaces, a dining hall, a fitness center, numerous outdoor courtyards, and a central amphitheater. The nation’s first four-year residential honors college within a major public university, Barrett has more than 80 dedicated faculty members who oversee students’ ambitious honors projects.

ASU has 16 undergraduate schools and more than 400 undergraduate majors. Regardless of major, all students must fulfill distribution requirements that include courses in three awareness areas: global, historical, and U.S. cultural diversity. The most popular majors are in business, management, marketing, engineering, biological and biomedical sciences, and social sciences. The School of Sustainability, part of the new College of Global Futures, emphasizes the study of land use and planning models that minimize environmental harm. The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication enjoys state-of-the-art facilities and a strong national reputation, while the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts features an innovative child drama program and nationally recognized majors in architecture, art, design, music, and dance. The sciences (including biochemistry, chemistry, geology, and biology) and social sciences boast first-class facilities, notably the largest university-owned meteorite collection in the world. The School of Earth and Space Exploration is a leading center for research in astronomy and astrophysics. Anthropology benefits from its association with the Institute of Human Origins’ Donald Johanson, who discovered the 3.2-million-year-old fossil skeleton named Lucy. ASU also offers the largest teacher preparation program of any university in the nation. Other unique, interdisciplinary options include majors in forensic science, innovation in society, and global management.

Engineering programs, especially microelectronics, robotics, and computer-assisted manufacturing, are sure bets; the facility for high-resolution microscopy allows students to get a uniquely close-up view of atomic structures. The Fulton Schools of Engineering, composed of six discipline-specific schools, has a presence on the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses and offers a traditional engineering education with an emphasis on designing and creating innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. Future engineers can opt for a B.S. degree or, for those with broader interests, a B.A. The Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative provides engineering students with hands-on lab experience, independent and thesis-based research guided by faculty mentors, and travel to national conferences.

Faculty members are expected to do both teaching and research, preferably with a practical emphasis. As one administrator explains, “We don’t do 30-year longitudinal studies.” And while, according to a geological sciences major, many professors are “excited and passionate about what they do,” students say the university’s emphasis on research can have a negative impact on the classroom experience when professors put their research first. Thirty-seven percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 20 students, and one senior says the academic climate is “mostly relaxed, but focused.” The university has made serious efforts to provide students with strong support services. The First-Year Success Center connects new students with upperclassmen and graduate students for weekly coaching sessions on topics like time management, finances, and health and wellness. Incoming freshmen who are undecided on a major participate in the Major and Career Exploration program, which involves seven-week courses offering opportunities for hands-on career exploration. ASU has drawn national attention for its innovative and patented eAdvisor system that keeps students on track to meet degree requirements and is backed up by a corps of full-time professional advisors. It also guarantees that students will find a place in any required course. The 10 percent of students who study abroad have access to more than 250 programs in more than 65 countries.

“Sun Devils buckle down and focus on what needs to get done,” says a senior. “We love to have fun, but we also love to succeed.” Sixty-eight percent of ASU students are Arizona residents, while 7 percent come from abroad. Twenty-five percent of the undergraduate student body is Hispanic; African Americans contribute 4 percent, Asian Americans 8 percent, and multiracial students 5 percent. Students here can be divided in their politics, but a sophomore says that “classes embrace political discussion in a healthy manner.” ASU offers merit scholarships averaging $7,600 to qualified students and awards more than 450 athletic scholarships annually to athletes in 24 sports. It also guarantees to meet the demonstrated need of any student from Arizona. Thirty-three percent of incoming freshmen qualify for the Pell Grant, and ASU now covers the full tuition costs for Pell-eligible students.

Twenty-five percent of ASU students live in the co-ed dorms. “It is mostly freshmen who choose to live on campus, but our dorms are so nice! I’ve visited several other schools, and ASU has some of the largest rooms,” says one junior. Students don’t have to buy a meal plan, no matter where they live, which many say is a good thing. Some complain about the campus’s “walk-only zones” that prevent students from using bikes (of which there are 14,000), skateboards, or other modes of transportation in certain high-traffic areas. Students say campus security is sufficient, and the Devils in the Bedroom student group helps promote awareness regarding sexual assault prevention.

“Sometimes I feel there is so much stuff going on that I have to pick between two or three things on a day or night or weekend,” says one junior. “But, hey, that’s a good problem to have!” ASU’s Greek system attracts 8 percent of the men and 10 percent of the women, and “small kick-backs in dorms are just as common as huge house parties,” says a sophomore. The campus is officially dry, so many students head off campus on weekends-often far off campus. Many have cars, giving them access to the mountains of Northern Arizona, the lakes on the outskirts of town, and the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. Tempe gets generally positive reviews from students. “It has great restaurants nearby, different shopping centers, and a street called Mill Ave that has stores, food, and bars/nightclubs for the 21-and-over set,” says a communication major. Devils in Disguise, an annual, student-run day of service, sends students out to complete various volunteer projects in the community.

“ASU has an incredible amount of school spirit,” says a junior. Arizona State’s Division I athletics department-supported by a fee required of all students-is consistently ranked among the nation’s best. Women’s triathlon won its fourth straight national championship in 2019. Baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s basketball are competitive in the Pac-12 Conference. Teams are known as the Sun Devils after a meteorological phenomenon, and the biggest rival is the University of Arizona, normally referred to simply as “that school down south.” The first-rate Sun Devil Fitness Complex hosts dozens of intramurals and the huge club sports program, which boasts more than 50 club teams.

Arizona State may seem like an overwhelmingly big school with a reputation for rowdiness, but that’s not the full story. “ASU has gotten away from its party school reputation in recent years,” says a senior. To its credit, ASU likes to pride itself on how many students it accepts, not how many it turns away, and on its strong student support services. Despite common college complaints (“Parking, parking, parking!”), the university gives students much to appreciate. For those not intimidated by its sheer immensity, ASU may be a good place to earn a degree while enjoying a four-year relationship with the sun.

-Fiske Guide