Arkansas State University

Arkansas State University International Student Insurance

Arkansas State University, located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, was founded in 1909. It opened as the First District Agricultural School, a regional agricultural training school, and it began offering two-year degrees in 1918 and four-year degrees in 1930. In 1933, it became Arkansas State College. By 1967, the Arkansas Legislature granted the school university status, and it gained its present name. A-State is the flagship school of the Arkansas State University System and, with a yearly enrollment of more than 14,000, the second-largest university by enrollment in the state. The school’s colors are scarlet, black, and white, and its athletic nickname is the Red Wolves.

The school has two satellite campuses in Paragould, Arkansas, and Queretaro, Mexico, which opened in 2017 as Mexico’s first American-style university. It also partners with the New York Institute of Technology’s College of Osteopathic Medicine as Arkansas’ first medical school of its kind and with O’Reilly Management for the Red Wolf Convention Center and Embassy Suites.

On Campus

Arkansas State University has gained prominence for its nursing program and its journalism program. The College of Media and Communication opened in 2013 and houses three student media outlets—a TV station, a student newspaper, and an Internet-based student radio station—as well as the oldest NPR Radio affiliate west of the Mississippi River.

Notable Alumni

Notable A-State alumni include former Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe; comedian Rodger Bumpass, who voices the character Squidward in SpongeBob SquarePants; NFL players David Johnson, Cleo Lemon, Chris Odom, and Kyle Richardson; and Miss America 1990 Debbye Turner.