"Keene State College has done something very right by instituting an Honors Program and then picking the students to be in a living community together."
– Corey Smith,
member of the first
Honors cohort, 2007-08
Keene State's academic roots go back to its founding in 1909, when 27 students entered the two-year "normal school" to be trained as teachers for rural classrooms.
The school became a four-year institution in 1939 and joined the University System of New Hampshire in 1963. Keene State is ready to reflect on its 100 years of progress and embrace its future.
Today the College has more than 5,000 students on its 170-acre campus and offers nearly 40 programs of study.
Teacher education is still an important part of the curriculum, enriched by a solid liberal arts experience in disciplines from architecture to theatre and dance.
With a 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio, every student has access to professors, creating a scholarly community built on clear expectations and goals. Keene State's four-credit curriculum shapes a strong sense of engagement and intellectual excitement.
Some students come to Keene State ready to focus on a particular program of study. Others take a year or two to sample the diversity of our course offerings, often choosing majors they had never imagined.
Keene State's new Integrative Studies Program brings excitement and insight to required general-education courses, deepening student engagement while lifting the levels of learning and connection. First-year seminars in "Thinking and Writing" and "Quantitative Literacy" apply abstract concepts to practical settings, helping students connect knowledge and experience.
Moving the Classroom into the Community
Keene State students transcend the boundaries of the classroom by undertaking academic service-learning projects, moving into partnerships with community organizations and businesses as part of their academic work.
Students also expand their classroom work by engaging in primary research with professors, often using the Keene community as their laboratory. Students and professors work as partners in the process of learning.
As Keene State approaches its centennial in 2009, the College is more committed than ever to bringing education to life and modeling the role of the good citizen. We know this: Our future lies in the hands and hearts and minds of our students, and they will make the world a better place.
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Founded as Keene Normal School, KSC was Keene Teachers College from the late 1930s to the early 60s. While you can still get an excellent education in education here, we’ve been a liberal arts college for the nearly 50 years.
