History

• TSU opened its doors in 1912 as the Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School at Nashville with 247 students. The campus at that time consisted of two barns and a few farm houses. In 1922, TSU became a four-year teachers college and was allowed to confer bachelor's degrees. The first graduating class consisted of seven men and one woman. In 1927 the name became Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial (A&I) State Teachers College and in 1951 became a university. The name was changed to Tennessee State University in 1968. In 1979, The University of Tennessee at Nashville became part of Tennessee State University and is now known as the Avon Williams Campus. The first Chair of Excellence in the College of Business was established in 1992 to be followed by chairs in environmental engineering and banking. Phi Kappa Phi granted TSU a charter in 1993, and every year since 1994 TSU has been listed as one of the nation's top institutions of higher education in the U.S. News & World Report "Guide to America's Best Colleges."
  
  

Undergraduate Programs

• There are eight undergraduate departments at TSU, the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science, College of Health Sciences, College of Public Service and Urban Affairs, School of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences and the School of Nursing.
  
  

Graduate Programs

• TSU has a total of 24 master's, six certificate and seven doctoral graduate programs in agriculture, arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, health sciences, government and nursing.
  
  

Research

• Research conducted at TSU includes the Otis L. Floyd Nursery Crops Research Station in McMinnville, Tennessee. In 1999, researchers at the TSU Center for Automated Space Science were the first ever to discover a planet outside of our own solar system. Research is conducted in astronomy, advanced control systems, systems identification, applied mathematics, management information systems, economic and community development, information fusion technologies, urban development, small and minority businesses, entrepreneurship and more.
  
  

Sports Programs

• Men's sports programs include basketball, football, golf, tennis and track/cross country. Women's include basketball, golf, softball, tennis, track/cross country and volleyball. TSU is affiliated with the NCAA and is in the Ohio Valley Conference.