Henderson State University in Arkadelphia is Arkansas’s Public Liberal Arts University. Believing that a liberal arts education is essential for all undergraduates regardless of their specific educational interests, Henderson has developed a program based on a comprehensive core of courses in the arts and sciences.

The heart of Henderson’s commitment to providing a strong program based in the arts and sciences is found in the Matt Locke Ellis College of Arts and Sciences. Named after the tenth president of the university, the Ellis College provides not only a strong, common core curriculum for all undergraduate students, but features numerous strong academic programs in the arts and sciences.

Students can work closely with faculty in music, art, languages, sciences, and history. Theatre and communications classes are located in the recently restored and expanded Arkansas Hall that features a 162-seat studio theatre and the latest in digital equipment in television studios.

While the arts and sciences form the strong foundation for all academic programs at Henderson, the university has a long and proud history in teacher education and business administration as well. Henderson has long been a leader in teacher education and continues to produce many of the finest teachers in the region through Teachers College, Henderson. The institution is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for a number of undergraduate and graduate programs in education, including the Educational Specialist degree.

Henderson also offers a complete program in business administration and is one of the smallest universities in the United States to be accredited at both the graduate and undergraduate levels by the AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Within the School of Business, Henderson also offers the only professional, four-year university-level aviation program in the state.

Henderson has also recently added degrees in athletic training and in general studies.

Henderson’s Honors College shares the university’s goal “to excel in undergraduate education, always striving to enrich the quality of learning and teaching.” The Honors College program continues to attract students who are among the most “highly motivated toward achieving academic success.”