Residents of St. Joseph, Mo., don’t have to travel far to acquire a degree of higher 
education. Within the city of St. Joseph options are offered for higher education opportunities for residents to learn or refine skills, gain knowledge, and earn something that can never be taken from them. With a degree of higher education, individuals can more effectively find the quality jobs that they want and live a life they can enjoy.
Nearly 6,100 students attend Missouri Western State University (MWSU), located on the eastern edge of St. Joseph. MWSU’s higher education opportunities offer undergraduate and graduate courses through 106 major programs and 45 minor programs from which to choose.
While much of MWSU’s enrollment includes students who live within the Northwest Missouri region, MWSU attracts students from 26 states. Having a major state university close to home is convenient for many students who want to stay near family, live at home while they attend college, or who want to maintain their current employment while working on a higher education degree. Students also like the fact that they can gain a degree from a large state university, but still enjoy classes that are small (about 25 in each) and personal.
Missouri Western’s campus is continuously expanding with programs and with new facilities on its 723 acres of land. Some of the latest expansions on the campus have included the Kit Bond Science and Technology Incubator and a state-of-the-art sports facility which is shared by the Kansas City Chiefs football team for its summer training camp. The $2.5 million Science and Technology Incubator is a research facility used by multiple area companies that wish to collaborate with Missouri Western and help further educate their employees in the most recent research.
Through Missouri Western’s partnership with businesses, students gain real-world experiences and make important business contacts before graduation. Students collaborate with business partners through the Science and Technology Incubator, the Craig School of Business, Western Institute, and through partnerships with the University of Missouri- Kansas City.
Also within the city limits, other colleges offer area residents higher education opportunities. Vatterott College offers educational opportunities for jobs in the fields of cosmetology, medical, dental, veterinary, business, legal, personal fitness, and technical trades to, currently, more than 700 students. Vatterott recently opened a brand-new facility for its students. Small class sizes of no more than 30 per class help keep the training more personal.
Hillyard Technical Center, also located in St. Joseph, educates almost as many students as Vatterott. Its programs include areas such as horticulture, construction, medical, business, computer science, architecture, welding, and machine technology. The American College of Technology offers area residents and others the choice to take their courses online. Students can conveniently take online courses in criminal justice, business, industrial technology, or in various medical fields.
While St. Joseph offers multiple higher education opportunities for its area residents, other higher education opportunities are also within an hour away. Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU) is just about 45 minutes north of St. Joseph, but also has a St. Joseph location for students. Benedictine College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City are also just a short drive away. For residents in the St. Joseph region, education is never out of their reach.
To see more on the educational opportunities offered in St. Joseph, visit our education page.
