Baker University is a private Christian university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the first university officially founded in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Arts and Sciences and the undergraduate courses in the School of Education are located at the campus in Baldwin City, Kansas. The School of Professional and Graduate Studies (SPGS) and the graduate branch of the SOE serve nontraditional students at campuses in Lee's Summit, Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri, Overland Park, Kansas, Topeka, Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, and Wichita, Kansas. The School of Nursing, which is operated in partnership with Stormont-Vail Health in Topeka, offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master of Science in Nursing degrees.
Enrollment in all four schools has grown to a total student population more than 3,000, with more than 900 students on the Baldwin City campus. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard revealed Baker University graduates on average earn higher salaries than their workforce peers who graduated from other universities in Kansas. Baker University was the highest-ranked Kansas university in the Midwest Regional University rankings of the 2017 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges. Universities are evaluated based on graduation and retention rates, peer assessment, student-to-faculty ratio, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving. U.S. News & World Report collects data from multiple sources, including the universities.
The College of Arts and Sciences offers more than 40 areas of undergraduate study. The School of Education offers several master's degree programs in addition to a doctoral degree in leadership (Ed.D.). The School of Professional and Graduate Studies offers master's degree programs in business, organizational leadership, sports management, and liberal arts.