Savannah State University

For 128 years, Savannah State University has been an important part of higher education. As the oldest public HBCU in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the historic city of Savannah, SSU has served this community with distinction while meeting the educational needs of an increasingly diverse student population.

Savannah State University, the oldest public historically black university in the State of Georgia, develops productive members of a global society through high quality instruction, scholarship, research, service and community involvement.

The University fosters engaged learning and personal growth in a student-centered environment that celebrates the African American legacy while nurturing a diverse student body. Savannah State University offers graduate and undergraduate studies including nationally accredited programs in the liberal arts, the sciences and the professions.

Savannah State University will become the institution of choice in our region, where students maximize their potential in a nurturing environment that embraces social and intellectual diversity. The university will create an efficient, student-centered culture, responsive to the needs of its stakeholders, supportive of ideals and ethical verities, and loyal to its rich legacy and heritage.

Here you will find a multitude of opportunities for a world-class education. Every day at Savannah State University is filled with new challenges that will inspire your dreams and nurture your goals as you develop personally and academically in a stimulating environment. Your explorations will equip you with the preparation and experience to help you succeed in any endeavor that you choose. We look forward to seeing you on campus.

Living on campus in a close-knit, nurturing environment gives you the opportunity to realize the complete college experience. You will live and thrive in a supportive atmosphere surrounded by others sharing the same life-changing experiences, academically and socially, in a vibrant university setting.

Convenient to all campus activities, Savannah State housing includes options for different budgets and lifestyles. Traditional residence halls and the modern, well-planned freshman suites are ideal for students new to the university.

University Village, a campus apartment complex, is the top choice for upperclassmen. The village features fully furnished one, two and four bedroom apartments that include small kitchens, Internet access, cable TV and local phone service. All residential buildings include laundry facilities and computer labs.

The Counseling Center provides free, confidential, personal counseling and support to all students at SSU. We know that college life is a transitional period marked by change, pressure and stress. Therefore, our goal is to help students understand this period, find ways of coping and grow from their experiences.

Savannah State University's Disability staff is committed to working with students with disabilities to assess their needs and to assist with academic accommodations that may be necessary and appropriate due to their disability. We are committed to assisting each student reach his/her maximum potential through the pursuit of educational goals. The primary goal is to assure equal access to all aspects of the college experience for students with disabilities through reasonable accommodation.

Savannah State University (SSU) is the oldest public historically black college or university in the state of Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah. The school was established in 1890 as a result of the Second Morrill Land Grant Act, which mandated that southern and border states develop land-grant colleges for black citizens. Later that year, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation creating the Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youths, which served as Georgia’s 1890 land-grant institution until 1947. A preliminary session of the Georgia State Industrial College was held in the Baxter Street School Building in Athens, Ga., before moving to Savannah in October 1891. Richard R. Wright, Sr., was appointed the first president of the institution in 1891, which opened with five faculty members and eight students.

The college awarded its first degree in 1898 to Richard R. Wright, Jr., the son of the founding president and became the ninth president of Wilberforce University. Cyrus G. Wiley of the class of 1902 was the first alumnus to become college president in 1921, the same year the first female students were admitted as residents on campus. In 1928, the college became a four-year, degree-granting institution, ending its high school and normal school programs.

Savannah State continues to engage in groundbreaking research. SSU sent cutting-edge genetic material from campus laboratories to the International Spaces Station (ISS) in 2014. Savannah State has also earned two patents in 2016. One allows for the collection and harvest of organic material necessary for long-distance space travel. The other is a new chemical that has implications for treating Alzheimer's, ALS and dementia.

SSU is expanding its facilities with two new science and technology buildings. The university purchased property on Livingston Avenue where a new 17,000 square foot marine sciences laboratory is being constructed. On the main campus, work is underway on a new two-story, 30,000 square foot building to house engineering technology and chemistry laboratories.

Doubling its enrollment from 2001-2011, Savannah State is now home to an increasingly diverse student body of more than 4,900. Under the leadership of its 13th president, Cheryl Davenport Dozier, DSW, since May 2011, the university has embarked upon a new era — building upon the rich legacy of academic excellence and community engagement that has defined it for the last 127 years.