ELCOME to the part of a university Web site where you might expect to see photos of ivy-covered walls and good-looking students alongside profound claims of superiority and inclusion in the US News & World Report college ratings. Well, we've got lots of photos like that and we are highly rated by that magazine. But that's not the essence of James Madison University. Who our students become is our essence. That's what makes JMU special. Our mission statement says it all:

So everything on our beautiful campus in the center of the Shenandoah Valley is designed, built and run with the success of our 15,000 students in mind. Faculty and students here share an unusually close relationship for a university our size. Our curriculum is innovative and alive. Campus life is vibrant - everything at JMU is compelled by delivering on the promise made by our mission.

What's most notable about the JMU experience is the incredibly high level of student involvement in the classroom, the lab and activities around and off campus. The amount of undergraduate research in the sciences here has been cited as peerless. Our Service Learning Program is nationally known for giving students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real world situations. Internships are an integral part of our curriculum. All this adds up to an education that offers students an opportunity to apply what they learn and to see what works. And knowing what works is the key to leading a productive and meaningful life.

Now as we near our centennial celebration in 2008, the university is strengthening its link to the great American for whom we're named. And while James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution and America's fourth president, we hold in equal esteem his thoughts on learning. In a letter to a friend in 1822 Madison wrote:

A democracy can be tyranny to those without learning. That's why the word 'citizen' is in our mission statement. We take Madison's eloquent words to heart every day.

If you would like information about specific aspects of JMU, follow the links listed at the upper left.