Youngstown State University Youngstown State University , founded in 1908 , is an urban research university located in Youngstown , Ohio , United States . As of fall 2010 , there were 15 , 194 students and a student - faculty ratio of 19 : 1 . The fall 2010 enrollment figure is the highest since 1990 , when the number of students on campus was 15 , 454 . Records show that 11 , 803 of the students are undergraduates . Beyond its current student body , YSU claims more than 84 , 000 alumni . History . The university ' s origins trace back to 1908 , when the local branch of the YMCA established a school of law within the Youngstown Association School . In 1921 , the school became known as the Youngstown Institute of Technology and offered its first evening courses . In 1928 , a year after establishing the College of Arts and Sciences , the institute once again changed its name to Youngstown College . In 1955 , Youngstown College was renamed as Youngstown University , an indication of the school ' s broadening curriculum . ( note : A private for profit Youngstown College was formed in 1987 and had no affiliation with YSU . The college closed its doors in mid 2000 due to financial issues . ) On September 1 , 1967 , after becoming a public institution , Youngstown University became officially known as Youngstown State University . The following spring , YSU opened a Graduate School and College of Applied Science and Technology . In 1974 , the College of Fine and Performing Arts was established . Statistics . As of fall 2010 , the student body totaled 15 , 194 . YSU has approximately 2 , 100 full and part - time employees , and 426 full - time faculty with 543 part - time faculty . 165 faculty members boast full - professor rank , with 79 % of the instructors holding doctorate s or terminal degree s . The university boasts a student to faculty ratio of 19 : 1 . Tuition for undergraduate students living in Ohio is $ 7 , 199 , $ 7 , 399 for undergraduate students coming from western Pennsylvania ( Allegheny , Beaver , Butler , Crawford , Erie , Lawrence , Mercer , Venango , PA ) , $ 9 , 891 for undergraduate students from the regional service area ( Chautauqua , NY ; Armstrong , Clarion , Fayette , Forest , Greene , Indiana , Jefferson , Warren , Washington , and Westmoreland , PA ; Brooke , Hancock , Marshall , and Ohio , WV ) , and $ 12 , 871 for all other out - of - state undergraduate students , including international students . Graduate tuition is $ 7 , 337 / academic year for Ohio residents , while all other graduate students ( including international students ) pay just $ 150 per academic year ( $ 8 . 34 per credit hour ) in addition to the in - state tuition . Room and board cost an additional $ 7 , 600 . YSU will often note that these tuitions are the lowest of any public university in Ohio . YSU is primarily a commuter school , with most students living at home or in residence off campus , but approximately 1 , 000 students live in residence halls on campus . Another 400 live in the University Courtyard apartment complexes just off campus . About 1 . 5 % of the student body are international students from approximately 45 countries . YSU is currently trying to get more students to live on campus , with initiatives such as mandatory on - campus housing for students in the Leslie H . Cochran University Scholars program , which is Youngstown State ' s full ride academic scholarship program . One of the goals for the university ' s centennial in 2008 is to have 20 percent of the student body living on campus . There are over 500 , 000 volumes at the campus ' William F . Maag Library , and participation in the OhioLINK program gives access to the collections of 84 other Ohio institutions . The Wilcox Curriculum Resource Center in Beeghly Hall complements the resources available at Maag . YSU is participating in the Youngstown Early College program , through which students from the Youngstown City School District can take courses for college credit while in high school . The program is in its fifth year , and has approximately 290 students in the ninth through twelfth grades . Youngstown Early college has also had their first graduating class in Spring 2008 . YSU is currently phasing out its affiliation with Youngstown Early College , with Eastern Gateway Community College taking over full operations away from YSU by 2013 . Campus . YSU lies on a campus just north of downtown Youngstown . Although it is not located near any outstanding geographical features , that has not stopped Youngstown State ' s campus from being noted for its landscaping , which is dissimilar from that of many other urban universities . YSU ' s geographical center has a park - like atmosphere , featuring a rather - hilly terrain and a variety of trees and plant life , as well as tables and chairs that surround a campus fountain . Most buildings on campus have been built within the last half - century , making them newer than most buildings in downtown Youngstown , where most buildings were constructed before the Great Depression . Buildings . Jones Hall , often the building that welcomes people coming onto the YSU campus , is also one of the campus ' s oldest buildings , having been built in 1931 , when YSU was known as Youngstown College . Its history as the " main building " of the campus continues today , as it is perhaps the best - known and most photographed building of the whole campus . The building was renamed Jones Hall in honor of the institutions first president , Dr . Howard Jones . Today , the building is used as mainly administrative office space . The Rayen School of Engineering and Engineering Technology is housed in Moser Hall , completed in 1967 . The university ' s geological and environmental sciences department shares the space , and also sponsor the Clarence R . Smith Mineral Museum . Science programs are housed in Ward - Beecher Science Hall . The newer addition to YSU is the Andrews Wellness and Recreation Center . Completed in time for the fall 2005 semester , the Andrews Center gave YSU a complete gym facility , as well as a climbing wall and racquetball courts . Bliss Hall , completed in 1977 and featuring two auditoriums , is the home of the College of Fine and Performing Arts , including the Departments of Art , Communication ( including communication studies and telecommunication studies ) , Theater & Dance , and the Dana School of Music . Next door to Bliss Hall is the McDonough Museum of Art , YSU ' s University Art Museum and the Mahoning Valley ' s center for contemporary art . The Museum has regular changing exhibitions by regional , national and international artists and provides public access to the work of students , faculty and alumni from the Department of Art . Beeghly Hall was completed in 1998 at a cost of $ 14 million . The Beeghly College of Education resides there , and it also hosts several programs open to the community , such as the Community Counseling Center . Beeghly , which is located away from the campus proper , is planned to be linked to the rest of the campus through a main pedestrian pathway , a plan that ran into trouble . Kilcawley Center is primarily a resource and community center on campus . It features reading and study rooms , computer labs , a copying center , YSU ' s bookstore , a variety of restaurants ( including a Wendy ' s and Denny ' s ) , and many student - affairs offices . There are also many meeting and seminar rooms , which can be rented out for events by the community . Williamson College of Business Administration is the newest building on campus . It was completed for Fall semester 2010 . It houses all of the business classrooms and offices . It was previously housed in the Lincoln Building . The building itself has LEED standard , making it a green build . It was one of the most expensive additions to campus , with a large portion of the funding coming from donations . The building is off of Rayen Ave and was built to purposely connect downtown businesses to the college and to the campus core . Recently access to the building improved when the Hazel Street Extension opened creating access for vehicle and pedestrian traffic and better connecting the central business district to the university . YSU has six housing facilities . Lyden House , completed in 1990 , and Cafaro House residential honors facility , completed in 1995 , can accommodate a combined 574 students . Christman Dining Commons , YSU ' s main residential dining hall , is located in the Anne K . Christman Campus Green between these buildings . Kilcawley House is attached to Kilcawley Center in the middle of campus . Wick House and Weller House , off Wick Avenue , also houses a small number of students in an apartment setting . The University Courtyard Apartments , on the east side of the campus ( behind Bliss Hall ) , were built in 2004 . These are commonly known as the Courtyards . They are actual apartments and are not affiliated with housing services at YSU , instead they are managed by an outside company , Ambling Leasing . Buechner Hall is an independently owned and operated women ' s residence hall located on Bryson Street and operated by the Beuchner Foundation . The Flats at Wick , also a privately owned and operated apartments were built and opened in Fall of 2010 on the corner of Madison Ave and Elm Street . Other buildings on campus include : Current building projects include the Wick Pollock Inn located on Wick Avenue next to Bliss Hall . Ward Beecher Planetarium . The university ' s planetarium , located in Ward Beecher Hall , opened in 1967 and was recently renovated . The $ 750 , 000 upgrade included new seats ( 145 ) , a SciDome fulldome video projector from Spitz , Inc . , as well as a Chronos star projector from GOTO . The star projector , which replicates the night sky onto the planetarium ' s diameter dome , cost $ 489 , 000 . The planetarium is the location of the introductory astronomy courses at YSU , which registers almost 1 , 000 students every year . It has housed over 500 , 000 students , as well as 750 , 000 visitors as of 2007 . Organized shows are available for groups during the week , and scheduled shows available Friday and Saturday evenings ( with a show geared toward a younger crowd Saturday afternoons ) . All shows are free of charge . For a schedule , go to their website . Academics . The University comprises the following colleges as of the Summer 2007 academic reorganization : YSU offers doctoral degrees in educational leadership and physical therapy , as well as a doctorate in mathematics in cooperation with Rhodes University . Together with the University of Akron and Kent State University , YSU sponsors the Northeastern Ohio Universities College Of Medicine ( NEOUCOM ) , a BS - MD program . YSU engineering students may pursue doctoral studies in cooperation with the University of Akron and Cleveland State University . In addition , YSU has 35 masters programs and over 100 undergraduate majors . The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University was deemed an " All - Steinway " school in 2004 . The Dana School of Music is one of the oldest non - conservatory schools of music in the United States . It is housed in Bliss Hall . Additionally , the Youngstown State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble performed in March 2005 at New York City ' s Carnegie Hall . The ensemble ' s performance was highly praised , and they received a standing ovation . Youngstown State University is also home to the Center for Working Class Studies and offers a Regional and American Studies program , which was the first of its kind in the United States . The school assisted the University of Chicago in developing a similar program . The center is operated by John Russo and Sherry Lee Linkon . YSU is somewhat unique for a sizable university in that it utilizes only college professors and not graduate assistants in undergraduate instruction . This is because YSU has few doctoral programs and a relatively high standard teaching load ( four courses per semester ) . In many colleges this size , graduate assistants teach courses to undergraduate students while full - time professors sometimes limit their direct involvement in undergraduate education to lecturing in large sections of introductory courses and supervising graduate assistants . . About one - third of the classes , including all of the senior capstone courses for each major , utilize e - learning through Blackboard . Before using Blackboard , YSU utilized WebCT , which Blackboard acquired in 2006 but didn ' t convert to its own software until 2010 , with YSU running both programs during the Spring 2010 semester . Both WebCT and Blackboard have been criticized by YSU students and professors . Centers and Institutes . YSU operates several Centers of Excellence and designated research and economic development programs , including the Center for Transportation and Materials Engineering , the Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Engineering , the Center of Excellence in International Business , the Center for Applied Chemical Biology , the Institute for Applied Topology , and effective in 2012 , the Natural Gas and Water Resources Institute . Greek life . Youngstown State University is home to 10 fraternities and 7 sororities . They are : Interfraternity Council Panhellenic Conference Pan - Hellenic Council Fraternities : Sororities : Labor relations . Labor Unions are very active at YSU and include most non - administrative faculty and staff on campus . In August 2005 , just before the start of the 2005 – 06 academic year , two of four campus unions were on strike . Following the conclusion of the strike , relations have remained strained , with some faculty and staff calling for resignation of YSU President David Sweet in May 2007 . Others on campus thought some individuals on both sides were engaged in less than professional behaviors . Due to the animosity between the parties , a special committee was set up to examine labor relations . This committee recommended that the negotiations teams for all sides be replaced before the next round of contract negotiations . Subsequent to these recommendations the Vice President for Administration was replaced as well as the Executive Director of Human Resources . Relations have improved since that time and are now typical of what one would expect of a unionized campus in a region that has always been at the center of US union activism .