Kennesaw State opened in 1966 as a commuter junior college in Cobb County. It is now a research university with more than 47,000 students on two campuses, Kennesaw and the former Southern Polytechnic in Marietta. Its football team only began play in 2015, and by 2025 it had won a Conference USA title. The campus also has three free museums: rare books, contemporary art, and history and Holocaust education.
About this site
Kennesaw State University is a college & university in Kennesaw, Cobb County. It is one of 2 colleges & universities documented in Cobb County, among 377 historic sites cataloged across the county on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 34.0396, -84.5828 near Kennesaw. The nearest cataloged historic site is Bentley Rare Book Gallery (museum), about 0.6 miles away. Others within a short drive include Fine Arts Gallery, Zuckerman Museum of ART, and Shiloh Cemetery.
This record is drawn from Georgia Roam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
What makes Kennesaw State University different
Betty L. Siegel became KSU's president in 1981. She was the first woman to lead a school in the University System of Georgia, and she held the job for 25 years. georgiaencyclopedia.org
Kennesaw Junior College held its first classes in 1966 at the Southern Technical Institute in Marietta. Almost 50 years later, in 2015, KSU merged with that same school, then called Southern Polytechnic State University. georgiaencyclopedia.org
As a Division II school, KSU won national titles in four different team sports: softball (1995, 1996), baseball (1996), women's soccer (2003) and men's basketball (2004). en.wikipedia.org
Football only started in 2015, and the Owls won 48 games in their first five seasons. In 2025, their second year in the top division (FBS), they won the Conference USA championship. ksuowls.com
The Robert B. Williams Rare Book Museum inside Sturgis Library is free to visit. It holds Sumerian clay tablets, a 1502 annotated edition of Dante, and 17th-century Shakespeare folios. kennesaw.edu
The Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art opened on campus in March 2014. Admission is free, and it focuses on contemporary art of the Southeast. campus.kennesaw.edu
KSU's stadium opened in 2010 for soccer. Its first tenant was the Atlanta Beat of the Women's Professional Soccer league, and it was later adapted for Owls football. en.wikipedia.org
Kennesaw State grew out of a 1962 campaign promise. Governor Carl Sanders pledged to put a college within commuting distance of nearly every Georgian, and the Board of Regents chartered a new junior college for Cobb County on October 9, 1963. Kennesaw Junior College welcomed about 1,000 students in the fall of 1966. Its first classes met at the Southern Technical Institute in Marietta while the Kennesaw buildings were finished. Horace W. Sturgis served as the founding president until 1980.
The regents let the school become a four-year college in 1976, and junior- and senior-level classes began in 1978. In 1981 Betty L. Siegel took over as president. She was the first woman to lead a University System of Georgia institution. During her 25 years in office, enrollment grew from under 4,000 to more than 15,000, graduate programs arrived in 1985, and the school became Kennesaw State University in 1996.
The next big change came in January 2015. KSU consolidated with Southern Polytechnic State University, the engineering school in Marietta that had first hosted its classes, and gained a second campus and an engineering college. The Carnegie Classification has rated KSU an R2 research university since 2018. Football kicked off that same 2015 season, and the Owls moved up to the top level of the sport (FBS) when they joined Conference USA in 2024. Kathy S. Schwaig, a longtime business dean and provost, became the sixth president in 2022.
Undergraduate engineering (non-doctorate schools): tied for #1 in Georgia and in the top 15% nationally — U.S. News & World Report, 2027source
Top 50 Online MBA Programs: #28 nationally and #1 in Georgia — The Princeton Review, 2027source
Best Online Bachelor's Programs in Psychology: #12 — U.S. News & World Report, 2026source
Best Online MBA Programs: #1 in Georgia (#50 nationally) — U.S. News & World Report, 2026source
Majors & programs
KSU offers more than 190 degree and certificate programs in 11 colleges, from architecture and game design to nursing and dance. Engineering and engineering technology are taught mostly on the Marietta campus, and most other programs are in Kennesaw. Because the list is long, each college below shows some of its best-known majors. See the official directory for every program.
Known for
Engineering (Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology)
U.S. News's 2027 edition ranks it tied for #1 in Georgia among engineering programs at schools that don't grant doctorates. It came to KSU in the 2015 merger with Southern Polytechnic.
Known for
Business (Coles College of Business)
The Princeton Review ranks KSU's online MBA #1 in Georgia for 2027, and U.S. News places the undergraduate business program among the five highest-ranked in the state.
Known for
Computing and Cybersecurity
In 2004 the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security named KSU a National Center of Academic Excellence in information assurance. The College of Computing and Software Engineering teaches computer science, software engineering and game design.
Known for
Nursing (Wellstar College of Health and Human Services)
KSU says it graduates more nurses than any other school in Georgia. In KSU's 2024–25 graduate outcomes report, Northside Hospital and Wellstar Health System were the top employers of new graduates.
Known for
Psychology
U.S. News ranks KSU's online bachelor's in psychology #12 in the nation for 2026.
Known for
Music (Dr. Bobbie Bailey School of Music)
Students perform in the Bailey Performance Center, a 630-seat concert hall that opened on campus in 2007.
All degree programs at Kennesaw State University (10)
College of Architecture and Construction Management
Majors include architecture and construction management
Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts
Majors include music, dance, theatre and performance studies, and art
Michael J. Coles College of Business
Majors include accounting, finance, marketing, management, information systems and entrepreneurship, plus the MBA
College of Computing and Software Engineering
Majors include computer science, software engineering, information technology, cybersecurity and game design
Bagwell College of Education
Majors include elementary, middle-grades and secondary teacher preparation, plus graduate and doctoral education degrees
Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
Majors include mechanical, civil, electrical, and industrial and systems engineering, plus engineering technology
Wellstar College of Health and Human Services
Majors include nursing, exercise science, social work and public health
Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Majors include psychology, political science, criminal justice, history, English and communication
College of Science and Mathematics
Majors include biology, chemistry, biochemistry, mathematics and physics
Journey Honors College and Graduate College
Honors study for undergraduates, and oversight of KSU's master's and doctoral programs
Larry Nelson — golfer who won three majors: the 1981 and 1987 PGA Championships and the 1983 U.S. Open (Kennesaw Junior College, 1970) en.wikipedia.org
Nels S. D. Peterson — Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia since 2025 (B.S., political science) en.wikipedia.org
Lauren Simmons — the youngest full-time female trader on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017, later an author and financial-literacy host (B.S. in genetics, 2016) en.wikipedia.org
Ty Pennington — host of TV's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' and carpenter on 'Trading Spaces' (attended) en.wikipedia.org
Shannon Purser — actress who played Barb in 'Stranger Things' (attended) en.wikipedia.org
Willie Harris — MLB player whose pinch-hit single set up the only run of the 2005 World Series clincher for the Chicago White Sox (attended) en.wikipedia.org
Where graduates work
75% of KSU's 2024–25 graduates with a known outcome were employed, in the military, volunteering, or continuing their education within six months. This is KSU's own figure, from its 2024–25 First Destination Survey. The survey follows national (NACE) standards and reached a 90% knowledge rate across 9,015 graduates. For bachelor's degrees alone the figure was 73%. The employers below are among those that hired the most new KSU graduates, as listed in the same report. campus.kennesaw.edu
Northside HospitalWellstar Health SystemCobb County School DistrictGwinnett County Public SchoolsChildren's Healthcare of AtlantaThe Home DepotPiedmont HealthcareAmazonPublix Super MarketsEmory HealthcareGeorgia Tech Research InstituteChick-fil-ADeloitteEYKPMGSouthern CompanyLockheed MartinAT&TTurner ConstructionThe Walt Disney Company
Kennesaw State Owls vs. Jacksonville State Gamecocks - Highlights | 2025 · Conference USAKennesaw St. vs Louisiana Tech - Game Highlights - 03/14/2026 · Conference USALiberty Flames vs. Kennesaw State Owls | Full Game Highlights | ESPN College Football · ESPN College FootballKSU Rare Book Museum Named for Original Curator Robert B. Williams · Kennesaw State UniversityConserving KSU's 1843 Copy of the Declaration of Independence · KSU Museums, Archives and Rare Books Department
Very big. The federal government's count for Fall 2024 was 47,764 students, and KSU reported more than 51,000 in Fall 2025. That makes it one of the largest universities in Georgia. It has two campuses in Cobb County, Kennesaw and Marietta.
What is Kennesaw State known for?
Engineering, computing and cybersecurity, business, nursing and teacher education. It also has a football program that won a conference title less than 11 years after its first game, and three free museums on its campuses.
What division is Kennesaw State?
NCAA Division I. The Owls joined Conference USA in 2024, and the football team now plays in the top division, the FBS. They won the C-USA football title in 2025 and the C-USA men's basketball tournament in 2026.
Is Kennesaw State a good school for engineering?
U.S. News's 2027 edition ranks KSU's undergraduate engineering tied for #1 in Georgia among schools that don't grant engineering doctorates, and in the top 15% nationally. Most engineering classes meet on the Marietta campus.
Is Kennesaw State a research university?
Yes. The Carnegie Classification has rated it an R2 university (high research activity) since 2018.
What is KSU's Marietta campus?
It is the former Southern Polytechnic State University, which merged into KSU in 2015. Engineering and engineering technology are centered there, and a free shuttle runs between the two campuses.
Can you visit Kennesaw State's museums?
Yes, and they're free. The Rare Book Museum is in Sturgis Library, the Zuckerman Museum of Art is on the Kennesaw campus, and the Museum of History and Holocaust Education is at the KSU Center on Busbee Drive. Check hours before you go, since they follow the university calendar.
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