College of Sciences and Humanities

Sciences

• The Department of Chemistry's longtime summer research program is a model for other universities and a major partner in the interuniversity Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE), a National Science Foundation funded program to advance undergraduate research in chemistry.
•  The American Chemical Society has recognized our student affiliate chapter for four years in a row. The Ball State chapter of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society received an Honorable Mention Award in 2006-07 and Commendable Chapter Awards in 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10.
• The Wheeler-Thanhauser Orchid Collection and Species Bank,

  Learn more about our programs in the College of Sciences and Humanities.

  which contains more than 1,800 plants, received a national 2009 Award of Merit from the American Orchid Society. The Wheeler-Thanhauser Collection is part of the Field Station and Environmental Education Center.
• Ball State formed Indiana's first student chapter of the American Society for Microbiology (BSUASM).
• The Center for Computational Nanoscience works with universities in Indiana and Ohio on research projects in the emerging areas of nanoscience, the study of objects at the molecular level, and nanotechnology, the building of mechanical devices and other objects thousands of times smaller than those that currently exist.
• Through its ongoing statewide surveillance program, the Public Health Entomology Lab in the Department of Physiology and Health Science reported Indiana's first ticks, which are able to transmit Lyme disease and human monocytic ehrlichiosis.
• The Field Station and Environmental Education Center is a collaboration of the Departments of Biology, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Landscape Architecture, Geology, and others.
• Each summer, Ball State geography students travel to America's Tornado Alley in search of severe storms to hone their weather forecasting skills and learn how tornadoes are formed.

Mathematics

• Ball State's actuarial science program is nationally recognized for preparing graduates to analyze and solve problems related to insurance and pension plans.
• The risk management, insurance, and actuarial science program is a collaborative effort between Miller College and the College of Sciences and Humanities that provides opportunities for research and interaction with industry.

Humanities

• Produced though an immersive learning class and edited by undergraduate students, Stance: An International Undergraduate Philosophy Journal was honored in 2010 by the American Philosophical Association/Philosophy Documentation Center with the Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs. The staff is comprised of philosophy, English, computer science, journalism, and business majors.
• Students in the public administration program have been selected as Presidential Management Interns. These interns choose their placement among government agencies in Washington, DC.
• At the 2012 Midwest Model European Union, our political science students won the best delegation award for the sixth time—three times more than any university participating in this EU decision-making simulation.  
• Conner Prairie Interactive History Park received the 2009 Spirit of Excellence award for Best Guest Services Training Program from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. Learn how research and training conducted by a Ball State University English professor contributed to this recognition.
• Ball State's bachelor of social work (BSW) program is the oldest accredited undergraduate program in Indiana and the largest.
• Ball State’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology was the first program in the United States to be accredited by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.