A student works with photonics laser equipment on a table.

Our Innovations

Our innovations are faculty led - in our classrooms and laboratories, in the field, and across the globe.

Two students walk next to rocks with a mountain range in the distant background.

Summer of Rock

Julia Lee, ’25, and Olivia Ranck, ’24, see a classroom in the breathtaking landscapes of southwestern Montana.

Thanks to undergraduate research and departmental funding from BSU, the two geology majors headed west for a summer field expedition alongside Professor Michael Krol and Laboratory Staff Assistant Jessica Campbell, ’08.

Julia and Olivia collected rock samples to analyze using lab technology back at BSU as they aimed to uncover new details about the geologic processes that shaped Montana and nearby Yellowstone National Park.

The duo praised Krol for mentoring and challenging them, even through obstacles that upended one research project.

“I was very anxious when I first got out there,” said Julia, who hadn’t previously traveled beyond the East Coast. “Everyone made it such a comfortable and kind and safe environment.”

"It helped Julia and me learn and get hands-on practice in the field of our interest that we want to use when we get into our careers. ... I’ll be using this experience for the rest of my life."

Olivia Ranck, ’24

Four people hold a red BSU flag with a bear logo on top of a hill with mountains in the background. Four people hold a red BSU flag with a bear logo on top of a hill with mountains in the background.

Exploration Unleashed

Julia and Olivia's experience is far from unique. In fact, with faculty by their side to mentor and inspire them, our students regularly impress scholars across the country with their research prowess. And, at BSU, research is for everyone - not just science majors. In recent years, students studied cancer treatments, rewrote a historic novel, and explored the best ways to teach a complicated aspect of the Spanish language.

Faculty mentor approximately 1,800 undergraduates each year in research and creative scholarship. And many students receive funding in support of their projects from BSU's Adrian Tinsley Program.

The results of this investment speak for themselves:

  • The Council on Undergraduate Research recognized BSU for having one of the leading undergraduate research programs in the country.
  • BSU students presented at Posters on the Hill for a record nine consecutive years. This highly competitive undergraduate research showcase in Washington, D.C., accepts just 60 students each year.
  • Several students received prestigious Fulbright and Goldwater scholarships.
  • The U.S. Department of State named BSU a top Fulbright-producing institution for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Perhaps most importantly, students use their research as a launching pad into dream jobs and high-level doctoral programs.

“The things I got to do as an undergraduate prepared me well in comparison to some of my peers, many of whom come from larger schools with larger research programs. Coming from BSU, where I got to develop this project and do research on my own, I gained independence and skills that have helped me be successful in my first two years here at Dartmouth.”
Mel Carmichael, ’20, PhD student at Dartmouth College studying microbiology and immunology

Opened in 2018, the Center for Transformative Learning is a hub for student scholarship. The center oversees undergraduate research, supports students who apply for national fellowships and runs the Honors Program.

The program, which doubled in size over three years to around 1,000 students, includes special courses capped at just 15 students to foster greater faculty-student interaction and deeper discussions. Students culminate their time at BSU with an honors thesis, through which they explore an area of interest as a semester- or year-long intensive project under the mentorship of faculty.

Honors students join a close-knit community of students committed to academic success, so it's no surprise that their first-to-second-year retention rate is 98.5 percent - nearly perfect.

A student looks at a computer screen with a microscope in the background.
A student presents an academic poster at a conference.
A student uses a pipette in a science lab.
A student points to an item on an academic poster while a second person looks on.
Three people talk while standing behind a glass wall with an open door to the Center for Transformative Learnig.
Four students talk while sitting on one side of a conference table. One of the students uses a tablet.

Supporting Our Faculty

Clearly, faculty are major driving factors in helping our students achieve their goals and dreams. And we have taken many steps over the past decade to support their teaching, scholarship and professional development.

We lead all Massachusetts State Universities in the number of endowed professorships that we offer our faculty: the Bartlett Chair in Free Speech and Expression, the Bartlett Endowed Professorship for Civic Education and Engagement, established in 2022 and 2021 respectively, and the Killam Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies, which began in 2001.

A professor lectures while standing in front of a white board.

Faculty across the university benefit from BSU investing more than $3.4 million over eight years in their research and scholarship through the Center for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship. The center awards grants to and mentors faculty while helping them secure external funding.

In 2018, we launched the Academic Innovation Fund, which has supported more than 45 projects that enhance teaching and learning across the university. The fund helped launch BSU's Think Tank as well as the Collaborative University Business Experiences (CUBE) program. CUBEs bring real-world problems into the classroom, allowing students to complete projects for clients as a component of their courses.

On the campus quad, a professor and student smile while looking at the student’s artwork.

BSU has reinvigorated the Office of Teaching and Learning, which focuses on issues such as equity-minded pedagogy, changing student needs and artificial intelligence.

The Teaching and Technology Center, which played an essential role helping faculty rapidly transition to online classes during the pandemic, continues to explore and bring to campus the latest technological trends in higher education.

Sitting on the floor, a professor points to the leg of a skeleton. Three students sitting in the foreground watch the professor.
A graphic about faculty statistics with a red background and white and blue text that says “17 to 1 student to faculty ratio” and “201 tenured.”
A graphic about faculty statistics with a red background and white and green text that says “17 to 1 student to faculty ratio” and “308 terminal degree.”
A graphic about faculty statistics with a red background and white and yellow text that says “17 to 1 student to faculty ratio” and “331 full-time.”

Supporting Our Faculty

Clearly, faculty are major driving factors in helping our students achieve their goals and dreams. And we have taken many steps over the past decade to support their teaching, scholarship and professional development.

We lead all Massachusetts State Universities in the number of endowed professorships that we offer our faculty: the Bartlett Chair in Free Speech and Expression, the Bartlett Endowed Professorship for Civic Education and Engagement, established in 2022 and 2021 respectively, and the Killam Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies, which began in 2001.

A professor lectures while standing in front of a white board.

Faculty across the university benefit from BSU investing more than $3.4 million over eight years in their research and scholarship through the Center for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship. The center awards grants to and mentors faculty while helping them secure external funding.

In 2018, we launched the Academic Innovation Fund, which has supported more than 45 projects that enhance teaching and learning across the university. The fund helped launch BSU's Think Tank as well as the Collaborative University Business Experiences (CUBE) program. CUBEs bring real-world problems into the classroom, allowing students to complete projects for clients as a component of their courses.

On the campus quad, a professor and student smile while looking at the student’s artwork.

BSU has reinvigorated the Office of Teaching and Learning, which focuses on issues such as equity-minded pedagogy, changing student needs and artificial intelligence.

The Teaching and Technology Center, which played an essential role helping faculty rapidly transition to online classes during the pandemic, continues to explore and bring to campus the latest technological trends in higher education.

Sitting on the floor, a professor points to the leg of a skeleton. Three students sitting in the foreground watch the professor.
A graphic about faculty statistics with a red background and white and green text that says “17 to 1 student to faculty ratio” and “308 terminal degree.”
A graphic about faculty statistics with a red background and white and yellow text that says “17 to 1 student to faculty ratio” and “331 full-time.”
A graphic about faculty statistics with a red background and white and blue text that says “17 to 1 student to faculty ratio” and “201 tenured.”

New Degree Programs

At BSU, we're always looking for ways to transform students' lives while preparing them to solve pressing problems and make a difference in their communities. Over the past decade, we've launched programs that align with workforce needs in Massachusetts.

Undergraduate

  • Photonics and Optical Engineering
  • Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics
  • Childhood Studies
  • Health Science
    - pre-physical therapy
    - pre-occupational therapy
    - pre-athletic training

Graduate

  • Public Relations
  • Mathematics
  • Cybersecurity and Justice
  • Professional Tennis Management and Coaching
In the cyber range, students sitting behind computers listen to a professor teaching from the front of the room.
In the cyber range, three students work collaboratively while sitting at a computer.
A professor and a student work together on equipment in a photonics lab.
In a high-tech classroom, three students work together at a table with a large monitor on the wall behind them.

High-Tech Campus

Today's students live in a digital world - and our education is evolving to meet that reality.

In recent years, BSU has:

  • Developed and constructed a 990-square-foot state-of-the-art photonics and optical engineering facility with labs so sophisticated that MIT doctoral students visit BSU to use them. Photonics harnesses the power of light to revolutionize technology in industries such as telecommunications, biomedical sensing and imaging, and autonomous vehicles.
  • Built, with almost $3.8 million in state and federal grants, the most advanced cyber range in New England. Students and cybersecurity professionals experience mock attacks, from beginning scenarios to complex situations that take experts hours to solve. With multi-colored lights, desks that shake and a massive video screen, the range immerses users in the high-stakes world of battling cybercrime.
  • Invested more than $3 million in audio visual equipment and classroom technologies.
  • Established the One Button Studio, a self-service video and podcast recording space for faculty, staff and students
  • Constructed the Active Learning Classroom, a technology-rich instructional space with large monitors, digital and traditional white boards, virtual reality headsets, and a video conferencing system. The flexible space allows professors to innovate using emerging technologies while delivering engaging lessons.
  • Opened a Think Tank that provides faculty, students and staff access to 3D scanners and printers, soldering stations, laser cutters, saws, vacuum chambers, a CNC machine and a drill press.
"(The technology) helps me focus better. It’s easier to come into this class. I feel comfortable being in an environment like this."
Ella Nikolettou, ’27, on the Active Learning Classroom

Related Videos

Cyber Range at BSU

Cybersecurity at Bridgewater State University provides real-world experience, hands-on training and a cyber range for immersive education.

Photonics at BSU

Photonics and Optical Engineering at Bridgewater State University brings the future to the classrooms - right here, right now.

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