Life at State

Indiana State University is a place for you to grow and thrive. It’s a welcoming campus that roots you in a community of friends and mentors and lifts you toward any future you imagine. Welcome to your Sycamore family!

At Indiana State, our students learn, grow, and succeed in a diverse campus community that feels like home. Make new friends, get to know your professors, participate in community service projects, and grow into a successful young professional. Our friendly Sycamore family will enrich your college experience and help you discover your place in the world.

Indiana State University Preview Day

Indiana State Preview Day

High school seniors, join us for our biggest event of the fall on Friday, October 18, 2024!

Discover the many opportunities that await you at Indiana State University, including campus life, academics, extracurricular activities, scholarships, financial aid, and more.

Did we mention lunch is on us in our Sycamore Dining Hall?

Register Now
A group of female students in a sorority with pink shirts and a variety of styles of sunglasses pose for a photo at an outdoor event.

Get Involved

So many clubs and organizations to choose from!

Sycamores find their passions – and their people – inside and outside the classroom. Our campus is home to 160+ student clubs and organizations, including honor societies, student government, service organizations, and intramural and recreational sports. As a Sycamore, you can also enjoy NCAA Division I athletics, Greek life, university-sponsored concerts, outdoor festivals, and so much more.

Student Activities and Organizations
A female student standing on a rock road and looking at the camera while posing for a photo in the streets of the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy. Stone ruins of building are on each side of the roadway.

World-Class Experiences

Learn outside the classroom. Way outside.

Part of your Sycamore experience will take place outside of class, off the campus, and maybe even out of the country. The Indiana State Advantage offers a one-time Experience Grant, valued up to $3,000, to make sure you take advantage of a life-changing opportunity: an internship, a service trip, undergraduate research, a creative activity, or a study-abroad experience. The grant will be available your second year at Indiana State!

Indiana State Advantage
An African-American male students smiles while being handing a plate of food in the dining hall of Sycamore Towers.

Housing and Dining

Call Indiana State your home away from home.

Campus living at Indiana State is the best way to make friends, eat well, live close to your classes and labs, and stay involved in campus life. Explore our Living-Learning Communities, where students live with peers who share common majors or interests. Enjoy great food with good friends at Sycamore Dining, in our food court, and at local coffee shops. And live at the heart of everything that’s happening at Indiana State!

Explore housing and meal plan options.
A student seated on a chair in her residence smiles up at her roommate, seated on the bed. An Indiana State University scarf is visible draped over the chair arm.

Living-Learning Communities

Make lifelong friendships and enjoy special perks in our Living-Learning Communities (LLCs). In an LLC, you'll study and live with students with similar majors and interests, such as business, health professions, and language immersion.

Learn about LLCs
Aerial shot of a large parking lot filled with cars. Occasional green trees can be seen around the lot.

A Place For Commuters

Discover your home away from home at Indiana State. In addition to campus-wide student resources, our commuter students enjoy special meal-plan options and comfortable commuter lounges in the Hulman Memorial Student Union and Cunningham Memorial Library.

Commuter Services
You will have plenty of support as a Sycamore. Campus resources at Indiana State include a counseling center, health center, tutoring center for academic support, and accessibility resources. We offer a Career Center to help you prepare professionally, a Student Recreation Center to keep you fit and focused, and academic advisors to keep you on top of your game in your courses. At Indiana State, you will have the support you need from people who want you to succeed.

Student Support

We are here for you!

You will have plenty of support as a Sycamore. Campus resources at Indiana State include a counseling center, health center, tutoring center for academic support, and accessibility resources. We offer a Career Center to help you prepare professionally, a Student Recreation Center to keep you fit and focused, and academic advisors to keep you on top of your game in your courses. At Indiana State, you will have the support you need from people who want you to succeed.

Go to Student Services
  • A smiling Black woman with long dreadlocks rides an exercise bike in the Student Recreation Center. She is wearing a light blue t-shirt and dark workout pants. Visible to her right is a smiling, muscular Black man with facial hair and wearing a black tank top. Daylight streams through elevated windows behind them, and yellow walls and a corrugated ceiling are also visible.

    Student Recreation Center

    Relax, have fun, and stay fit, focused, and healthy at Indiana States Recreation Center. 

  • A large group of Sycamore fans, men and women, cheer for their team during a basketball game at the Hulman Center. They are clapping, cheering, holding blue and white mini-pompoms, and many are wearing light blue headbands.

    Join the Forest !

    Sycamores are trees, and the Forest is where the action is! Join us as we support our Sycamore Athletes. 

  • Visit the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center for diversity programs and resources, cultural activities, and student and community action.

    African American Cultural Center

    Visit the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center for diversity programs and resources, cultural activities, and student and community action. 

  • There’s always something fun happening at Indiana State! Get involved with student orgs, student government, volunteerism, Greek life, and more!

    Student Life

    There's always something fun happening at Indiana State! Get involved with student orgs, student government, volunteerism, Greek Life and more.

  • See your residence options, check the housing calendar, and discover all things residential life at Indiana State!

    Residential Life

    See your residence options, check the housing calendar, and discover all things residential life at Indiana State!

  • See your residence options, check the housing calendar, and discover all things residential life at Indiana State!

    University Advising Center

    College is a journey, an University Advising can help you find the right path.  Speak with an advisor today! 

  • See your residence options, check the housing calendar, and discover all things residential life at Indiana State!

    Sycamore Dining

    For breakfast, lunch and dinner our convenient Sycamore Dining Hall has everything you crave, plus dessert! 

  • A smiling young Latina woman with long, dark hair is shown with a background of yellow and white flowers.

    Visit Us

    Discover more to love about Indiana State. Schedule a campus visit to see what our Sycamore experience can be. 

A group of African American students pose for a photo while sitting at a table during the annual Street Fair at the Charle Brown African American Cultural Center. 

Cultural Centers

Find your community.

Indiana State is a proudly diverse campus community that hosts students from across the country and the world. Our campus organizations include the Women’s Resource Center, the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center, the LGBTQ+ Student Resource Center, the La Casita Student Resource Center, and others. Join our multicultural community at Indiana State!

Office of Multicultural Services and Programs.
A large flag of the student section, The Forest, waves in front of the stands during a basketball game in Hulman Center.

The Forest

Support the Sycamores!

Join The Forest, the official student section for Indiana State University Athletics. Members receive early admission to games with priority seating, free Forest gear, and other perks. The Forest is home to the most energetic and passionate Sycamore fans on campus – join us!

Visit The Forest.
A student participates in the tradition of March Through The Arch, where freshman students walk through Oakley Plaza and greet members of the faculty and administration during Welcome Week.

Traditions/History

Explore our rich school history.

Since 1865, Indiana State University has dedicated itself to providing high-quality education in support of students and our state’s workforce. In that time, we have built cherished traditions –Donaghy Day, Spring Week, Founders Day, the Trike Race, and other activities – that make your Sycamore experience the ultimate college experience. Help us make new history at Indiana State!

History and Traditions

We are All IN for YOU!

At Indiana State University, our students take advantage of opportunities inside and outside the classroom to create success and achieve their dreams.

Here are some great reasons to wear BLUE!

  1. Educating students since 1865. Since its founding, Indiana State has prepared students to become successful professionals and engaged citizens of their communities.
  2. A diverse and close-knit Sycamore family. Students from nearly every state and 60+ countries call the Forest home and create friendships that last a lifetime.
  3. Experiential learning opportunities. Indiana State not only encourages out-of-state internships, study abroad trips, student research projects, and more – we will help pay for one through the Indiana State Advantage.
  4. Highly ranked academic programs. Indiana State is known nationally for the quality of many of its undergraduate and graduate programs, including those in business, criminal justice, cybersecurity, psychology, insurance and risk management, nursing, aviation, and computer science, among others.
  5. Faculty who know your name. Small class sizes help professors get to know you and provide individualized attention and feedback.
  6. Division I college athletics. Indiana State is known for competitive sports programs, including basketball, baseball, swim and dive, and track. There are always winning teams to cheer for in the Forest!
  7. 100,000+ Indiana State alumni. Sycamores work in every major industry and live in every state and abroad. When you graduate from Indiana State, you become part of this powerfully connected network of Blue.
  8. Sycamores get the job. Employers love hiring Sycamores. Indiana State graduates in the Class of 2022 had a 94% placement rate.