Bradley University

• College of Education and Health Sciences
• Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Foster College of Business
• Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts
• Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Students without a declared major may also be admitted to the Academic Exploration Program (AEP).

The university is also home to the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication, the first such named school in the U.S.[11]

Bradley University offers Masters level graduate degrees in business, communication and fine arts, education and health sciences, engineering, and liberal arts and sciences. The program of physical therapy offers a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Bradley University is among the first universities in the nation to have a school of entrepreneurship and the first established as a freestanding academic unit. The Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation[12] is named in honor of Bob and Carolyn Turner, long-time supporters of Bradley. The Turners established the Robert and Carolyn Turner Center for Entrepreneurship in 2002.[13] Gerald Hills, the school's founding academic executive director, received the Karl Vesper Entrepreneurship Pioneer Award in 2012 and the Babson Lifetime Award in 2011. Hills served as the Turner Chair of Entrepreneurship until he retired in December 2014.[14]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, students who are enrolled full-time at Bradley University pay $39,248 for tuition. Students living in the residence halls on campus pay an additional $12,850 for room and board, along with a $432 activity and health fee. The total cost for full-time students living on campus is $52,530. [15] Financial assistance awards are typically received by more than 85% of the university's students.[16]

Bradley's student housing is concentrated on the campus's east side; there are several residence halls and university-owned apartment complexes.[17]

Located on the south side of Bradley's campus is Dingeldine Music Center.

Bradley University is also the site of Peoria's National Public Radio affiliate, WCBU-FM. The radio tower is a prominent landmark and is located adjacent to the BECC, at the site of the former Jobst Hall.[18]

Bradley sports two athletic facilities directly on campus. The Markin Family Student Recreation Center, completed in 2008, houses a variety of sports and fitness areas.[19] Renaissance Coliseum is home to Bradley women's basketball, as well as other sporting and non-sporting events.[20]

Built in 1897, Westlake Hall is the oldest building on campus and has been utilized as a learning facility for over 100 years. This building is home to Bradley's College of Education and Health Sciences. In March 2010, this building underwent a $24 million renovation was completed in June 2012. This renovation increased the building to four stories tall, consisting of academic classrooms and offices. The building was expanded from 13,500 square feet to 84,500 square feet, six times its original size.[21] The building's signature clock tower and limestone was incorporated into the renovation.

The men's basketball team has appeared nine times in the NCAA Tournament: 1950, 1954, 1955, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1996, 2006, and 2019 and would have appeared in the 2020 NCAA tournament as the MVC Tournament Champions. In 1950 and 1954 they were national runners-up in the Final Four, and in 2006 the Braves made their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1955, defeating 4th seed Kansas and 5th seed Pittsburgh. Bradley's run came to an end in the Sweet Sixteen with a loss to the University of Memphis. Bradley also won the National Invitation Tournament in 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1982. In 2008, the men's basketball team was selected to participate in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. They defeated Cincinnati and Virginia en route to the Championship but lost to Tulsa 2–1 in a 3-game series.

Bradley baseball advanced to the College World Series in 1950 and 1956. In 1956, the team qualified for the Final Four, falling to eventual champion Minnesota in the semifinals. In 2015, the Bradley baseball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason baseball tournament, the school's first appearance since 1968. After finishing the regular season with a record of 32–18, the Braves advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game by defeating Evansville, Indiana State, and #11 nationally ranked Dallas Baptist and were ultimately defeated by #8 nationally ranked Missouri State 5–2. After finishing the season with the #19 RPI in the nation and a record of 35–19, the Braves were placed in the Louisville regional as the #2 seed, along with #3 seeded Michigan, #4 seeded Morehead State, and the number one seed host Louisville. Video taken at the team's selection show viewing party shows the team excitement when they learned they would be participating in the NCAA tournament. When the Braves earned a 9–4 victory over Morehead State, they snapped a streak of 9 straight losses in NCAA postseason play dating back to the third round of the College World Series in 1956 when they defeated Wyoming 12–8.[22]

The university does not have a football team. The football program was disbanded in 1970.[23]

The speech team had a winning streak at the American Forensics Association Championship from 1980 through 1993.[24][25]

Bradley University is home to the most successful sales team in the nation. Bradley defeated 66 other colleges to win their nation-leading third National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) championship on March 7, 2022, also becoming the first-ever back-to-back national champion.[26]

There are several fraternities and sororities on and off campus. In 2003, Bradley University student and member of the f Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, Robert Schmalz (age 22), died after drinking excessive amounts of alcohol continuously over several days. His death stood in particularly stark contrast to the award that Bradley administrators had accepted in Washington, DC that same month, in recognition of the university's alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs, which was portrayed to the nation as being exemplary.[27]

The annual student literary journal is called Broadside.

The student-run weekly newspaper is called The Scout.

• "E" Award – In 2009, Bradley's International Trade Center was awarded the Presidential "E" Award for U.S. Exporters. Only 21 awards were given nationally and Bradley's ITC was the only trade center in the country to be recognized.[28]
• Fulbright Program – Bradley was ranked sixth nationally among universities of its kind for producing Fulbright students in 2013–2014.[29]
• Innovation in Leadership of Business Education Award – Bradley's Foster College of Business was one of three schools to receive this award given by the Mid-Continent East Division of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).[28]

• U.S. News & World Report ranks Bradley University 166th nationally,[30] 2nd Best College among 157 Midwest Regional Universities, and the top Illinois regional university.[31]
• Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranked Bradley the #65 private university in the nation in terms of value.[32]
• Money magazine ranked Bradley 88 out of 736 colleges and universities that deliver the most value.[33]
• In The Princeton Review's 2018 "The Best 380 Colleges" list, Bradley was ranked once again. Bradley is consistently one of the 15% of all colleges that are ranked on this list. In the review, Bradley was noted for its wide-ranging academic resources, personal attention to students, and class size.[28]
• The Wall Street Journal' 'l ranked Bradley 164 out of 1,056 colleges and universities nationwide.[34]
• Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Bradley's Foster College of Business 42nd in the nation and 10th in the Employer Satisfaction Survey.[35]
• The Brookings Institution ranked Bradley the #19 salary boosting college in the nation.[36]
• According to career site Zippia, Bradley is the best college in Illinois for landing a job after graduation.[37]
• Washington Monthly ranked Bradley the #14 Midwest "Best Bang for the Buck" university and number 50 of 606 nationally for Masters Level Universities.