There are 13 universities or colleges that are within 110 miles of Southwest Missouri offering a wide assortment of degrees.

Missouri Southern State University – Joplin
Missouri Southern State University is a four-year institution that features a liberal arts education with an international perspective. MSSU has an enrollment of 5,600 students. Southern’s faculty members come from all over the world, with degrees from prestigious universities and professional experience in the disciplines they teach.

Missouri Southern offers more than 100 degree options for the Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Education, and Bachelor of General Studies. Also offered are a few Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees.

Study abroad is an integral part of the University’s international approach to education. Three-week summer-study programs on various subjects are available at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England.

Pittsburg State University – Pittsburg, KS
PSU is located 30 miles from Joplin in Pittsburg, KS. It is a 4-year Liberal Arts University with 5,545 students enrolled. PSU offers bachelor’s and masters degrees in over 70 fields of study.

Crowder College – Neosho

Located in Neosho, Crowder College is a two-year community college serving southwestern Missouri., granting certificates and associate's degrees in over 40 fields of study. Crowder has an enrollment of 2,619 students. Crowder is also home to the Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Tech (MARET) Center.

Crowder Technical Education Center

Solar Decathlon - Crowder College has achieved worldwide recognition for its innovative Alternative Energy program. Crowder designed and built the first solar-powered vehicle to successfully complete a coast-to-coast journey across the U.S. in 1984. Since then, Crowder has continued to distinguish itself in world and national solar energy competitions, most recently the Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C., where the Solar House entry from Crowder was selected as the "People’s Choice" and placed 6th overall in the competition. Crowder College competed in both the 2002 & 2005 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. against such prestigious schools as University of Michigan, University of Texas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Washington State University, New York Institute of Technology, Dartmouth, Cal-Poly, Carnegie Mellon, Tuskegee Institute, & Auburn to name a few. Crowder was the only community college in the competition. This award-winning house is now located on the Crowder campus. The Solar Decathlon is an international collegiate competition where student teams compete to design, build, and operate highly energy-efficient, completely solar-powered houses that incorporate building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).

Southwest Missouri is known for its acclaimed school systems, both public & private. To address the needs of one of the fastest growing areas in the country, school bond issues have been passed in the Carl Junction, Webb City, Pineville/Jane, Anderson, & Neosho in order to build new schools. Joplin has a bond issue on the ballot for April. ACT scores in Southwest Missouri, on average, exceed both state & national scores.
All school systems are accredited with Joplin’s school district having been “Accredited with Distinction” the past 3 years, receiving perfect scores in 2 of those years. Columbia Elementary in Joplin was one of 215 schools in the United States to be named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2003. This program honors K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. Blue Ribbon recipients are national models of excellence.
Whether programs for students to receive Vo-Tech training or for those who are going on to higher education, Southwest Missouri schools give students the tools and education they need to become productive members of the workforce and society.

Numerous avenues, both locally and statewide, exist to address the training needs of both existing and new businesses in Southwest Missouri.

The Alliance for Business – In May of 2003, Missouri Southern State University and Crowder College formed The Alliance for Business. The Alliance is focused on providing innovative training and performance improvement solution for area businesses. They also administer and provide training through state grants for the Missouri Customized Training Program.

Workforce Investment Board of SW MO - Connecting businesses with a skilled workforce to create economic vitality for Southwest Missouri...that's the mission of the Workforce Investment Board, or WIB, for short. The W.I.B. is a progressive workforce intermediary that oversees employment and training programs across the region while leveraging resources to improve Southwest Missouri's portfolio of human capital.

Missouri Customized Training – The Customized Training Program provides training assistance for employers who are hiring and training workers for newly created jobs or retraining workers as a result of new capital investment. The Customized Training Program can assist with your specific training needs.

Missouri New Jobs Training - The New Jobs Training Program provides training assistance for employers with a sound credit rating who are creating a substantial number of new jobs. Local community colleges initially finance training through the sale of certificates. The certificates are repaid by using tax credits from the employer's regular withholding that is based on a percentage of the gross wages paid to employees in the new jobs.