Located in the town of Cedar City, Southern Utah University (SUU) was founded as a normal school in 1897, and was given official university status in 1991.

SUU boasts the highest altitude flight programme in the United States, and offers students qualifications in fixed wing or rotor aircraft. The course is offered separately as a two year programme and as part of a four year interdisciplinary studies bachelor’s.

Political Science teaches key communication and critical thinking skills, and SUU offers internships to the state legislature and members of Congress, and study abroad opportunities to locations such as Estonia, England, and Hungary. The most famous alumni of the political science course is Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance has extensive performance facilities. For plays the Auditorium Theatre contains a proscenium stage and seats over 850, while the Jones Theatre can be used for orchestra performance. Built in 1977, the Adams Shakespearean Theatre is an accurate reproduction of the original feature of the Globe Theatre and is used for the Utah Shakespeare week held in Cedar City.

Varsity sports teams are known as Thunderbirds, and compete in the NCAA Division I. There are six men’s teams and nine women’s sports programmes at SUU, including basketball, tennis, and women’s gymnastics. Opened in 1967, the Eccles Coliseum hosts track & field and American football events, and can host up to 8,500 spectators.

A lasting tradition at SUU relates to the 76 foot bell tower the Carter Carillon, in which students are expected to walk beneath it on their first day, and not again until their graduation ceremony.