Emporia State University is a comprehensive Regents university primarily serving residents of Kansas by providing leadership in quality instruction, related scholarship and service. A student-centered institution, its central mission is to develop lifelong learning skills, impart society's cultural heritage, and educate and prepare for both the professions and advanced study. Faculty, staff and students interact in a collegial atmosphere that fosters freedom of inquiry and expression.

The university provides undergraduate educational opportunities designed to meet the broad goals of basic skill development and general education, as well as the more specific goals of a variety of programs in art and sciences, business, education, and library and information management. Graduate programs serve needs and provide leadership within the region, the state and the Great Plains area. The university offers programs of national distinction in Education and in Library and Information Management and offers the Ph.D. in Library and Information Management.