Northwest Florida State College Logo

Serving the Community of the Emerald Coast

A History of Excellence

At Northwest Florida State College, we are committed to helping each student who comes through our doors to achieve their individual goals for education and career success. In everything we do, from academics, arts, and athletics, our mission is to improve the lives of citizens in Northwest Florida.

— Dr. Devin Stephenson, NWFSC President

Located in the coastal heart of theFlorida panhandle, Northwest Florida State College has earned a reputation for educational excellence and community involvement. As part of Florida’s public system of 28 state and community colleges, NWF State College offers bachelor’s degree programs, associate degrees, and certificates. The college’s primary service district stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line.

Read the College’s Fast Facts Guide

Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence 2019Military Friendly School 2019-20 Designation 600x600Blackboard Catalyst Award 2019 Winner

Mission

To improve lives by providing a high-quality, globally competitive education that is a catalyst for cultural, civic, and economic development throughout the region.

Vision

To be the first-choice institution for students to earn higher education credentials, for employees to desire to be a member of the NWFSC team, and for the community to advance workforce and economic development throughout the region.

Read our Strategic Plan

Values

  • Integrity: Fostering an environment of transparency, fairness, honesty, and accountability where students and employees embrace the highest ethical standards.
  • Diversity & Inclusion: Creating a safe and inclusive community with policies, practices, programs, and services that create opportunities for everyone to succeed.
  • Excellence: Ensuring an exceptional learning environment through high-quality instruction, state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technologies, dedicated support services, and access to various learning and research-based teaching methods that meet the needs of all students.
  • Stewardship: Embracing practices that demonstrate fiscal, social, and environmental responsibility.
  • Innovation: Fostering a culture that promotes creative and proactive solutions that are responsive to the needs of our students, employees, and community.
  • Prosperity and Wellness: Prioritizing personal, professional, and academic enrichment by promoting physical, mental, and emotional wellness in an enjoyable environment

Diversity & Inclusion Commitment Statement

In support of building a culture where differences are valued and every individual feels empowered to bring their full, authentic self to work or school, we adopt the following Value Statement for Diversity and Inclusion:

Northwest Florida State College is fully committed to diversity among its faculty, staff, and students. We are responsible for inclusion in all forms. Our ability to thrive in a multicultural world depends on our respecting differences and dismantling barriers. Our institution embraces this challenge by creating educational opportunities, raising awareness, and implementing programs and initiatives that bring the celebration of diversity to life on our campuses, at our centers, and in the community.

Why the Raiders?

A proud name and a proud tradition. Northwest Florida State College is honored to use the name Raiders and pay tribute to the heroes of the past who have shaped our future today.

In the college’s first year of operation, in 1964, then Okaloosa-Walton Junior College set about to choose a school mascot. It was decided that the college use the name “Raiders” in honor of the heroic airmen who trained at Eglin Air Force Base for their famous World War II raid on Tokyo.

In dedication to keeping the legacy of the Doolittle Raiders alive, NWF State College is honored to feature various Raider memorabilia throughout the campus, including a mini-museum at the entrance of Raider Arena, a painting bearing the signatures of surviving crewman from each of the 16 participating aircrafts, including Jimmy Doolittle himself, and an autographed edition of Doolittle’s autobiography.

For more information about the Doolittle Raiders legacy, please visit doolittleraider.com.

Convenient Locations

In addition to a 264 acre campus in Niceville, NWF State College operates a joint campus with the University of West Florida in Fort Walton Beach, the Chautauqua Center in DeFuniak Springs, the Robert L.F. Sikes Education Center in Crestview and full-time centers at Hurlburt Field and a center in South Walton County.

View Campus Maps & Locations

Top Notch Instruction

In addition to a record of regional and national accolades, NWF State College offers state-of-the-art student computer labs, a top-rated sports complex and a full program of intercollegiate and intramural sports, a child development center, and a criminal justice training center. A 120,000 square foot Mattie Kelly Fine and Performing Arts Center on the Niceville Campus provides students the finest in instructional facilities for dance, music, theater, the visual arts and the humanities.

Learn More about our Academics