Iowa State University

Iowa State University is a public land-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa. Established in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, it was one of the nation’s early land-grant institutions under the Morrill Act. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across colleges including agriculture, engineering, business, design, and liberal arts and sciences. Iowa State is classified as a research university with very high research activity and is known for its strengths in engineering, agriculture, veterinary medicine, and the physical sciences. Students are drawn to Iowa State University for its large campus community, research opportunities, and strong connections to industry and public service throughout Iowa and beyond.

Iowa State University was founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm in Ames, Iowa. Created to provide practical education in agriculture and mechanical arts, it became Iowa’s land-grant institution after the Morrill Act of 1862. The college formally opened to students in 1869 under its first president, Adonijah Strong Welch, and was coeducational from its first class. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Iowa State expanded its academic divisions in agriculture, engineering, veterinary medicine, and the sciences. The institution was renamed Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1898 and adopted its current name, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, in 1959. Over the decades, Iowa State University developed extensive research programs and national laboratories, evolving into a comprehensive public research university while maintaining its land-grant mission of education, research, and extension.