University of Nevada-Reno

University of Nevada-Reno, officially known as the University of Nevada, Reno, is a public land-grant research university located in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 1874, it is the state’s flagship public institution and part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, including degrees in engineering, business, medicine, journalism, and the sciences. Classified as a doctoral university with very high research activity, it serves students from across Nevada and beyond. Its campus sits north of downtown Reno, overlooking the Truckee Meadows, and combines historic buildings with modern research facilities.

University of Nevada-Reno was founded in 1874 as the State University of Nevada in Elko, making it Nevada’s first institution of higher education. Established under the Morrill Land-Grant Act, the university was created to expand access to practical and classical education in the new state. In 1885, the institution relocated to Reno, closer to the state’s population center, and began regular instruction there in 1887. It was renamed the University of Nevada in 1906. For much of the twentieth century, University of Nevada-Reno remained the state’s only four-year university until the southern campus became the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1969, the same year the Reno campus adopted its current name. Over time, University of Nevada-Reno expanded its research mission, added a medical school, and developed into a comprehensive doctoral university serving Nevada and the broader region.