A history of inspired excellence
In 1864, the Constitution of the State of Â鶹ӳ» calls for the creation of a “State University” with instruction in Agriculture, Mechanic Arts and Mining. Ten years later, the Â鶹ӳ» was founded.
Since its inception in 1874 as the state of Â鶹ӳ»’s first institution of higher education, the Â鶹ӳ» has delivered on the promise of providing the citizens of Â鶹ӳ» with a better future.
As the state’s original land-grant university and ranked among the nation’s top universities by the Carnegie Foundation, the University is providing new paths for the state’s next generation of leaders.
In 1885-86, the Board of Regents transferred the University from Elko to Reno. The campus, now nestled on a hopeful bluff above the Truckee Meadows, opened its first building, Morrill Hall, in spring 1886 and welcomed 35 students. By 1900 the campus had grown to 11 buildings, two student dormitories and a gymnasium. In 1936, University enrollment surpassed the 1,000-student mark.
A watershed moment for the University happened in 1969, when Governor Paul Laxalt signed Assembly Bill 130, officially creating the University of Â鶹ӳ» School of Medicine, making it the first medical school in the Silver State. It was established as a community-based medical school with a mission of educating primary care physicians for rural Â鶹ӳ». Today, it ranks as the No. 7 most affordable medical school for in-state students in the nation, according to a 2018 study by U.S. News & World Report.
Over the past decade, the University has continued to achieve institutional records in practically every metric associated with success, including graduation, National Merit and Presidential Scholars, student body diversity and faculty productivity. The University is classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an “R1” institution — “very high research activity” — which is reserved for doctoral-granting universities with exceptional levels of research activity.
In 2020, it was announced that the University had reached the prestigious Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement, becoming one of only 119 institutions in the country so honored. The University celebrated new milestones in 2021 in three key areas, including the most National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program awardees in a single year (eight, representing four colleges), a Sloan Fellowship recognizing early career faculty with potential to revolutionize their field of study and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. In December 2021, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching reaffirmed the Â鶹ӳ»’s status as a top-tier research university. In Fall 2021, the University welcomed 21,034 students to our beautiful and historic campus.
