Nebraska Wesleyan Plainsmen football

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Type	Private
Established	1887
Affiliation	IAMSCU NAICU Annapolis Group
Religious affiliation	Methodist
Endowment	$35.7 million
Location	Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Colors	Black & Gold
Athletics	NCAA – IIAC
Mascot	Prairie Wolves
Website	www.nebrwesleyan.edu

Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education. Nebraska Wesleyan was ranked the #1 liberal arts college in Nebraska by U.S. News and World Report in 2015. In 2009, Forbes ranked it 84th of America's Best Colleges. It remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Chartered on January 20, 1887, Nebraska Wesleyan University had an initial enrollment of 96. The initial teaching and administrative staff at this time totaled eight, including the chancellor.

In September 1887, the cornerstone was laid for Old Main, the defining building of the campus. Still with no stairways, windows, or flooring on some floors, classes began in September 1888. The first graduating class was four women in 1890. The second graduating class, in 1891, was made up of four men. Nebraska Wesleyan received accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1914.

The school is located in the former town of University Place, Nebraska. Today, it is part of Lincoln, Nebraska; the surrounding neighborhood is a historic residential and shopping area of Lincoln.

Early on, Nebraska Wesleyan was a college of liberal arts; schools of art, business and education; a music conservatory; an academy (high school) also comprising an elementary school and kindergarten. The high school was discontinued in 1931, and the primary schools in 1941 (grade school) and 1942 (kindergarten). Nebraska Wesleyan offered a Master of Arts degree until 1937.