Oregon State College

Oregon State University

Type	Public Land-grant Sea-grant Space-grant Sun-grant
Established	1868
Academic affiliations	APLU
Endowment	$492.5 million (2016)
President	Edward John Ray
Provost	Ron Adams, interim
Students	30,354 (Fall 2016)
Undergraduates	25,327 (Fall 2016)
Postgraduates	4,466 (Fall 2016)
Other students	561 (Fall 2016)
Location	Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. 44°33′50″N 123°16′44″W / 44.564°N 123.279°W / 44.564; -123.279Coordinates: 44°33′50″N 123°16′44″W / 44.564°N 123.279°W / 44.564; -123.279
Campus	College town, 400 acres (160 ha)
Operating Budget	$1.1 billion
Colors	Orange and Black
Nickname	Beavers
Mascot	Benny Beaver
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I – Pac-12 Conference
Website	www.oregonstate.edu

Oregon State University (OSU) is a coeducational, public research university in the northwest United States, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The university offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs along with numerous graduate and doctoral degree programs. It is also the largest university in the state, with a total enrollment exceeding 28,000. More than 230,000 people have graduated from OSU since its founding. The Carnegie Foundation designates Oregon State University as a "Community Engagement" university and classifies it as a doctoral university with a "Highest research activity" status along with another 114 top U.S. academic institutions.

OSU is one of 73 land-grant universities in the United States. The school is also a sea-grant, space-grant, and sun-grant institution, making it one of only two U.S. institutions to obtain all four designations and the only public university to do so (Cornell is the only other with similar designations). OSU received $308.9 million in research grants and contracts for the 2015 fiscal year, which is more research funding than all other public universities in Oregon combined.

The university's roots date back to 1856, when it was established as the area's first community school for primary and preparatory education. Throughout the university's history, the name changed eleven times. Like other early established land-grant colleges and universities, the majority of name changes occurred through the 1920s. Generally, name changes were made to better align a school with the largest available federal grants in agriculture research.

Early names

*Unofficial title 1868-1885.

Corvallis area Freemasons played an important role in developing the early school and several large campus buildings are named after these founding fathers. The school offered its first college-level curriculum in 1865, under the administration of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.