History
Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm (now Iowa State University) was officially established on March 22, 1858, by the legislature of the State of Iowa. Story County was selected as a site on June 21,1859, and the original farm of 648 acres was purchased for a cost of $5,379.
Education
Iowa State's academic offerings are administered through eight colleges that offer 100 bachelor's degree programs, 112 master's degree programs and 83 at the Ph.D. level. Iowa State offers one professional degree program:veterinary medicine.
The colleges also provide opportunities for students to learn and grow through internships, learning communities, international study and association with outstanding faculty members.
Research
Iowa State is home to:
- The world’s first electronic digital computer and the encoding process essential to nearly all FAX machines
- The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory
- The world’s largest tornado simulator for wind energy research
- The world’s highest resolution immersive virtual reality lab
- The largest concentration of faculty involved in sustainable agriculture teaching and research
- Cystorm, a super computer that performs more than 28 trillion calculations per second
- The Bioeconomy Institute, a leader in developing new sources of energy, fuels, and other products from renewable resources
- Breakthrough discoveries on the effects of video game violence on youth.
Student services
Additionally, the Grants Hub has numerous resources available for researchers and staff, which are aggregated in this section of the website. These resources are accessible through the links on the right and include tips,FAQ lists,useful links,and templates. Reviewing these resources and contacting the Grants Hub can be helpful early steps when planning a proposal or managing an award.
Housing services
In the Department of Residence, we understand how important living on-campus is to the student experience. Living on campus is so much more than a room! You’re part of a community, our staff is here to support you,it’s easy to get involved, and statistics show that on-campus students have a lot going for them.
Almost 95% of all new freshmen live on-campus and almost 50% of current residents decide to come back to on-campus housing for the next year.This is the greatest compliment our residents could give us! This is especially incredible when you consider that no one is required to live on-campus at ISU!
Library services
- Volumes held: 2,882,167
- Books purchased annually: 18,582
- Journals received annually: 112,491
- Electronic journals: 100,544
- Microform units: 3,534,584
- Photographs & slides: 1,058,219
- Films and videos: 36,977
- Audio materials: 19,467
- General Collection: 27 miles of books
- Manuscripts & archives: 22,389 linear ft.
- Aerial photos & maps: 99,546
ICT services
The Studio last week had a new, high-speed WiFi router installed in our ceiling. Now, the Studio's better for meetings and small-group work which relies on wireless network collaboration.
Medical services
Student Health is a full-service health center staffed with physicians, advanced registered nurse practitioners, and trained healthcare professionals available to see you for your primary health care needs.
Student Health specializes in students. We understand the unique needs of students – things like offering more same-day and next-day appointments than traditional family practice clinics.
Campus life
The Student Activities Office manages the recognition process and event authorization for more than 825 student organizations. Student Activities also provides arts and entertainment programming at the Memorial Union, including the Maintenance Shop (live music venue), Underground (bowling and billiards) and Workspace (arts and crafts center).
Sports facilities
Iowa State fields 18 varsity squads in the Big 12 Conference, the nation's premier athletics league. A strong fan base helps the Cyclones continuously break attendance records and earn top honors in national online polls ranking the best "student spirit" (Hilton Coliseum) and "most dominant mascot on Earth" (Cy).
Student clubs
The Student Union Board, a student-run organization, hosts more than 300 events annually with more than 50,000 participants. This includes the popular Cyclone Cinema movie series. In 2015, Iowa State’s solar car organization — Team PrISUm — won a national racing title.
We pride ourselves on giving you a hands-on, practical education that will prepare you for a job right after graduation. The Aerospace Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.