Land-grant university

Land-grant universities (also called land-grant colleges or land grant institutions) are institutions of higher education in the United States which have been designated by Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.

Related Topics:
United States - Congress - Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890

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The Morrill Acts funded educational institutions by granting federally-controlled land to the states. The mission of these institutions, as set forth in the 1862 Act, is to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts, not to the exclusion of classical studies, so that members of the working classes might obtain a practical college education. The oldest land-grant university is Rutgers University, which was founded in 1766. The pioneer land-grant university is Michigan State University founded in 1855, from which all land-grant universities were modeled. In the mid 1950s, the United States Postal Service honored Michigan State University with a postage stamp as the original land-grant university. No other college or university in the nation, except Pennsylvania State University which was honored as the second land-grant university, has ever graced a postage stamp. The first university designated as a land-grant university is Iowa State University. The first land-grant university created under the Morrill Act of 1862 is Kansas State University.

Related Topics:
Land - States - Agriculture - Military tactics - Mechanic arts - Classical studies - Education - Rutgers University - 1766 - Michigan State University - Pennsylvania State University - Iowa State University - Kansas State University

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The mission of the land-grant universities was subsequently expanded by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 to include cooperative extension — the sending of agents into rural areas to help bring the results of agricultural research to the end users.

Related Topics:
Smith-Lever Act of 1914 - Cooperative extension

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Land-grant universities are not to be confused with Sea Grant Colleges (a program instituted in 1966), Space Grant Colleges (instituted in 1988) or Sun Grant Colleges (instituted in 2003). There are six colleges or universities with land, sea and space designations; and two universities with all four designations.

Related Topics:
Sea Grant Colleges - Space Grant Colleges - Sun Grant Colleges

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