North Dakota State University is the state's Morrill Act land-grant institution. Located on the state's eastern border in Fargo, North Dakota's largest city, the university strives to be a leader in information systems, technology transfer, economic development, and lifelong learning and encompasses a broad spectrum of curricular offerings, scholarly activity and service. It is one of two major research universities in an 11-institution state university system. NDSU has enjoyed steady enrollment growth for the past decade.

The university is striving to substantially increase the number of international students currently enrolled in the university at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Current enrollment is about 12,100 students on the campus in Fargo. NDSU also serves several thousand people throughout the state in continuing education and extension programs. NDSU researchers are leading major initiatives in nanotechnology, microelectronics, polymers, food safety, materials science, and more. In a partnership with Alien Technology Inc., NDSU's new research park will be home to the world's first mass scale Radio Frequency Identification tag manufacturing facility.

Innovative teaching and learning is conducted in nine academic units: the Colleges of Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources; Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Business Administration; Engineering and Architecture; Human Development and Education; Pharmacy; Science and Mathematics; University Studies; and the Graduate School. NDSU has 39 doctoral and professional programs, 49 master's degree programs and 99 bachelor's degree programs. The North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and NDSU Extension Service are integral parts of the University.

NDSU participates in the Tri-College University consortium with neighboring Minnesota State University-Moorhead (more than 7900 students) and Concordia College (about 2900 students). NDSU has approximately 1,500 staff members and 800 faculty and academic staff.

THE COMMUNITY

Recently named one of the most desirable places in the country to live by Money magazine, Fargo is quickly earning a reputation as a perfect place to make a home. Nestled in the rich farmlands of the Red River Valley, the Fargo-Moorhead community has many qualities that contribute to this reputation, including the highly-respected educational system, advanced medical technology, a progressive business community, numerous cultural and arts opportunities, clean air and water, and good-hearted, friendly people.

With more than 166,000 people in the community and about 500,000 people in the service area, Fargo-Moorhead is among the largest metropolitan centers between Minneapolis and Seattle and was recently named an All-American City. To learn more about what national publications are saying about the community's quality of life, visit http://www.fmchamber.com/community/qualityoflife.html.