Arizona State University

Overview

Arizona State University (ASU) is a public research university located in the Phoenix metropolitan area. With campuses in Tempe, West, Polytechnic, downtown Phoenix, and Lake Havasu, ASU aims to build a new model for the American research university, which they dub as the New American University. With this overarching vision, ASU’s mission is to become a leader in academic excellence and accessibility, become a global center for interdisciplinary research, and make an impact on the community.

ASU was founded in February 1886 by John S. Armstrong and Charles T. Hayden. From the Territorial Normal School, it changed its name to ASU, becoming Arizona’s first higher educational institution long before Arizona gained statehood.

Initially, ASU only had four classrooms and offered courses in education, agriculture, and mechanical arts. The school offered its first graduate degree in 1937. Since then, its curriculum has grown to over 300 undergraduate majors and more than 400 graduate degree and certificate programs. The most popular undergraduate majors in ASU are business, finance, psychology, computer science, biological sciences, and mechanical engineering. The university likewise offers a multitude of online degrees and certificates, with all of its programs accredited by the North Central Association Higher Learning Commission.

ASU’s roster of high-profile alumni includes fashion designer Kate Spade, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting. Her brother-in-law, actor and comedian David Spade is also an ASU alumnus with a business degree. Other notable names include NBA star James Harden, Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, and movie director John Hughes.

ASU consistently figures in top rankings for its innovative practices, for producing elite scholars, and having excellent online bachelor’s programs. It is also at the forefront of environmental consciousness, being the location for the first Biodesign Institute and School of Sustainability in the United States. In the field of medicine, the research work of its faculty has yielded a drug to fight the Ebola virus and affordable testing for the Zika virus.

Today, ASU is actively pursuing its goal to be carbon-neutral by 2025, which it was able to achieve as early as 2020. As for expansion efforts, ASU has unveiled plans to construct a dorm on its downtown Phoenix campus, plus a research building and pedestrian bridge on its Tempe campus. It also aims to expand its footprint outside Arizona by renovating the Herald Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles into a learning center for innovation and entrepreneurship.