About us

The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, 1874, in Elko, Nevada.

The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. According to the National Science Foundation, the university spent $144 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 139th in the nation. The university has a medical school. The university is also home to the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, which offers programs such as broadcasting, photojournalism and Spanish language media  and is the proud host of six Pulitzer Prize winners among its alumni.

The Nevada State Constitution established the State University of Nevada in Elko on October 12, 1874. In 1881, it became Nevada State University. In 1885, the Nevada State University moved from Elko to Reno. In 1906, it was renamed the University of Nevada and finally, University of Nevada, Reno in 1969 soon after University of Nevada, Las Vegas was granted full autonomy.

The University of Nevada remained the only four-year academic institution in the state of Nevada until 1965, when the Nevada Southern campus (now the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) separated into its own university.