The University of Missouri, widely known as Mizzou, is Missouri’s flagship public research university and a land-grant institution in Columbia. Founded in 1839, it was the first public university west of the Mississippi River and the first state university in the Louisiana Purchase territory. Its later approval as a land-grant university in 1870 broadened a mission that now combines undergraduate and graduate education, research, public service, Extension, economic development, and statewide engagement. Mizzou’s central campus is both a residential college environment and the main research hub of the University of Missouri System. The university’s academic range is unusually broad for one campus. Students can study agriculture, natural resources, arts and science, business, education and human development, engineering, health professions, journalism, law, medicine, nursing, public affairs, and veterinary medicine. The School of Journalism, founded in 1908, is historically significant as the world’s first journalism school. Mizzou also supports professional education in law, medicine, and veterinary medicine, giving the campus a mix of traditional disciplines, applied programs, and professional schools. Undergraduate students can pursue fields such as accounting, agribusiness, animal sciences, biological sciences, communication, computer science, economics, engineering, finance, journalism, nursing, political science, psychology, public health, and many others. Research and discovery are central to Mizzou’s identity. Faculty and graduate students work in agriculture and food systems, animal and veterinary science, engineering, data and computing, health and medicine, journalism and communication, education, public policy, the humanities, and the social and natural sciences. The university’s land-grant role also means research is designed to reach communities beyond Columbia through Extension, agricultural programs, health initiatives, and partnerships with industries and public agencies across Missouri. Students can participate in undergraduate research, internships, service learning, campus media, entrepreneurship, clinical placements, and other applied experiences. The campus’s long history is visible in both its traditions and physical landscape. Academic Hall, the early main building, was destroyed by fire in 1892, but its columns remain one of Mizzou’s most recognizable symbols. Jesse Hall later became a central university landmark. The university established graduate study, expanded professional schools, opened the School of Journalism, developed Extension, and built a large research and professional-education system through the twentieth century. Today, Mizzou serves more than 32,000 students across undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. For first-year admission, Mizzou allows applicants to follow either a test-score route or a test-optional pathway for fall 2027, with the required high-school core curriculum remaining important. Test-optional applicants receive holistic review that considers the transcript, essays, activities, and other information. Tuition varies by residency and, for some majors, by program tier. Merit scholarships require attention to priority dates, especially the December 1 application target. Career outcomes are a visible strength: recent reporting shows a 95.4% successful career-outcome rate within six months for the 2025 graduating class, with thousands of distinct hiring organizations and a substantial share of alumni remaining in Missouri.