Arizona State University (ASU or Arizona State) is a public

Public university

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...

 research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area

Phoenix Metropolitan Area

The Phoenix metropolitan area, often referred to as The Valley of the Sun, is a metropolitan area, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of the US state of Arizona...

 of the State of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. With an enrollment of 70,440 students in Fall 2010, it is the largest public university in the United States by enrollment.

Founded in 1885 as the Tempe Normal School

Normal school

A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

 for the Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory

The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

, the school came under control of the Arizona Board of Regents

Arizona Board of Regents

The Arizona Board of Regents is the governing body of Arizona's public university system, providing policy guidance to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona and their branch campuses.-Organization:...

 in 1945 and was renamed Arizona State College. A 1958 statewide ballot measure gave the university its present name.

ASU offers programs in the liberal arts and sciences

Liberal arts

The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...

, engineering

Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is one of the 24 independent school units of Arizona State University. It provides undergraduate and graduate programs for engineering, computer science, and construction students.-History:The Fulton School was started in 1954 as the College of Applied...

, journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

, business

Business school

A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...

, law

Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

, nursing

Nursing

Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....

, and public policy

Public policy

Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

.