Oklahoma State University was founded on December 25, 1890, as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, just twenty months after the Land Run of 1889. When the first students assembled for class on December 14, 1891, there were no buildings, no books, and no curriculum.

In 1894, two and one-half years after classes began in local churches, 144 students moved into the first academic building, later known as Old Central, on the southeast corner of campus. In 1896, Oklahoma A&M; held its first commencement with six male graduates.

On July 1, 1957, Oklahoma A&M College became Oklahoma State University. Technical branches were established in Okmulgee in 1946 and in Oklahoma City in 1961. (In 1990 their names were changed to OSU-Okmulgee and OSU-Oklahoma City.) In July of 1988, the Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery became the College of Osteopathic Medicine of OSU.

Location. OSU is located in Stillwater, a north-central Oklahoma community with a population of more than 42,000. Stillwater is approximately 60 miles from the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metropolitan areas and is readily accessible from other major population centers by interstate highway and air.

The University is coeducational and has an enrollment of approximately 26,000 students on its four campuses. It offers bachelor's, master's and doctor's degrees in a large number of fields, as well as the professional Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees. Specialist in Education degrees are also offered in selected fields.

Although OSU is a large, comprehensive university, its size does not minimize the personal attention given to each student. The individual is more than just a number at this university. OSU encourages all students, when they first enroll, to identify the college in which they wish to major. Once the student has identified his or her major department, he or she becomes a very important individual to the faculty and advisers of that department. Because the average number of students majoring in any one department is less than 150, the student can count on personal attention in a friendly environment.

The Size of the University has many distinct advantages. OSU's 2 million volume library, its modern research laboratories and equipment, excellent physical education, recreation and student union facilities, nationally-recognized residence halls programs, outstanding cultural events, and 36 nationally-affiliated fraternities and sororities, all provide a stimulating educational and social environment.