#11 Texas A&M University–College Station

Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, TAMU /ˈtæmuː/, or A&M) is a coeducational public research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It is a state university and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. The Texas A&M system endowment is one of the 10 biggest in the nation. Texas A&M’s student body is the largest in Texas and one of the largest in the United States.^[10][11] Texas A&M’s designation as a land, sea, and space grant institution–the only university in Texas to hold all three designations–reflects a range of research with ongoing projects funded by organizations such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research. In 2001, Texas A&M was inducted as a member of the Association of American Universities. The school’s students, alumni—over 450,000 strong—and sports teams are known as Aggies. The Texas A&M Aggies athletes compete in 18 varsity sports as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

The first public institution of higher education in Texas, the school opened on October 4, 1876,^[12] as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas under the provisions of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts. Originally, the college taught no classes in agriculture, instead concentrating on classical studies, languages, literature, and applied mathematics. After four years, students could attain degrees in scientific agriculture, civil and mechanical engineering, and language and literature.^[13]Under the leadership of President James Earl Rudder in the 1960s, A&M desegregated, became coeducational, and dropped the requirement for participation in the Corps of Cadets. To reflect the institution’s expanded roles and academic offerings, the Texas Legislature renamed the school to Texas A&M University in 1963. The letters “A&M”, originally short for “Agricultural and Mechanical”, are retained only as a link to the university’s past.