Arizona State University seal

Arizona State University (also referred to as ASU, or Arizona State) is the largest public (public university) research university in the United States under a single administration, with a 2009 student enrollment of 68,064. ASU is spread across four campuses (Arizona State University#Campuses) in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.

ASU was founded in 1885 as the Tempe Normal School (Normal School) for the Arizona Territory in Tempe, Arizona. In 1945, the school came under control of the Arizona Board of Regents and was renamed "Arizona State College." In 1958, a statewide ballot measure renamed the school "Arizona State University." From its original campus in Tempe (Arizona State University at the Tempe campus), ASU expanded in 1984, establishing the West campus (Arizona State University at the West campus) in northwest Phoenix (Phoenix, Arizona), followed by the 1996 addition of the Polytechnic campus (Arizona State University at the Polytechnic campus) in eastern Mesa (Mesa, Arizona) and the 2006 addition of the Downtown Phoenix campus (Arizona State University at the Downtown Phoenix campus). All four campuses are accredited as a single institution by the Higher Learning Commission.

In the 2008-2009 academic year, 15,610 students graduated from ASU. In 2009, 156 National Merit Scholars chose to attend ASU, many of which are part of Barrett, The Honors College. Under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, ASU is classified as a Research University with Very High research activity.