NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Marysville, Mo., U.S. It comprises colleges of Agriculture and Science; Arts and Humanities; Education; and Business, Government, and Computer Science. In addition to undergraduate studies, the university offers over two dozen master's degree programs, mostly in education. Research facilities include the R.T. Wright Farms and the Alfred McKemy Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory. Total enrollment is approximately 5,800. The university was founded in 1905 as the Fifth District Normal (teacher-training) School. It was made a four-year college in 1919 and named Northwest Missouri State Teachers College; in 1949 it was renamed Northwest Missouri State College. It was elevated to university status in 1972. The university opened one of the first electronic campuses in the United States in 1987; it was equipped with 2,400 terminals and 600 microcomputers.