Auburn University is a public university located in the city of Auburn, Alabama, in the U.S. state of Alabama. The institution is commonly referred to simply as Auburn and enrolls more than 24,000 students across undergraduate and graduate programs.
History
The institution opened on February 1, 1856, originally chartered as the East Alabama Male College. Over the following century its name and mission evolved several times; the school adopted the name Auburn University in 1960. Throughout its history Auburn has grown from a small regional college into one of the state's largest higher-education institutions.
Context in Alabama
Auburn is one of the three major public universities in the state. The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a peer institution in terms of size, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham is also among the largest universities in Alabama.
Academic organization
Auburn's academic offerings are organized into multiple colleges and schools. The university includes programs in agriculture, architecture, business, education, engineering, forestry, human sciences, and the liberal arts, along with professional programs such as nursing, pharmacy, mathematics, and medicine. Examples of these units include:
- Architecture
- Business
- Education
- Engineering
- Forestry
- Human sciences
- Liberal arts
- Pharmacy
- Mathematics
- Medicine
Athletics
The school's athletic teams compete as the Auburn Tigers. The costumed mascot known as Aubie represents the university at many events; the mascot is based on a tiger.