The University of North Dakota (UND) is a public research university in North Dakota and a Carnegie R1 institution, a designation held by just 187 U.S. universities in 2025 and indicative of very high research activity. Founded in 1883, six years before statehood, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. In 2024 the university reported $192m in research funding, and its technical work spans engineering, science, medical education, legal education, teacher and business education, and online and distance education.
UND offers more than 225 accredited degree programs, delivered both on campus and online. Its portfolio includes the UND School of Law and the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, the only law and medical schools in North Dakota, which train the region's lawyers and doctors. The university also serves the largest number of exclusively online students among nonprofit flagship universities in the eight-state Midwest region.
Fall 2025 enrolment reached 15,844 students drawn from all 50 states, an all-time high. The university employs more than 2,700 benefited staff across a 521-acre campus, the largest in the North Dakota University System, and estimates its annual economic impact at $1.5bn across the state and region.
