Flagship university refers to the leading comprehensive public research university or universities in a given U.S. state. Flagship universities are usually the largest public institutions of higher learning in the state and are generally well-known nationally. They are also typically research intensive, Ph.D. granting institutions and usually compete in NCAA Division I athletics. It is also not uncommon for a flagship university to be the oldest ...
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Flagship university refers to the leading comprehensive public research university or universities in a given U.S. state. Flagship universities are usually the largest public institutions of higher learning in the state and are generally well-known nationally. They are also typically research intensive, Ph.D. granting institutions and usually compete in NCAA Division I athletics. It is also not uncommon for a flagship university to be the oldest public university in a state university system, with most founded as land-grant universities under the Morrill Act. Some states may have two equally strong public universities in a given system. As such, it is possible for a state to have more than one public university referred to as a "flagship."
The term is not usually applied to private universities, even when the private school is better known than a peer state-funded university. For example, the flagship university of Massachusetts is University of Massachusetts Amherst, not MIT or...
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