<p>University of Nebraska (at Lincoln)</p>
<p>Florida State University is recognized as a flagship university in Florida as well as UF. This is based on the origin of the universities, which came from the same law in 1851 and political acknowledgments within the state.</p>
<p>A good definition of what a flagship university is may be found in a Convocation address by Robert Berdahl, Chancellor of UC Berkeley, here: <a href="http://cio.chance.berkeley.edu/chancellor/sp/flagship.htm%5B/url%5D">http://cio.chance.berkeley.edu/chancellor/sp/flagship.htm</a> </p>
<p>From the Berdahl speech:
*"What do we mean by the term "flagship" universities? The term applies, in all the cases I can think of, to the fully mature public universities serving most of states. In most cases, these institutions were the first public universities to be established in their states. Many of what we now call the flagship campuses were established in the extraordinary period of university building that took place in the United States in the roughly three decades from the mid-1850s to the mid-1880s. Many came into being after the Morrill Act of 1863 provided the federal grants of land to the states to establish public universities. Some states built two institutions, a land-grant college focused on agriculture and the "mechanical arts" as well as general education, and another more directed at classical education and the other professions. For example, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Washington, and Texas, among others, built separate institutions, while Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and California combined the land-grant and liberal arts function on a single campus. These institutions formed the core of the public systems of higher education in their respective states. State teachers colleges, later evolving into regional state colleges or universities, formed the rest of the higher education institutions in most states.</p>
<p>But it was always clear that the one or two institutions that were the original land-grant or public universities in the states were the flagships--the leaders--even though they may not have been referred to as such. They became the centers for research and graduate education and they developed an array of professional schools that added to their size, scope, and pre-eminence."*</p>
<p>
[quote]
Texas actually has two state flagship universities, Texas A&M being the other…
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Up until the space race, the flagships tended to be the liberal arts kind of schools in Texas and elsewhere. Their in-state tech counterpart benefited during this time and got another boost in the 80s and 90s as computers were integrated into every aspect of business and manufacturing. The flagship, softer-science schools usually have the long established reputation (usually because the have the journalism school), but the tech flagships have picked up considerable ground, more than the their rivals are willing to admit.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The flagship, softer-science schools usually have the long established reputation (usually because the have the journalism school)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's an interesting theory of causation for the reputation of different universities.</p>
<p>Journalism has little or nothing to do with the differing reputations between the universities with more of a liberal arts focus and their engineering-oriented (and ag-oriented) brethren. Much more relevant is the historical view of the engineering profession as an occupation for the children of farmers, factory workers, and the like. Additionally, a fairly small percentage of engineers actually held college degrees until the 20th century. The much more common means of entering the profession was through the military or apprenticeship. As someone mentioned above, it wasn't until WWII, the space race, etc. that engineering really became a viable, full fledged academic discipline. The old reputations did hard, however, and there is still a lingering lack of respect for engineering amongst many academics and the "blue blood" elite.</p>
<p>Kansas also has multiple flagship public universities, the University of Kansas (Lawrence) and Kansas State University (Manhattan). Both have very strong undergraduate programs in many disciplines as well as top notch graduate and professional programs.</p>
<p>Others</p>
<p>Louisiana State University
Rutgers (New Jersey)
University of Massachusetts
University of Nevada Las Vegas</p>
<p>Utah is a difficult case because it is the lone state where many there would consider a private school to be the state's flagship: Brigham Young</p>
<p>
[quote]
you need to add UCLA to the California list since it's nearly as selective as Cal. [btw: The state tries to fund all UC campuses somewhat equally.]
[/quote]
</p>
<p>While UCLA is an excellent university that's almost as selective as Cal, I wouldn't consider UCLA the "flagship" campus of California.</p>
<p>drusba, I think Nevada is also a unique case, since UNLV and U of Nevada-Reno can probably make equal cases for being the "flagship" (though both are pretty weak overall).</p>
<p>Despite my high respect for UCLA, particularly considering how young it is as an institution, I agree with kyledavid that UCB has to be the flagship, since it has and does everything that UCLA does, just slightly better (with the exception of film & medical schools). Plus, Cal does have the history of being considered, until the rise of Stanford, the top university in the west.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>I agree with Lesser Professor about some states having two universities that could be considered flagships today even though it may not historically been considered so. Since people generally consider the flagship to be the best school in the state that is the most desirable to attend for a top student wanting an instate public school, then it stands to reason that flagship might take on a different meaning depending on the students interests/goals. </p>
<p>In my state for instance, people (especially out of staters) think only of UNC-CH as the worthy flagship and it is the oldest/most prestigious in the state for sure. BUT an NC student (who wants an in-state public u.) can be number one in his class with the best stats ever and will not even apply to UNC if he/she wants a major in engineering, architecture, meteorology,etc. because UNC-CH doesn't offer it.<br>
The obvious choice in this circumstance is NC State University which now has more students than UNC-CH and is seen by NC students as an equally good educational value (was ranked as the #2 best value in a public univ. last year) for the majors they wish to pursue.<br>
As an earlier post pointed out, this is the case in quite a few states.</p>
<p>I appreciate the posts by participants with local knowledge of particular states.</p>
<p>"University of Pennsylvania"</p>
<p>No, University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League school and not a state school.</p>
<p>Don't forget:</p>
<p>Purdue University, West Layfette, Indiania
<a href="http://www.purdue.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.purdue.edu/</a></p>
<p>SUNY Binghamton, New York
<a href="http://www.binghamton.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.binghamton.edu/</a></p>
<p>I was wondering which campus people would mention in the SUNY system.</p>
<p>Here's an update with all fifty states listed. Please comment about any oddities or debatable issues you see in this list. </p>
<p>Alabama (AL) </p>
<p>University of Alabama </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ua.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ua.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Auburn University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.auburn.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.auburn.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Alaska (AK) </p>
<p>University of Alaska Fairbanks </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uaf.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uaf.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Arizona (AZ) </p>
<p>University of Arizona </p>
<p><a href="http://www.arizona.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.arizona.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Arizona State University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.asu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.asu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Arkansas (AR) </p>
<p>University of Arkansas </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uark.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uark.edu/</a> </p>
<p>California (CA) </p>
<p>University of California system </p>
<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/</a> </p>
<p>University of California: Berkeley ("Cal" or "Berkeley") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.berkeley.edu/</a> </p>
<p>University of California: Los Angeles ("U.C.L.A.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ucla.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ucla.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Colorado (CO) </p>
<p>University of Colorado at Boulder ("C.U.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.colorado.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.colorado.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Connecticut (CT) </p>
<p>University of Connecticut ("U Conn") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uconn.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uconn.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Delaware (DE) </p>
<p>University of Delaware </p>
<p><a href="http://www.udel.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.udel.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Florida (FL) </p>
<p>University of Florida </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ufl.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ufl.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Georgia (GA) </p>
<p>University of Georgia </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uga.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uga.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Georgia Institute of Technology </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gatech.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.gatech.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Hawaii (HI) </p>
<p>University of Hawaii at Manoa </p>
<p><a href="http://manoa.hawaii.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://manoa.hawaii.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Idaho (ID) </p>
<p>University of Idaho </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uidaho.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uidaho.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Illinois (IL) </p>
<p>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uiuc.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uiuc.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Indiana (IN) </p>
<p>Indiana University Bloomington </p>
<p><a href="http://www.iub.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.iub.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Purdue University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.purdue.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.purdue.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Iowa (IA) </p>
<p>University of Iowa </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uiowa.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uiowa.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Iowa State University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.iastate.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.iastate.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Kansas (KS) </p>
<p>University of Kansas ("K.U.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ku.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ku.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Kansas State University ("K. State")</p>
<p><a href="http://www.k-state.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.k-state.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Kentucky (KY) </p>
<p>University of Kentucky </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uky.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uky.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Louisiana (LA) </p>
<p>Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College </p>
<p><a href="http://www.lsu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.lsu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Maine (ME) </p>
<p>University of Maine ("UMaine") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.umaine.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.umaine.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Maryland (MD) </p>
<p>University of Maryland: College Park ("College Park") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.maryland.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.maryland.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Massachusetts (MA) </p>
<p>University of Massachusetts Amherst ("U Mass")</p>
<p><a href="http://umass.edu/umhome/index.php%5B/url%5D">http://umass.edu/umhome/index.php</a> </p>
<p>Michigan (MI) </p>
<p>University of Michigan </p>
<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.umich.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Minnesota (MN) </p>
<p>University of Minnesota Twin Cities </p>
<p><a href="http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php%5B/url%5D">http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php</a> </p>
<p>Mississippi (MS) </p>
<p>University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.olemiss.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.olemiss.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Mississippi State University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.msstate.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.msstate.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Missouri (MO) </p>
<p>University of Missouri: Columbia ("Mizzou") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.missouri.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.missouri.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Montana (MT) </p>
<p>University of Montana: Missoula </p>
<p><a href="http://www.umt.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.umt.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Nebraska (NE) </p>
<p>University of Nebraska--Lincoln </p>
<p><a href="http://www.unl.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.unl.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Nevada (NV) </p>
<p>University of Nevada Reno ("U.N.R.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.unr.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.unr.edu/</a> </p>
<p>University of Nevada Las Vegas ("U.N.L.V.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.unlv.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.unlv.edu/</a> </p>
<p>New Hampshire (NH) </p>
<p>University of New Hampshire </p>
<p><a href="http://www.unh.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.unh.edu/</a> </p>
<p>New Jersey (NJ) </p>
<p>Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey ("Rutgers") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.rutgers.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.rutgers.edu/</a> </p>
<p>New Mexico (NM) </p>
<p>University of New Mexico </p>
<p>New York (NY) </p>
<p>State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University) </p>
<p><a href="http://www.binghamton.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.binghamton.edu/</a> </p>
<p>North Carolina (NC) </p>
<p>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("Chapel Hill") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.unc.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.unc.edu/</a> </p>
<p>North Carolina State University ("N.C. State") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncsu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncsu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>North Dakota (ND) </p>
<p>University of North Dakota </p>
<p><a href="http://www.und.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.und.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Ohio (OH) </p>
<p>The Ohio State University: Columbus Campus ("Ohio State" "O.S.U.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.osu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.osu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Oklahoma (OK) </p>
<p>University of Oklahoma ("O.U.") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ou.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ou.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Oklahoma State </p>
<p><a href="http://osu.okstate.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://osu.okstate.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Oregon (OR) </p>
<p>University of Oregon </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uoregon.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uoregon.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Pennsylvania (PA) </p>
<p>Penn State University Park </p>
<p><a href="http://www.psu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.psu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Rhode Island (RI) </p>
<p>University of Rhode Island </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uri.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uri.edu/</a> </p>
<p>South Carolina (SC) </p>
<p>University of South Carolina </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sc.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.sc.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Clemson University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.clemson.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.clemson.edu/</a> </p>
<p>South Dakota (SD) </p>
<p>University of South Dakota </p>
<p><a href="http://www.usd.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.usd.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Tennessee (TN) </p>
<p>University of Tennessee: Knoxville </p>
<p><a href="http://www.utk.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.utk.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Texas (TX) </p>
<p>University of Texas at Austin </p>
<p><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.utexas.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Texas A & M University </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tamu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tamu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Utah (UT) </p>
<p>University of Utah </p>
<p><a href="http://www.utah.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.utah.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Vermont (VT) </p>
<p>University of Vermont </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uvm.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uvm.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Virginia (VA) </p>
<p>University of Virginia </p>
<p><a href="http://www.virginia.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Washington (WA) </p>
<p>University of Washington ("U Dub") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.washington.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.washington.edu/</a> </p>
<p>West Virginia (WV) </p>
<p>West Virginia University</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wvu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.wvu.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Wisconsin (WI) </p>
<p>University of Wisconsin--Madison ("Madison") </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisc.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.wisc.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Wyoming (WY) </p>
<p>University of Wyoming </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uwyo.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uwyo.edu/</a> </p>
<p>Again, I don't think UCLA can be considered a flagship university, however great it may be.</p>
<p>Sorry, nice try, but no.</p>
<p>Post #37 is plainly expressing the opinion (contrary to another opinion posted farther above) that UCLA is not a flagship university. Is post #38 saying that I should add Florida State to the list? </p>
<p>(I knew this would happen. That's why I'll let debate ensue for a while on definitional issues here, and on exactly which colleges in which states should be included. In the absence of a list written in stone by the finger of God, if I ever consider this list finalized it will be on the basis of some general principle easy for me to apply to doubtful cases.)</p>
<p>UCLA has emerged as a second flagship school for Socal. It gets far more state funding than UCB.</p>