Boise State University

Posted on Saturday, December 25, 2010

This was posted in Distance Education, Universities in Idaho

Idaho’s state capital and center of business, Boise is the largest metropolitan area between Portland, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Set against a backdrop of the Rocky Mountain foothills, Boise is one of the most attractive and enjoyable cities in the nation. As a growing city of more than 211,000 people, Boise enjoys a varied economy based on high technology, agricultural products, tourism, government agencies, and manufacturing.

Despite having graduation rates “among the lowest among all public universities in the West,” Boise State is ranked among the top 100 Regional Universities in the Western United States by U.S. News & World Report. Boise State offers 201 degrees in 190 fields of study and has nearly 20,000 students, making it both the largest and fastest-growing institution of higher education in the state of Idaho.

Boise State was founded in 1932 as Boise Junior College by the Episcopal Church. After two years the school became independent, and, in 1940, moved from St. Margaret’s Hall to its present site along the south bank of the Boise River between Capitol Boulevard and Broadway Avenue.

Mission
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher learning in Idaho. It is located in the middle of one of the most vibrant and livable cities in America and the governmental and commercial center of the Gem State. Boise State has long been heralded as an institution devoted to excellence in classroom teaching, but a new dimension to its mission is emerging—that of a metropolitan research university of distinction.

Library
The school’s library, named for grocery pioneer and longtime Boise resident Joe Albertson, is a 200,000 square foot (19,000 m²) facility in the center of the campus. The library is said to be large enough to fit the entire student body of Boise State. It houses more than 550,000 books, 80 public terminals for student use, and also has a Starbucks and a lounge area as well. An extensive library remodel was completed in the mid-1990s.

Courses Offered