Idaho State University offers a remarkable combination of academic excellence and relaxed life-style in the setting of Idaho’s great outdoors.

Located in Pocatello, the Gate City to the West, ISU is a short distance from several prominent recreation areas, foremost among them Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and Sun Valley. ISU students enjoy unrivaled outdoor activities, from skiing to backpacking, bicycling, river running and fishing Idaho’s famous blue-ribbon trout streams.

The original campus consisted of a four-block area of 8 1/2 acres donated by the citizens of Pocatello. Today, ISU has more than 50 buildings and a total of two million square feet. The university offers distinguished cultural and athletic programs featuring local, national and international participants.

The Quad on Lower Campus

Idaho State University, which achieved university status in 1963, has grown through five name changes: The Academy of Idaho, 1902-1914; Idaho Technical Institute, 1915-1926; University of Idaho, Southern Branch, 1927-1946; and Idaho State College, 1946-1962.

Since the first graduation of the Academy of Idaho in 1902, ISU has seen constant growth. During the last decade, enrollment increased by 30 percent, and 92 percent of current students are Idaho residents. ISU draws its 13,663 students from every county in Idaho, all 50 states and more than 40 foreign countries.

ISU has an abundance of top-flight academic programs, including nationally acknowledged courses of study in business and pharmacy, and state-designed leadership in the health professions.

Holt Arena is the world's first domed college football stadium

The University has been ranked among the national leaders in the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) examinations for the past decade, with pass rates more than three times the national average. The statistics are based on students taking the exam for the first time.

As Idaho’s center for education in health professions and with supporting physical and biological sciences, ISU offers degrees in dental hygiene, dietetics, health care administration, nursing, radiographic science, and speech pathology and audiology. Also offered are master’s programs in deaf education, nursing, physical therapy, and speech pathology and audiology. A doctorate is available in clinical psychology.

ISU is a leader in educator preparation, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in teacher education, educational administration, family and consumer sciences, physical education and dance, school psychology, special education, and vocational teacher education, occupational training management, and corporate training.

The lower campus of ISU, as seen from Red Hill

Neighbor to the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory and home of Idaho’s first University-related business and research park, ISU has a continuing emphasis on business, engineering and the liberal arts, helping maintain a solid base for other academic disciplines.

Overall, ISU’s 13,663 students take part in 44 certificate programs in the School of Applied Technology, in 68 bachelor’s, 52 master’s and 11 doctoral programs in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy, Health Professions, Education, Engineering, and Business. If ISU doesn’t have exactly what a student is looking for, the Office of Individualized Education oversees programs which offer students the opportunity to “design” a degree in a field not formally available at ISU. Such students can earn Bachelor of University Studies, Bachelor of Arts in General Studies, or Bachelor of Applied Technology degrees.