​GENERAL​

• Emerging metropolitan research university of distinction, achieving its vision through academic excellence, public engagement, a vibrant culture and exceptional research
• Reflecting the character of Idaho’s capital city – a center of business, government, technology, health care, outdoor recreation and the arts
• Largest university in Idaho with 22,678 students
• More than 70,000 alumni live across the United States and beyond
• Ranked among the nation’s and West’s “top up-and-coming schools” in the 2010 and 2011 U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” issue
• Recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching with its Community Engagement Classification
   

ACADEMICS

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• Undergraduate, graduate and technical programs in seven colleges offering 78 master’s degrees, 95 baccalaureates, four associates and 18 graduate certificates
• Eight doctoral programs
• Idaho’s first Executive MBA program, accredited by AACSB International, the gold standard for accreditation
• Year-round educational opportunities, including spring and fall semesters, summer program and winter intersession, eCampus, concurrent enrollment, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – all available through Extended Studies
• Customized education with Internet-based courses and classes available in Meridian, Mountain Home, Twin Falls and Gowen Field
• Study abroad opportunities offered in more than 50 countries
• Formal international partnerships with the University of Cagliari in Italy, University of Calgary in Canada, Asia University in Tokyo, the Basque government in Spain, and more than 35 other institutions
• Students and alumni include two Rhodes Scholars, a Truman Scholar, a Mitchell Scholar, four Goldwater Scholars, a USA Today Academic All-American, several NCAA Academic All-Americans, several NCAA post-graduate scholars, and many Fulbright scholars and professors
• College of Engineering undergraduate programs ranked 15th in the nation among comprehensive public universities in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” issue
• College of Business and Economics is among 6 percent of business schools in the world and 26 percent in the nation with AACSB international accreditation
• Largest undergraduate nursing program in the state
• Only university in the United States to offer a master of science degree in raptor biology
• AfterWork program allows working adults to complete bachelor’s degrees in nine areas of study through a combination of evening, weekend and online classes without exiting their career tracks
• Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing was recognized by the Huffington Post as one of the top 25 underrated programs in the country

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FACULTY​

• Home to Boise State Distinguished Educator in Residence and former NASA astronaut Barbara Morgan, who is providing vision and leadership to the State of Idaho on science, technology, engineering and math education
• Eleven Idaho Professor of the Year award recipients, presented by the Carnegie Foundation.
• Since 2007, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded four prestigious CAREER Award grants to early career faculty at Boise State University.
• Adjunct English professor Alan Heathcock was named the 2009 Carol Houck Smith Scholar at the national Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the oldest writer’s conference in the country, and was presented with the national Whiting Writers’ Award and honored as a Top Idaho Author in Fiction, in 2012.
• Distinguished professor of physics Alex Punnoose was selected as the recipient of the 2012 Jean’ne M. Shreeve National Science Foundation EPSCoR Research Excellence Award
• Assistant professor of the department of history Emily Wakild was a 2012 Science, Technology and Society Scholars Award grantee from the National Science Foundation for South American conservation research
• In 2010, Boise State faculty had two articles published in Science, the acclaimed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Provide expert commentary for New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, New Scientist, The Economist, CNN and Newsweek

​STUDENTS​

• Student Construction Management Association has twice been named top chapter in the nation by the Associated General Contractors of America
• Student teams have participated in NASA’s Microgravity University, which challenges undergraduates to design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a reduced gravity experiment
• Honors College offers more than 450 talented, highly motivated students from all academic disciplines the personalized attention of a small liberal arts school while drawing upon the resources of a metropolitan research university
• Faculty regularly work side-by-side with undergraduate students on research
• A student/faculty ratio of 21:1
• Students have recently won national awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Kappa Sigma, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the National Environmental Health Association
• One of the largest internship programs in the Northwest with 1,300 job placements annually
• Talkin’ Broncos debate and speech team won the 2011 national championship and is a perennial contender for the title

​RESEARCH​

• Emerging research leader in biomolecular science, innovative materials, health and public policy, sensors, and nanoelectronics and integrated systems
• Named one of 20 CUDA Research Centers worldwide by NVIDIA, a world leader in visual and parallel computing using graphics processing units — only CUDA center in the Pacific Northwest and one of only eight in the United States
• An interdisciplinary group received $940,000 in federal funding for West Nile virus vaccine research
• The Center for Health Policy researches the challenges of recruiting and retaining family medicine physicians in rural areas of Idaho
• Fastest growing biomolecular research program in Idaho supports researchers studying Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, artificial cartilage, chemotherapeutic drugs and other areas
• Part of two Federal Aviation Administration research centers with other universities such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard and Cal Berkeley
• More than 50 centers and institutes on campus work for the common good of Idaho and beyond, including the Center for Health Policy, Idaho Council on Economic Education and Andrus Center for Public Policy
• Recipient of $16.1 million grant along with sister institutions in Idaho from the National Institutes of Health to establish the Network for Biomedical Research Excellence
• Conduct funded research in Asia, Europe, Greenland, South and Central America, and many other locations worldwide
• Recipient of a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a National Geothermal Data System
• Awarded National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research funding totaling $1.8 million for the 2012-11 academic year
• Recipient of $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to pioneer a novel disease detection system with principal investigator Will Hughes

​CAMPUS LIFE​

• Seven residence halls and five apartments, including eight Ivy League-modeled residential colleges and living/learning communities for students and faculty
• Vibrant campus life with more than 200 student organizations
• Award-winning $12 million Student Recreation Center with one of the largest collegiate climbing gyms in the United States (7,200-square-foot rock wall)
• Intercollegiate athletics features 19 sports as a member of the Mountain West Conference, including a nationally recognized football program that competes on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium
• Received silver Bicycle Friendly Campus award from the League of American Bicyclists in 2012
• Host a variety of events each year, including Homecoming, Pow Wow, Earth Week, Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration, International Food, Song and Dance Festival, and more
• More than 1.5 million people annually attend campus cultural, athletic and entertainment events

​FACILITIES​

• 175-acre main campus situated less than a mile from Boise’s bustling downtown
• Main academic facilities include Albertsons Library, Engineering Complex, Norco Building, Communication Building, Kinesiology Building and Annex, Liberal Arts Building, Math/Geosciences Building, Business Building, Education Building, Science/Nursing Building, Interactive Learning Center, Public Affairs and Arts West Building and the Multipurpose Classroom Building
• Micron Business and Economics Building, at the corner of University Drive and Capitol Boulevard, opened in fall 2012
• Five-story, 90,000-square-foot Environmental Research Building opened in 2011
• Boise State has completed 17 major building projects on campus in the past several years that have resulted in a 25 percent increase in classroom, laboratory, office, event and common area space.
• One of the smallest higher-education carbon footprint’s in the country. Green construction standards include geothermal heating and providing access to public transportation
• Entertainment and athletic facilities include Bronco Stadium (33,500 capacity), Taco Bell Arena (12,400), Morrison Center Main Hall (2,000) and Centennial Amphitheatre (800)
• Student Union venues are the Grace Jordan Ballroom (1,000), J.R. and Esther Simplot Grand Ballroom (700) and Special Events Center (435) in addition to the Boise State Bookstore and Bronco Shop
• Additional education centers at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Gowen Field, Twin Falls, Meridian and in north Idaho

​COMMUNITY​

• Guest speakers on campus have included illustrious figures such as Seymour Hersh, Al Gore, Mary Robinson, Kurt Vonnegut, Lech Walesa, Walter Mondale, Gloria Steinem, Danny Glover, E.O. Wilson, Peter Jennings, Ralph Nader, George McGovern, Cornel West, Barack Obama and John Wooden
• Annual Gene Harris Jazz Festival brings world-famous jazz artists to Boise
• Hosts Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration every January
• Connected to Idaho community, serving more than 30,000 people annually in workshops, short courses, apprenticeship training and other non-credit programs
• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute partners with faculty and community organizations to offer its aged 50 and older members unique insight and experiences
• Largest Service-Learning program in the state has engaged more than 20,000 students in giving an excess of 500,000 hours of service to community organizations
• The Centre for Creativity and Innovation sparks “aha moments” for people and organizations in Idaho by being a catalyst for creative collaboration
• Unique partnerships with dance companies Trey McIntyre Project and Idaho Dance Theatre bring quality performances to campus while offering educational opportunities to dancers

​CITY OF BOISE​

• “Welcome to Boise, Idaho, the last great place in the American West – where housing remains affordable, Western culture still thrives, and access to the nation’s wildest state begins within city limits.” — National Geographic Adventure magazine, September 2006
• “A rejuvenated downtown and a budding arts community mean that after a day of rafting…you don’t have to turn in once the sun fades.” — The New York Times, July 2006
• “One of the knowledge capitals of the West” and one of the top 20 fastest-recovering cities by growth, employment and housing prices. — The MetroMonitor, Brookings Institute, March 2012
• “Boise, to put it mildly, has been on a roll. Government, education, and health care remain core industries, but dozens of high-tech startups have moved to town, joining behemoths like Hewlett-Packard and Micron Technology. And while its population has more than doubled in the past 30 years and jaded locals bemoan the sprawl, Boise has managed its growth impressively well: The city is home to nearly 2,000 acres of parks and a 25-mile greenbelt.” — Outside Magazine, July 2010
• “Boise is still so young and new—changing almost every day—and I don’t think it’s overstatement to suggest that our town represents everything that remains great about America: potential, youth, natural beauty, quality of life. Some 100 parks, 14 museums, playgrounds everywhere you turn: our skies are huge; our houses affordable. Hikers can still drink from a secret spring in the hills; paddlers can still go kayaking in the morning and meet with their accountants by noon. When we visit friends who live elsewhere, they ask, ‘Boise? Really? Why do you live there?’ But when friends visit us, they say, ‘Oh, wow, now I see.’” — Anthony Doerr for Smithsonian Magazine, April 2009
• Noted as one of the “Fittest Towns of the West” — Sunset magazine, February 2012
• No. 1 for America’s best adventure town — Outside magazine, August 2010
• No. 2 for most secure locations to live among large metro areas in the United States — Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, 2012
• No. 3 for best river town in America — Outside magazine, September 2012
• No. 4 for top ten downtowns — Livability.com, October 2012
• No. 5 healthiest city — Women’s Health/Men’s Health magazines, 2011 and 2012
• No. 6 for America’s hottest music cities — The Atlantic/SXSW, March 2012
• No. 7 for long-term job growth rate — U.S. Chamber of Commerce, June 2011
• No. 8 most underrated city in the best — Life magazine, June 2010
• No. 9 top entrepreneurship and innovation — U.S. Chamber of Commerce, June 2011
• No. 10 best places to find a job — The Fiscal Times, November 2011

​NOTEWORTHY ALUMNI​

• Hollywood director and Boise State’s first Rhodes Scholar Michael Hoffman (’79) — his movies include “Restoration” (which won two Oscars), “One Fine Day,” and “The Last Station”
• Former Micron Technology CEO and chair Steve Appleton (’82) — joined Boise-based Micron after graduation from Boise State and helped shape it into one of the world’s top suppliers of memory chips and image sensors
• Civic and political leader Bethine Church (’43), widow of the late U.S. Sen. Frank Church
• Actor Earl Boen (’61) — appeared in television shows and more than 50 feature films, including “Terminator,” “The Man With Two Brains,” “9 to 5” and “Nutty Professor II”
• Updated as of November 14, 2012