Founded in 1868, Oregon State is the state's Land Grant university and is one of only two universities in the U.S. to have Sea Grant, Space Grant and Sun Grant designations as well. It is the state's largest public research university, with more than 160,000 people have attended OSU since its foundin.

The 2016 edition of Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked Oregon State in the "151 to 200" tier for universities worldwide and "62-71" nationally. In its 2016 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Oregon State University tied for 135th nationally and as the 68th (tied) top public university. In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranks OSU as tied for the 244th best university globally.

Undergraduates at Oregon State can explore more than 200 academic programs, and graduate students can choose from more than 100 master's programs.

Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, about 90 minutes south of Portland and an hour drive from the Pacific coast. OSU recently completed the construction of a branch campus located in Bend. This new branch campus is called OSU-Cascades and offers students living in the more central region of the state an opportunity to attend select classes at a campus location closer to their homes.