The University of Iowa is a public research university located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The school’s main campus covers 1,900 acres (769 ha) on a hill above the city’s downtown district and overlooks both the Iowa River and Coralville Reservoir. The school has numerous satellite campuses across the state, including two in Cedar Rapids: one near downtown and another adjacent to Kirkwood Community College. The school also operates several off-campus research facilities, such as the IIHR–Hydroscience & Engineering Laboratory on Sand Island in Scott County.
The University of Iowa is classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity”. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 105th place among national universities and 39th place among public universities. It was ranked 128th globally by Times Higher Education for 2020; this placed it at joint 97th place in North America with four other institutions including Arizona State University and McGill University
Research plays a central role at UIowa. For fiscal year 2018 alone, external research funding reached $651 million—a new record for competitively awarded outside support that reflects an increase of more than $50 million from FY2017’s previous record high of $597 million In FY2019, federal government agencies provided 54% of sponsored program funds while non-governmental organizations contributed 29%. Industry partners supplied 17%, with foundations supplying <1%. According to NSF data compiled by THE , UIowa’s total research expenditures were nearly $532 million in 2017 (the latest available data), which would rank it 107th nationally out of 754 institutions surveyed—and 362nd when adjusted for institutional size Over its history, 31 UIowa faculty members have been elected fellows or honorary members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; twenty are members or foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences; five have won Guggenheim Fellowships; three have been named MacArthur Fellows ("Genius Grant" recipients); two have received Pulitzer Prizes (including one posthumously); one has won a Bancroft Prize; and one has been awarded the National Humanities Medal