The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public research university in the United States, located in Durham, New Hampshire. It is the flagship institution of the University System of New Hampshire. Founded in 1866 as a land-grant college, UNH is one of the oldest public universities in the country. The university offers over 200 programs of study and confers degrees at all levels: associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral.
UNH is classified among “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity”. In the 2020 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings, UNH was tied for 168th overall among national universities and 34th among public universities. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classifies UNH as a “Doctoral/Research University—Intensive.” With an enrollment of more than 15,000 students (about two-thirds undergraduate), UNH is by far the largest university in the state and one of only three institutions classified as “research universities” with “very high research activity” by Carnegie (the other two being Dartmouth College and Ivy League rival Brown University). The average class size at UNH is 19 students; 67 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students enrolled.
Located between Boston and Montreal on Interstate 95, Durham sits approximately 100 miles north of Portland, Maine; 150 miles southwestof Concord; and 30 miles northwestof Portsmouth—all major cities within New England. The town itself originally developed around Oyster River Plantation established in 1623; since then it has grown through several periods including agricultural (orchards), industrial (textiles), commercial (retail trade), residential (suburbanization), educational (the presence of UNH), medical/biotech Research Triangle Park) uses.