About Auburn University

Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, is the second largest university in Alabama. It is one of the state's two public flagship universities. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities" and has produced 5 Rhodes Scholars and 5 Truman Scholars.Auburn was chartered on February 1, 1856, as East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1872, under the Morrill Act, it became the state's first land-grant university and was renamed as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. In 1892, it became the first four-year coeducational school in Alabama, and in 1899 was renamed Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API) to reflect its changing mission. In 1960, its name was changed to Auburn University to acknowledge the varied academic programs and larger curriculum of a major university.