Land-grant universities (also called land-grant colleges or land grant institutions) are American institutions which have been designated by Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. These acts funded educational institutions by granting federally-controlled land to the states. The mission of these institutions, as set forth in the 1862 Act, is to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts, not to the exclusion of classical studies, so that members of the working classes might obtain a practical college education.

The mission of the land grant universities was expanded by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 to include cooperative extension - the sending of agents into rural areas to help bring the results of agricultural research to the end users.

Land-grant universities are not to be confused with Sea Grant Colleges (a program instituted in 1966) or Space Grant Colleges (instituted in 1988). There are six colleges or universities that have all three designations.

History

The universities were initially known as land-grant colleges. Today, only a small handful of the seventy some institutions which evolved from the Morrill Acts still have "College" in their official names.

The University of the District of Columbia received land grant status and a US$ 7.24 million endowment, in lieu of a land grant, in 1967. In a 1972 Special Education Amendment, American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands each received US$ 3 million.

In 1994, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium also received land grant status, and 29 additional land grant colleges were created under the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act . Most of these are two-year technical schools, but three are four-year institutions, and one offers a master's degree.

Relevant legislation

• The Morrill Act of 1862
• The Hatch Act of 1887
• The second Morrill Act of 1890
• The Adams Act - 1906
• The Nelson Act - 1907
• The Smith-Lever Act of 1914
• Chapter 79 - May 8, 1914
• The Smith-Hughes Act - 1917
• The Parnell Act - 1925
• The Copper-Ketcham Act - 1928
• The Bankhead-Jones Act of 1935
• The Bankhead-Flannegan Act - 1945
• The Research Marketing Act - 1946
• Amendment to Smith-Lever Act - 1953, 1955, 1961, 1962, 1968
• Amended Hatch Act - 1955
• The McIntire-Stennis Act - 1962
• The Research Facilities Act - 1965
• Public Law 89-106 - 1965
• The National Sea Grant College and Program Act - 1966
• The Rural Development Act - 1972
• The Food and Agriculture Act - 1977
• The National Agricultural Research Extension and Teaching Act - Title XIV - 1977
• The Resource Extension Act - 1978
• Amendment to Title XIV - 1981
• The Agriculture and Food Act - 1981
• Amendment to Title XIV of Food Security Act - 1985
• 1994 Native Indian Legislation

List of designated institutions

See Category:Land-grant_universities

The following university pages correspond to land-grant universities but have yet to be created:

• Kentucky State University
• University of the Virgin Islands

See also

• National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
• State university