In its 50-year history, UNLV has undergone an amazing transformation from a small branch college into a thriving urban research institution of 28,000 students and 3,300 faculty and staff.

Along the way, the urban land-grant university has become a dynamic resource for one of the country's fastest-growing and most enterprising cities. UNLV's 350-acre main campus, located on the Southern tip of Nevada in a desert valley surrounded by mountains, is home to more than 220 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs, all accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

UNLV was the fourth fastest-growing university in the nation in output of articles in the sciences and engineering fields, according to a recent study by the National Science Foundation. Publication of peer-reviewed articles, considered a key measure of productivity by a university, grew 99 percent at UNLV between 1991 and 2001. UNLV's upward publication trend has continued through 2007. Nationally, research productivity among top 200 universities has remained flat or decreased, the study showed.