The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, University of Missouri–Columbia, or simply Missouri) is a public research university located in the U.S. state of Missouri. In 1839, the university was founded in Columbia as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River. As the largest university in Missouri, MU enrolls 35,441 students offering over 300 degree programs in 19 academic colleges in the 2014–15 year. The university is the flagship of the University of Missouri System, which maintains campuses in Rolla, Kansas City, and St.