Texas State University

Texas State University, public, coeducational institution of higher education in San Marcos, Texas, U.S. It is part of the Texas State University System. It offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees through the Graduate College and colleges of applied arts, business administration, education, fine arts and communication, health professions, liberal arts, and science and engineering. University College manages the core curriculum for undergraduate students. Research centres include the Center for Archaeological Studies, the Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center, the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, the Shell Center for Polymer Science and Technology, and the Center for the Study of the Southwest. Off-campus research and education sites include the 4,200-acre (1,700-hectare) Freeman Ranch. Texas State University enrolls approximately 34,000 students.

The university was established by the Texas legislature in 1899 as Southwest Texas State Normal (teacher training) School; instruction began in 1903. Old Main, built in 1903, is a distinctive Victorian architectural feature of the campus. The first graduate-level course was offered in 1936, and the first graduate degree was granted the following year. The campus expanded in 1979 with the purchase of San Marcos Baptist Academy. The university was renamed several times beginning in 1918, finally receiving its present name in 2003. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson was an alumnus of the university.