North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University (NDSU), is a public research university in Fargo, in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of fall 2015, NDSU has 14,516 students and sits on a 258-acre (1 km²) campus. The institution was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as the research land-grant institution for the state of North Dakota. The university operates several agricultural research extension centers spread over 18,488 acres (75 km²). NDSU is part of the North Dakota University System.