Founded in 1888 as the only land grant university in the state, USU is a research university based in the town of Logan, northern Utah. The region has warm, dry summers, with cold, snowy winters, and is eighty miles from Salt Lake City.

Undergraduate study is divided between eight colleges; Arts, Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities, Science, Education, and Natural Resources. The school of Graduate Study offers a wide range of courses across all fields of study, including masters in accounting and human resources at the Huntsman School of Business. 

Athletics teams at USU are known as the Aggies in reference to the university’s beginnings as an agricultural school, and compete in the NCAA Division I. There a total of six men’s sports programmes and eight women’s, including volleyball and soccer. The American football team plays at Maverik Stadium and can seat up to 22,000 spectators. There are also over 200 clubs and organisations to appeal to students of all interests.

Built in 1890, Old Main building on campus in the oldest academic institute in Utah. Housed within the building is the USU Museum of Anthropology, which features collections the American West, and artefacts such prehistoric stone tools and Arabic rugs and carpets. USU has also had a creamery since its founding, and Aggie ice cream is a student favourite.

The Utah State University press prints publications covering subjects such as Mormon and Native American history. Further media outlets at USU are student newspaper The Statesman, cable service Aggie Television, and student radio KUSU.

The USU Alumni Association has been extant since 1899, and attendees of the university include Nobel Laureate Lars Peter Hansen, documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan, Los Angles Rams player Merlin Olsen, astronaut Mary Cleave, and Majority Leader Harry Reid.