Auburn University has developed into one of the largest universities in the South, remaining in the educational forefront with its traditional blend of arts and applied science and changing with the needs of today while living with a respect for the traditions and spirit that are Auburn. The University today is a comprehensive land, sea and space grant institution among the few that hold that distinction occupying more than 1,840 acres and helping fulfill the dreams of nearly 25,000 students. Auburn began, though, as the small, humbler East Alabama Male College, which was chartered in 1856 and opened its doors in 1859 as a private liberal arts institution. The university offers a comprehensive array of programs that lead to a Bachelor, Master or Doctoral degree. As a comprehensive university, Auburn is committed to offering high quality undergraduate, graduate, and professional education to students. It emphasizes a broad and superior undergraduate education that imparts the knowledge, skills, and values so essential to educated and responsible citizens. The university provides high quality graduate and professional programs in areas of need and importance to the state and beyond. It strives to attract a faculty that will bring distinction and stature to the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs offered by the University.Auburn is a small, friendly university town in the rolling hills of east central Alabama, with a population around 60,000. It is conveniently located along Interstate 85, less than 60 miles northeast of Alabama’s capital city of Montgomery; about 30 miles northwest of Columbus, Georgia; and 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. Alabama’s Gulf Shores can be reached in less than four hours. The City of Auburn and Auburn University share a special relationship, including partnerships such as the Yarbrough Tennis Center and the Auburn Research Park. The famed Toomer’s Corner not only marks the spot where the city and university intersect, but it is a widely popular place for the city and university communities alike to gather in celebration.