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Indiana University
About IU

Boldly creating a home for the future

Since 1820, Indiana University has helped students create brighter futures, while also seeking ways to drive innovation, from breakthroughs in DNA technology and cancer research to trailblazing cultural programs and resources.

See our university honors and awards
IU graduate at commencement ceremony

A home for world-class academics

IU is home to top-ranked business and music schools. We’re home to the world’s first school of philanthropy, the nation’s first school of informatics, and the country’s largest medical school. IU is also one of the few doctoral-granting schools in the U.S. with more than one Research 1 (R1) campus—a testament to the groundbreaking work our researchers and students are tackling to change lives in Indiana, across the country, and beyond. Our hundreds of academic programs are among the world’s best, and we’re always looking toward the horizon, thinking about what’s next.

To better prepare our students for the careers of tomorrow, we’ve launched or reconfigured 10 schools in the last decade, and we’re constantly adding new academic programs, like IU Bloomington’s Intelligent Systems Engineering program and IU Online’s 100% virtual Master of Science in Educational Technology for Learning.

Get to know IU

See IU facts and figures, learn about our global locations, meet our leadership, and find out how to contact us.

Support for mental health and wellness

Mental health is an important part of helping our community thrive, so we have expanded our resources to serve our faculty, staff, and students. 

A commitment to global engagement and research

IU is a gateway to the world, and we prepare students to live and work anywhere with wide-ranging language and culture programs, more than 380 overseas study options, support for international research projects, Global Gateway Network offices across continents, and partnerships with nearly 60 institutions worldwide. More than 6,500 international students are currently pursuing their educations here, serving as a testament to the power of an IU degree.

A bold vision for the future

Our mission is to provide broad access to undergraduate and graduate education for students throughout Indiana, the United States, and the world, as well as outstanding academic and cultural programs and student services.

We seek to create dynamic partnerships with our communities in economic, social, and cultural development to contribute to economic prosperity in Indiana and beyond. We offer leadership in creative solutions for 21st-century problems, and we strive to achieve full diversity and maintain friendly, collegial, and humane environments, with a strong commitment to academic freedom.

To achieve our vision as one of the great research universities of the 21st century, we will:

  • Provide an excellent, relevant, and responsive education across a wide range of disciplines in baccalaureate, graduate, and professional education, to students from all backgrounds
  • Pursue transformative, innovative, world-class research, scholarship, and creative activity
  • Engage in the economic, social, civic, and cultural development of Indiana, the nation, and the world by building on the base of excellence in research and education

Learn more about IU 2030: The Indiana University Strategic Plan.

Our core values

  • Ethical conduct and integrity  
  • Excellence and innovation 
  • Discovery and the search for truth 
  • Diversity of community and ideas 
  • Respect for the dignity of others 
  • Academic and personal integrity 
  • Academic freedom 
  • Sustainability, stewardship, and accountability for the natural, human, and economic resources and relationships entrusted to IU 
  • Sharing knowledge in a learning environment 
  • Application of knowledge and discovery to advance the quality of life and economy of the state, the region, and the world 
  • Service as an institution of higher learning to Indiana, the nation, and the world 

Milestones and innovations

Get a glimpse of some of the breakthroughs and notable achievements by IU faculty and students throughout history.

A diversity milestone
Juanita Kidd Stout, an IU alum, was the first African American woman to serve on a state supreme court in the United States. 

A cure for cancer 
IU oncologist Lawrence Einhorn developed a treatment for testicular cancer that improved the survival rate from 5 to 95 percent. 

A Nobel first 
Late IU professor Elinor Ostrom was the first female Nobel Laureate in economic sciences. 

The original Crest formula 
IU scientists first developed the toothpaste formula that Procter & Gamble later named Crest. 

A historical note 
IU faculty member Camilla Williams was the first African American singer to receive a regular contract with a major American opera company, the New York City Opera, and sang the national anthem before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. 

A genetic breakthrough 
IU scientists were responsible for the first use of DNA technologies to locate a marker for a human disease gene, targeting the gene responsible for Huntington’s disease. 

Keep exploring

Learn about IU’s involvement in our local, state, and global communities, explore academics, and find out what it’s like to be an IU student.