The University of Nevada at Las Vegas, UNLV for short, is the major university of southern Nevada. It is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is known for its programs in computer science, English, engineering, and hotel administration.
UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution with more than 26,000 students and over 800 faculty members. More than 180 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees are offered. Founded in 1957, UNLV is located on 337 acres in dynamic Southern Nevada. The university is ranked in the category of Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
It was originally founded as the southern regional division of the University of Nevada. In 1965, it was renamed to Nevada Southern University and hired its first university president. In 1968, Nevada Southern officially changed its name to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which gave it equal status with its former parent, the University of Nevada, Reno.
Bachelors, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Business, the College of Education, the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, the College of Fine Arts, the Graduate College, the College of Health Sciences, the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Sciences, the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, the School of Architecture, the Hank Greenspun School of Communication, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Law, and the William S. Boyd School of Social Work.
The UNLV campus is located in and around Maryland Parkway in metropolitan Las Vegas about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) from the Las Vegas Strip. The school's sports teams are called the Rebels; the men's basketball team is typically referred to as the Runnin' Rebels. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Mountain West Conference; UNLV's men's soccer team competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.