New Mexico State University is a public land-grant and space-grant research university which is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico. New Mexico State University–which is commonly referred to just as NMSU–was originally established in 1888 by Hiram Hadley, an Earlham College-educated teacher from Indiana, as the Las Cruces College. The year following its establishment, the college was renamed to the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. The college was redesignated a final time to its present-day name in 1960. New Mexico State University is a Hispanic Serving Institute (HSI) and is the only research-extensive, land-grant institution which is located on the United States-Mexico border which is classified by the federal government as being an HSI.
The university operates two libraries and seven museums. The two libraries (Branson Hall Library and Zuhl Library) have a total combined collection of more than 1 million volumes. The seven museums that the university operates includes the NMSU Arthropod Museum, the University Museum, and the Klipsch Museum. The NMSU Arthropod Museum is home to more than 5,000 teaching specimens and holds more than 150,000 research articles, and museum specimens are used globally for taxonomic research and within the state for community outreach and education. In addition to the auxiliary institutions that the university operates, NMSU is organized into several graduate school and colleges. These include the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the Graduate School, the College of Health and Social Services and the College of Honors. Through the university’s various schools and colleges, NMSU provides its more than 18,000 students with academic programs in more than 80 areas-of-study. The university is home to New Mexico’s NASA Space Grant Program and operates additional research universities such as the Agricultural Experiment Station, the Institute for Energy and Environment and the Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center.
The area of Las Cruces has a variety of things for NMSU attending students and area visitors to do, such as:
- The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum:
The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum is a 47-acre interactive museum which features the Historic Green Bridge, the Skaggs Dairy Barn, the Blacksmith Shop, the Beef Barn, the Sheep and Goat Barn, the Greenhouse, various gardens, orchards and a pond. The museum chronicles the state’s 3,000-year long history of farming and ranching and is a part of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
- The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument:
The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is the 100th National Monument and is the newest National Monument in the nation, having been designated as a monument in 2009. The monument features a major deposit of Paleozoic Era fossilized footprints. Some of the prints present were left by various species including Dimetrodons, Eryops, Edaphosaurus and various other specimens of pelycosaurs. The monument also features natural desert flora and fauna native to the area.
New Mexico State University Online Degrees and Programs:
New Mexico State University offers distance learning students a variety of professional certification programs, undergraduate degree-granting programs and graduate degree-granting programs from which to choose. These academic programs are all fully online and offered in an asynchronous format, allowing for a lot of flexibility in when and where students obtain their education. These programs are all taught by the same faculty that teaches New Mexico State University’s on-campus courses, which ensures that students will receive a top-notch education. The available academic programs include the following:
Certificates:
- Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning;
- Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering;
- Graduate Certificate Post-Master’s of Science of Nursing and;
- Graduate Public Health Certificate
Undergraduate Degrees:
- Bachelor of Arts in Sociology;
- Bachelor of Business Administration (General Business);
- Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing);
- Bachelor of Criminal Justice;
- Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology;
- Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education;
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing and;
- Bachelor of Women’s Studies
- Master of Arts in Agricultural and Extension Education;
- Master of Arts in Education (Emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction);
- Master of Arts in Education (Emphasis in Learning Technologies);
- Master of Arts in Education Administration (Emphasis in Community College and University Administration);
- Master of Arts in Education Administration (Emphasis in Pk-12 Educational Administration);
- Master of Arts in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with Emphasis Early Childhood Education;
- Master of Arts in Education with a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning;
- Master of Arts in Sociology;
- Master of Arts in Spanish;
- Master of Business Administration (MBA);
- Master of Criminal Justice;
- Master of Music: Music Education Track;
- Master of Public Health (MPH);
- Master of Science in Electrical Engineering;
- Master of Science in Industrial Engineering;
- Master of Science in Nursing;
- Master of Social Work (MSW);
- Master of Science in Nursing Administration;
- Doctor of Education or Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership;
- Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction and;
- Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing
What Makes New Mexico State University Unique: Noche de Luminarias
Noche de Luminarias (or Night of Lights) is a tradition which signals the holiday season at New Mexico State University and is considered to be one of the largest luminaria displays in the state of New Mexico. Each candle set in the display is lit inside a paper bag, and more than 6,000 luminarias are set out, beginning at the Educational Services Building and extending out towards the International Mall before finally encircling the Corbett Center Student Union.
Other School Facts:
New Mexico State University is home to a variety of sororities and fraternities. The Greek organizations present are:
- Alpha Xi Delta;
- Chi Omega;
- Delta Gamma;
- Delta Zeta;
- Zeta Tau Alpha;
- Alpha Gamma Rho;
- Alpha Tau Omega;
- Delta Sigma Phi;
- Kappa Sigma;
- Lambda Chi Alpha;
- Phi Delta Theta;
- Pi Kappa Alpha;
- Phi Kappa Tau;
- Pi Kappa Phi;
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon;
- Sigma Chi;
- Tau Kappa Epsilon;
- Phi Beta Sigma;
- Omega Delta Phi;
- Sigma Chi;
- Kappa Sigma;
- Lambda Chi Alpha;
- Phi Delta Theta;
- Kappa Delta Chi;
- Chi Upsilon Sigma;
- Zeta Phi Beta;
- Gamma Sigma Alpha;
- The Order of Omega and;
- GAMMA
New Mexico State University’s Website: https://www.nmsu.edu/
New Mexico State University’s Accreditation: The Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
New Mexico State University’s Values and Mission Statement: https://grants.nmsu.edu/about/mission-vision-values/
New Mexico State University’s Motto: None
New Mexico State University’s Mascot: Pistol Pete
New Mexico State University’s Colors: Crimson and White