Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the Board of Treasury of the United States and the Ohio Company of Associates, which set aside the College Lands to support a university, and subsequently approved by the territorial legislature in 1802 and the Ohio General Assembly in 1804. The university opened for students in 1809, and was the first university to be established in the former Northwest Territory.
Ohio University comprises nine campuses, nine undergraduate colleges, a graduate college, a college of medicine, and a public affairs school. It offers more than 250 areas of undergraduate study as well as certificates, master's, and doctoral degrees. It is a member of the University System of Ohio. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". As of fall 2020, the university's total enrollment at Athens was slightly more than 18,000, while the all-campus enrollment was just over 30,000.