Considering studying in Nevada? Read our guide to get the lowdown on this epic western state.
For most people, Nevada can be reduced to one city: Las Vegas.
Sin City looms large over the rest of this huge state, with nearly three quarters of its entire population living in the famous gaming city. It is also Nevada's economic lynchpin, bringing in vast sums of money through gaming, entertainment and tourism.
But of course, it’s not all fun and games – this is real living, breathing city which is home to nearly two million people in total. It is also home to the largest branch of the state’s public university system. Though perhaps it cannot perhaps deliver the most refined experience, if you like it big, colourful and loud (and hot – extremely hot) then you can’t really do much better!
Nevada’s other famous city, Reno – immortalized in song by Johnny Cash (don’t worry – it’s not really like that!) is also a massive draw for tourists, and is also home to the second biggest branch of the state’s public system. As well as the famous gaming culture, the ‘Biggest Little City in the World’ is also a key starting point for people looking to get a taste of Nevada’s great outdoors.
And they really are great – if you’re looking to get a sense of the vast scale of this continent sized country then there are few better places to do it than Nevada. From the imposing Sierra Nevada mountain range, to the vast Mojave desert, to the grand Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (the largest by area in the contiguous United States), Nevada is certainly not short of the epic!
Nevada: Fast facts
• A population of 2.7 million people spread out over the country's seventh biggest state (well, not really spread out, but you know what we mean) means that Nevada is one of the US’ most sparsely populated states – even more so if you take Las Vegas out of the equation
• Famous Nevadans include tennis legends Andre Agassi and Michael Chang, and pop bands Panic at the Disco and The Killers
• Elko, Nevada annually hosts the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
• Another famous Nevada cultural event is Burning Man festival, an annual countercultural arts festival of 50,000 people held in the Black Rock Desert
• Las Vegas was formerly home to an entire museum dedicated to glamorous entertainer Liberace (closed down in 2010, though a foundation to provide scholarships to young performers still exists in his name)
• The state’s Highway 50 is known as the ‘Loneliest Highway in America’
• The Hoover Dam, to the southeast of Las Vegas, produces 4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy a year, while its 17 water turbines – each of which weighs more than four fully loaded Boeing 747s – collectively can produce 2.08 gigawatts
• 79% of the US’s gold comes from Nevada
Top universities in Nevada
None of Nevada’s universities make the 2011 QS World University Rankings. However the state has a number of public, not-for-profit and for-profit institutions at which you can study.
By far the most prominent of the four-year institutions are the Reno and Las Vegas branches of the University of Nevada, which serve 18,500 and 28,000 students respectively, primarily at undergraduate level.
The Reno branch is the older of the two and considered the state’s flagship. It is a Land Grant university, known for the large scale structures laboratory in its College of Engineering, and its journalism school, which has produced six Pulitzer Prize winners.
The larger but younger Las Vegas branch is considered to be a research intensive university by the Carnegie Foundation. It offers 220 programs in total – 95 at undergraduate level – and is home to the state’s only law and dental schools.
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