Land-grant universities (also called land-grant colleges or land-grant institutions) are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.
The Morrill Acts funded educational institutions by granting federally controlled land to the states for the states to develop or sell to raise funds to establish and endow "land-grant" colleges. The mission of these institutions as set forth in the 1862 Act is to focus on the teaching of practical agriculture, science and engineering, as a response to the industrial revolution and changing social class. This mission was in contrast to the historic practice of higher education to focus on an abstract Liberal Arts curriculum.
Ultimately, most land-grant colleges became large public universities that today offer a full spectrum of educational opportunities. However, some land-grant colleges are private schools, including Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.