- "Welcome to Boise, Idaho, the last great place in the American West
– where housing remains affordable, Western culture still thrives, and access
to the nation’s wildest state begins within city limits."
- National Geographic Adventure magazine in September 2006 
Boise State is Idaho’s metropolitan research university, located in the state’s population center and capital city, a hub of government, business, the arts, health care, industry and technology. The campus is home to 11 Idaho Professor of the Year honorees since 1990 and the 2005 national champion student debate and speech team. Boise State is the largest university in Idaho with an all-time state enrollment record of 19,667 students.
“Sitting at the junction of the arid plateau of the high desert and the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the capital of Idaho offers all the outdoor advantages of more ballyhooed Western towns but with less, well, ballyhoo.” The New York Times in July 2006
The university offers more than 190 fields of interest. Undergraduate, graduate and technical programs are available in seven colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health Sciences and Social Sciences and Public Affairs. Students can also study abroad, participate in one of the largest internship programs in the Northwest, and work with professors on health-related research to fight cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.
The main exhibit hall at the Boise Art Museum
Campus life offers adventure and activity. More than 200 student organizations, new residence halls along the Boise River Greenbelt and a state-of-the-art Student Recreation Center provide opportunities for both individual development and fun. More than one million visitors come to campus annually for Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning speakers, Bronco football, Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration and other events.
With a metro area of about 350,000 people, the Boise area offers an outstanding quality of life as well as a vibrant business environment. In addition to being Idaho's capital and the region's business and financial center, Boise is headquarters for several major corporations and numerous other firms in the $100-$300 million range which add to a vibrant business climate supporting the metro area. High technology in Boise employs more than 20,000 people. The city is also the location of numerous federal and state agencies and is the region's medical center.
Located in southwestern Idaho, Boise provides a moderate climate and more than 300 days of sunshine. Cultural events, many held at the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts on the Boise State campus, range from visits by international performers to local productions by the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra, Boise Opera, the American Festival Ballet, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and several noteworthy theater companies. Winter recreational activities include skiing at nearby Bogus Basin and numerous other resorts including Sun Valley. The beauty and lure of Idaho's mountains and wilderness areas offer abundant recreational opportunities for hiking, backpacking, fishing, camping, whitewater rafting, and golf only minutes from the campus. Further information is available at the Boise Chamber of Commerce and the Visit Idaho Web site.
