City: Phoenix, AZ

Category: Education

Telephone: (480) 965-9011

Description: Counts seem to vary based on how you judge enrollment, but around 58,000 students take a variety of classes at ASU’s Tempe campus. The 700-acre campus takes up several city blocks in downtown Tempe, and it regulates the pulse of the city. When the students leave for the summer, the usually bustling Mill Avenue falls quiet. There’s little open space and landscaping between campus buildings and Tempe businesses, so there’s an overall feeling that this is an urban, commuter campus. On the other hand, the interior of the campus has several malls—wide, tree-lined pedestrian walkways—that give the feeling of seclusion and seriousness associated with institutions of higher learning. Plus, there are 16 residence halls and ASU-run apartment complexes, proving that the campus is a good mix of commuters and those who hang out close to campus.The school’s top programs include the W.P. Carey School of Business, which has various MBA programs for full-time and part-time students. The Graduate College, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and other programs are located at the Main Campus.Architecture buffs should have a look at Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on Mill Avenue, a grandly executed circular building with lighted ramps leading out from it. It was the last public building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Nearby you will see the round and tiered Music Building and the futuristic Nelson Fine Arts Center.ASU Main students pursue a choice of 87 undergraduate degrees, 95 master’s degrees, 48 doctoral or terminal degree programs, and 1 law degree program. The colleges ASU is best known for are in liberal arts and sciences, engineering, fine arts, architecture and environmental design, business, nursing, and education. The huge Computing Commons is near the center of campus.