East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. It is unique in North Carolina in that it hosts schools of medicine, dentistry, and engineering at the same university. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its original 43 acres (17 ha) to almost 1,600 acres (647 ha) today. The university's academic facilities are located on six properties: Main Campus; Health Sciences Campus; West Research Campus; the Field Station for Coastal Studies in New Holland, North Carolina; the Millennial Research Innovation Campus in Greenville's warehouse district; and an overseas campus in Certaldo Alto, Italy.