Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public land-grant research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. Since 2021, Texas A&M has enrolled the largest student body in the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and since 2001 has been a member of the Association of American Universities. The university was the first public higher education institution in Texas; it opened for classes on October 4, 1876, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (A.M.C.) under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Act.