A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highest institutional level in education, differing in meaning from a "federally-chartered university." Globally, some national universities are associated with national cultural or political aspirations.
For example, the National University of Ireland during the early days of Irish independence collected a large amount of information about the Irish language and Irish culture. In Argentina, the national universities are the result of the 1918 Argentine university reform and subsequent reforms, which were intended to provide a secular university system without direct clerical or government influence by bestowing self-government on the institutions.
In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highest institutional level in education, differing in meaning from a "federally-chartered university." In the US, "national university" denotes regionally-outstanding institutions with at least a national admissions strategy, receipt of largescale grants, international research activity, endowments above $350 million, and regional excellence with respective prestige. Some prominent American public national universities include UVA, UF, and Indiana; while some prominent American private national universities include Penn, WUSTL, Cornell, and MIT. The concept of national American universities arguably has its origins in the birth of the Association of American Universities, however this association does not encapsulate all national universities in the United States.
Some of the US's federally-chartered places of higher education include:
George Washington University, chartered by Congress in 1821; Washington long advocated for the establishment of a national university. It is a private institution not connected to the national government.
