The University of Iowa (also known as UI, or simply Iowa) is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. UI is categorized as RU/VH Research University (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university is a group member of the Association of American Universities, the Big Ten Conference, Committee on Institutional Cooperation, and the Universities Research Association. Additionally, UI is considered a Public Ivy according to Howard and Matthew Greene's "The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities".

The University is home to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. It is one of the largest university-owned teaching hospitals in the nation. Iowa was the first American institution of higher learning to accept creative work for academic credit, and developed the Master of Fine Arts degree.

Iowa (ⁱ/ˈaɪ.əwə/) is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New France. After the Louisiana Purchase, settlers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa is often known as the "Food Capital of the World".

In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy transitioned to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, biotechnology, and green energy production. Iowa is the 26th most extensive and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city is Des Moines. Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states to live in.

Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east; the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west; the northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The southern border is the Des Moines River and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. Iowa after a standoff between Missouri and Iowa known as the Honey War.