The University of Iowa is one of the nation's premier public research institutions with 32,535 students from 114 countries and all 50 states.  A member of the Association of American Universities since 1909 and the Big Ten Conference since 1899, the UI is home to one of the largest and most acclaimed medical centers in the country, as well as the famous Iowa Writer's Workshop.  Founded in 1847, it is the state's oldest institution of higher education located alongside the picturesque Iowa River in Iowa City.