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Wayne State University

American public research university located in Detroit, Michigan

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ349055
Source-derived summary

Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-largest university with nearly 24,000 graduate and undergraduate students.

Wayne State University, along with Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, and the University of Michigan, comprise Michigan's University Research Corridor. Wayne State is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

Wayne State's main campus comprises 203 acres linking more than 100 education and research buildings. It also has three satellite campuses in Macomb and Wayne counties. The Wayne State Warriors compete in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

History

Wayne State University was established in 1868 as the Detroit Medical College by five returning Civil War veterans. The college charter from 1868 was signed by founder Theodore Andrews McGraw, M.D., a University of Michigan graduate (B.A. 1859).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Wayne State University” as american public research university located in Detroit, Michigan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wayne, State and University.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1868, 1859—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1868. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Wayne, State and University providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Wayne State University”, the useful work is to connect “american public research university located in Detroit, Michigan” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q349055. VIAF identifies the subject as 137194156. The Library of Congress control number is n79063305. Authority coordinates are 42.357, -83.070. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1868 and 1859.

Critical limits

Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Wayne State University”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Wayne State University primary sources, Wayne State University archive and Wayne research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wayne State University”?
  2. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
  3. Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Wayne State University” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.