Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest university by enrollment, with 23,418 students in the fall semester of 2023. The school also offers associate degree programs at two-year campus in West Plains, Missouri, and a bachelor's degree in business programs at Liaoning Normal University in China. The university operates a fruit research station in Mountain Grove, Missouri, and a Department of Defense and Strategic Studies program in Fairfax, Virginia.