North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was founded by the North Carolina General Assembly on 7 March 1887 as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Its College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) has 12 academic departments and, with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, operates 18 research stations across the state.
CALS runs the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative, housed in the 185,000-square-foot Plant Sciences Building, and the N.C. Food Animal Initiative, and says its faculty conduct research supporting 70 commodities. The N.C. Agricultural Research Service is one of three primary units within the college, alongside Academic Programs and NC State Extension, which is present in all 100 counties. CALS reports 21 patents issued and 44 IP disclosures in 2025. Forestry is housed in the College of Natural Resources. The university says its research has produced more than 250 startups and spinoffs.