public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Mount Pleasant, Mich., U.S. The university is composed of the colleges of business administration, communication and fine arts, education and human services, health professions, humanities and social and behavioral sciences, science and technology, and graduate studies. The graduate school offers master's degree programs in most areas of study and some doctoral programs. Notable research facilities include a biological station on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan (Michigan, Lake) and Brooks Astronomical Observatory. In addition to its main campus, the university also enrolls students at branch campuses and in correspondence-style programs.

The university was founded in 1892 by the residents of Mount Pleasant (as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute) in order to provide the local schools with properly trained teachers. In 1895 the school came under the control of the state, and the name was changed to Central State Normal School. It became a four-year university in 1918, and more name changes followed before the school became Central Michigan University in 1959.