public, coeducational institution of higher learning, with its main campus in Huntington, West Virginia, U.S., and a graduate college in South Charleston. Marshall University offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees, as well as a doctorate in biomedical sciences, an Ed.D. in education administration, and an M.D. It includes colleges of business, education, fine arts, liberal arts, science, and community and technical studies as well as schools of medicine, journalism and mass communications, nursing, and graduate studies. The university libraries' special collections include the Rosanna Blake Library of Confederate History. The campus also features an art gallery and a centre for fine arts and performing arts. Marshall offers degrees in cooperation with West Virginia University and Duke University (Durham, North Carolina). Student enrollment is approximately 16,000.

Marshall University was founded in 1837 as Marshall Academy; instruction began the following year. It was named for John Marshall (Marshall, John), fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and it was first associated with the Episcopal and Methodist churches. Marshall became a college in 1858, a state normal (teacher-training) school in 1867, and a university in 1961; the education and liberal arts colleges opened during the 1920s. The School of Medicine was founded in 1974, and several regional centres are associated with it. There also are educational facilities at the Veterans Administration Medical Center near the campus.