Founded in 1869, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the state's land-grant university and the only comprehensive university in Nebraska. Through its three primary missions of learning, discovery and engagement, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the state's intellectual center and has been recognized by the Legislature as the primary research and doctoral-degree granting institution in the state. Nebraska was the first university west of the Mississippi to establish a graduate college (in 1896); today, UNL is one of the top 50 American universities in the number of doctoral degrees granted annually. The University of Nebraska boasts 22 Rhodes Scholars and three Nobel laureates among its alumni.