Troy University is a public university located in Troy, Alabama and founded in 1887, as "Troy Normal School". The main campus enrollment as of the fall of 2007 is 6,177.[3] students. The campus itself consists of 36 major buildings on 650 acres (1.9 km²) plus the adjacent Troy University Arboretum. The Troy University system consists of 60 sites in 17 U.S. states and 11 other countries.[4]The Troy University System includes three other campuses in the state of Alabama in Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City. The university also has a very large off-campus/distance learning program and offers many courses in conjunction with the United States Armed Forces.

The Princeton Review recognizes Troy University as "One of the Best in the Southeast". It can boast the 63rd best graduate school, and is ranked among the top in many other categories. In 2008, Troy University was ranked as the 25th best university in the United States for international students by the Institute of International Education. Troy University's main campus offers several degrees that are unique or are offered by a select few colleges and universities, including a masters level degree in Health Care Administration, Human Resource Management, and a bachelor of science degree program in deaf-interpreting, while Troy's learning center in Atlanta, Georgia, offers one of the only certification programs in polygraph science in the country. In December 2007, the Alabama Commission on Higher Education gave Troy University the approval to begin the university's first doctoral program: the Doctorate in Nursing Practice. The Troy University Montgomery campus located in downtown Montgomery is home to the award-winning Rosa Parks Library and Museum. Troy's broadcast journalism program has a sterling reputation and the university's student-led television news broadcast took home the Southeast's top spot at the most recent 2007/2008 awards banquet at the University of Mississippi.

On April 16, 2004, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the institution from Troy State University to Troy University. The transition to the new name was completed in August 2005 concurrent with the merger of all the associated satellite campuses into a single, unified system and administration. Trustees said they believe the name change allows the university system to reflect its quality, funding sources and global mission better. The name change was the fifth in the school's history. When created by the Alabama Legislature on February 26, 1887, it was officially named the Troy State Normal School. The school was located in downtown Troy until moving to the present location in 1930. In 1929, the name was changed to Troy State Teachers College and it subsequently conferred its first baccalaureate degree in 1931. In 1957, the legislature voted both to change the name to Troy State College and to allow it to begin a master's degree program. The name was changed once again in 1967 to Troy State University.

In May 2008, the university began the silent phase of a comprehensive capital campaign called "Building Beyond Boundaries" that will target massive fundraising efforts encompassing all areas of the university.