Coordinates: 42°41′10″N 73°49′26″W / 42.686193°N 73.823884°W / 42.686193; -73.823884The University at Albany, known officially as University at Albany, State University of New York, is a research institution with campuses in Albany, Guilderland, and Rensselaer, New York, United States. The oldest university campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, founded in 1844, it carries out undergraduate and graduate education, research, and service.The University has three campuses: the Uptown Campus in Albany and Guilderland's McKownville neighborhood, the Downtown Campus in Albany, and the East Campus in the City of Rensselaer, just east of Albany. The University enrolls more than 17,300 students in nine schools and colleges, which offer 50 undergraduate majors and 138 graduate degree programs. The University's academic choices include new and emerging fields in public policy, globalization, documentary studies, biotechnology and informatics.Students take advantage of more than 500 study-abroad programs, as well as internship opportunities in New York’s capital and surrounding region. The Honors College, which opened in fall 2006, offers opportunities for the well-prepared students to work closely with faculty. The University at Albany faculty had $330.5 million in research expenditures in 2011-2012 for work advancing discovery in a wide range of fields. The research enterprise is in four areas: social science and public policy, life sciences and atmospheric sciences.In addition to offering many cultural benefits, such as a contemporary art museum and the New York State Writers Institute, UAlbany plays a major role in the economic development of the Capital District and New York State. An economic impact study in 2004 estimated UAlbany’s economic impact to be $1.1 billion annually in New York State — $1 billion of that in the Capital District