Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' college) established in the United States and the first outside New England. In 1899, the Michigan State Normal School became the first normal school in the nation to offer a four-year curriculum; the college became a university in 1959.