The University of Iowa is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, founded in 1847 — one of the oldest universities west of the Mississippi River. With about 23,500 undergraduate and 7,500 graduate students, Iowa is famous for the Iowa Writers' Workshop (one of the oldest and most prestigious creative-writing programs in the country), nursing, business (Tippie), engineering, dentistry, and medicine. The Hawkeyes compete in NCAA Division I in the Big Ten Conference; football and wrestling are nationally prominent. A first-year residency requirement is in effect. Iowa's major residence …