The University of Iowa (also known as UI, or simply Iowa) is a public flagship state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa. The University of Iowa is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. UI is categorized as RU/VH Research University (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university is a group member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, the Big Ten Conference, Committee on Institutional Cooperation, and the Universities Research Association. The University is home to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, nationally recognized as one of America's best hospitals. According to U.S. News and Reports, three specialty departments were recognized as being in the top ten across the country. They are Otolaryngology (4th), Ophthalmology and visual sciences (6th) and Orthopaedics and rehabilitation (9th). It is one of the largest university-owned teaching hospitals in the nation.