Detroit is the largest city in Michigan, with an estimated population of 670,000. It's the biggest US city on the US-Canada border and connects to our Canadian neighbors by highway and railway tunnel as well as the Ambassador Bridge, the second busiest international crossing in North America. The wider Detroit metropolitan area is home to 4.3 million people, the 14th largest metro area in the US, and anchors the second-largest regional economy in the Midwest, after Chicago.

Best known as the center of the US automobile industry, Detroit is also famed for its contributions to music and the fields of art, architecture, and design. The city's diverse musical culture has had national and international impact, giving rise to the genres of Motown and techno, and played a key role in the development of jazz, hip-hop, rock, and punk. During its boom years in the mid-20th century, the city's rapid growth resulted in a unique array of architectural monuments and historic places. Detroit receives 19 million visitors per year and in 2015 was named a "City of Design" by UNESCO, the first US municipality to receive that designation. The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) holds one of the largest collections of art in America, including the world-renowned Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry frescoes. In 2023, readers of USA Today voted the DIA the No. 1 art museum in the US.

Wayne State University is one of only nine urban public universities in the US to achieve the highest Carnegie classification for best in research and community engagement. Our location in the heart of Detroit is an integral part of our identity, and we are committed to enhancing our leadership in the city's revitalization; to develop innovative, sustainable, and mutually beneficial community-based service-learning experiences; and to maintaining and serving Wayne State's reputation for high-quality community engagement.