articles - Do I need "the" before the name of my university?





Definite article before proper nouns



I was updating my LinkedIn tagline and thinking about whether I should put the article before the name of the university.



Student at the University of […].
Student at University of […].



I am leaning towards the former but I am not sure.



Answer



You would need it before, say, "the University of Illinois" but not before "Iowa State University" or "Harvard" or "Case Western Reserve" or "Columbia University" and so on. This is if you were using the name as a noun. If you were to write the sentence:



Students at University of Illinois functions are expected to behave in a manner befitting adults.



the article is not necessary, but it is in



Students at the University of Illinois are expected to behave in a manner befitting adults at public functions.



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