Drexel University was founded in 1891 as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry by Philadelphia financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel to provide educational opportunities in the "practical arts and sciences" for women and men of all backgrounds. The Drexel Institute of Technology gained university status in 1970, becoming Drexel University. On July 1, 2002, Drexel entered a new era among colleges in Philadelphia as a technological leader in health sciences education, when the University was officially united with the former MCP Hahnemann University.

Drexel offers 70 different academic undergraduate majors with 60 different minors, a variety of master's and doctoral degrees along with two professional degrees -- one in Medicine and one in Law.

As Philadelphia's technological university and a leader in curricular innovation, Drexel integrates the latest technological advances into the learning process. In 1983, Drexel University became the first university to require all entering students to have microcomputers. In 2000, Drexel became the first major university to operate a fully wireless campus, allowing students, faculty and staff to access the Internet from indoors and outdoors, anywhere on the Drexel University's main 49-acre campus. In 2002, Drexel University launched the first mobile Web portal service for students, enabling them to access a range of information via virtually any web-enabled handheld device, from anywhere in the world.