Hofstra University is a private, non-profit, nonsectarian university in the United States.

Its main campus is on Long Island in the village of Hempstead, New York, approximately east of New York City.

Long Island's largest private college, it originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name "Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead, Long Island"; in 1939, the institution separated from the NYU system and gained independence as Hofstra College, and in 1963, it gained university status.

Comprising 10 schools, including a School of Medicine and a School of Law, Hofstra is noted for a series of prominent Presidential conferences, as well as being selected to host United States Presidential Debates in 2008, 2012, and 2016—the only school to do so in three consecutive campaign cycles.

Postgraduate education, or graduate education in North America, involves learning and studying for academic or professional degrees, academic or professional certificates, academic or professional diplomas, or other qualifications for which a first or bachelor's degree generally is required, and it is normally considered to be part of higher education.

In North America, this level is generally referred to as graduate school (or sometimes colloquially as grad school).

Undergraduate education is the post-secondary education previous to the postgraduate education.

It includes all the academic programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree.

For example, in the United States an entry level university student is known as an undergraduate, while students of higher degrees are known as graduates.

In some other educational systems and subjects, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a master's degree; this is the case for some science courses in Britain and some medicine courses in Europe.

Private universities are not operated by governments, although many receive tax breaks, public student loans, and grants.

Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation.

This is in contrast to public universities and national universities.

Most private universities are non-profit organizations.

Long Island is an island located just off the northeast coast of the United States and a region within the U.S. state of New York.

Stretching east-northeast from New York Harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, the island comprises four counties: Kings and Queens (which comprise the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, respectively) to the west; then Nassau and Suffolk to the east.

However, many people in the New York metropolitan area (even those living in Brooklyn and Queens) colloquially use the term "Long Island" (or "The Island") exclusively to refer to the Nassau–Suffolk county area collectively, which is mainly suburban in character.