Worcester State University (WSU) is a public university located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The fourth largest of the Commonwealth’s nine Universities, WSU enrolls 4500 undergraduates and nearly 900 graduate students in more than 80 undergraduate majors and minors and 39 graduate programs. Its campus is located on Worcester's west side and includes 10 buildings on more than 58 acres of woods and wetlands. WSU was one of several Massachusetts State Universities that was founded as a normal school in the 19th century before evolving into a state college in the 1960s and achieving university status in 2012. WSU is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education which oversees 29 campuses including community colleges, state universities, and research universities across the Commonwealth.

Worcester is the 2nd most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the 114th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, also making it the second-most populous city in New England after Boston. Worcester is approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston, 50 miles (80 km) east of Springfield and 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Providence. Due to its location near the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth"; a heart is the official symbol of the city. Worcester is the historical seat of Worcester County in central Massachusetts.