Boise State University was founded in 1932 as Boise Junior College by the Episcopal Church. After two years the school became independent, and in 1940 it moved from St. Margaret's Hall to its present site, along the south bank of the Boise River, between Capitol Boulevard and Broadway Avenue. In 1965 it gained four-year status as Boise College and began awarding baccalaureate degrees. Four years later, the school joined the Idaho state system of higher education and was renamed Boise State College. In 1974, Boise State gained university status to become Idaho's third university.