A public university is an institution of higher education that is funded by public means through a national or regional government. In Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe, most significant universities are public, while in the United States and Japan, both public and private universities are common. In communist countries such as China and Cuba, virtually all universities are state-run.

Fees for attending a public university (i.e., tuition), if any, are typically lower than in private universities.

In the United States, most public universities are state universities, which are founded and operated by state government entities. Every U.S. state has at least one public university to its name, and the largest states have more than a dozen. It has never been determined whether the U.S. Constitution would allow the federal government to establish a federal university system, but the only federally chartered universities that currently exist are those under the auspices of the U.S. military, such as West Point and the Naval Academy.

In Canada and Germany, education, including the administration of universities, is the responsibility of the individual provinces (in Canada) or Bundesländer (in Germany).