public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
land-grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...
in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its Gainesville campus since September 1906.
After the Florida state legislature's creation of performance standards in 2013, the
Florida Board of Governors
The Florida Board of Governors is a 17-member governing board that serves as the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida.
After its predecessor, the Florida Board of ...
designated the University of Florida as a "preeminent university". For 2022, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Florida as the fifth (tied) best public university and 28th (tied) best university in the United States. The University of Florida is the only member of the
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
,
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
—on one contiguous campus, and administers 123
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
programs and 76
doctoral degree
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
programs in eighty-seven schools and departments. The university's seal is also the seal of the state of Florida, which is on the state flag, though in blue rather than multiple colors.
The University of Florida's intercollegiate sports teams, commonly known as the " Florida Gators", compete in
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(SEC). Since their first season in 1906, the university's varsity sports teams have won 45 national team championships, 40 of which are NCAA titles, and Florida athletes have won 275 individual national championships. In addition, as of 2021, University of Florida students and alumni have won 143 Olympic medals, including 69 gold medals.
History
Origins
The modern University of Florida traces its origins to 1853, when the
East Florida Seminary
The East Florida Seminary was an institution of higher learning established by the State of Florida in 1853, and absorbed into the newly established University of Florida in 1905. The school operated in Ocala from 1853 until 1861. After being clos ...
, the oldest of its four predecessor institutions, was founded in Ocala, Florida. The East Florida Seminary was Florida's first state-supported institution of higher learning and operated until 1861 with the outbreak of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. In 1866, the East Florida Seminary reopened in Gainesville at the former grounds of the Gainesville Academy, a small private college that had also closed during the war.
The second major precursor to the University of Florida was Florida Agricultural College (FAC), which was the state's first
land-grant college
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.
Signed by Abraha ...
under the
Morrill Act
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or s ...
when it was established in Lake City in 1884. The Florida Legislature, looking to expand FAC's curriculum beyond its agricultural and engineering offerings, changed the school's name to the "University of Florida" for the 1903–1904 academic year. It would use that name for the remaining two years of its existence.
"University of the State of Florida"
In 1905, the Florida Legislature passed the Buckman Act, which completely reorganized the state's publicly supported institutions of higher education. Under the act, Florida's six existing state-supported institutions were abolished and reorganized to form the State University System of Florida under the newly established
Florida Board of Control
The Florida Board of Control (1905-1965) was the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida, which included all public universities in the state of Florida. It was replaced by the Florida Board of Regents in 1965.
. Four institutions were combined to create a new "University of the State of Florida" for white men: the University of Florida at Lake City (formerly Florida Agricultural College), the East Florida Seminary in Gainesville, the St. Petersburg Normal and Industrial School in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, and the South Florida Military College in Bartow.
The Buckman Act also created two other institutions segregated by race and gender: Florida Female College (later the Florida State College for Women and then Florida State University) for white women and the State Normal School for Colored Students (later Florida A&M) for African-American men and women, both in Tallahassee.
The Buckman Act did not specify where the new University of the State of Florida would be located. The City of Gainesville, led by its mayor William Reuben Thomas, campaigned to be the site of the new university, with its primary competitor being Lake City. After a brief but intense period of lobbying, the Board of Control selected Gainesville on July 6, 1905, and funds were allocated for the construction of a new campus on the western edge of the town. However, because the campus would take several months to build, the new school was housed on the campus of the now-defunct Florida Agricultural College in Lake City during the 1905–1906 academic year. Former FAC president
Andrew Sledd
Andrew Warren Sledd (November 7, 1870 – March 16, 1939) was an American theologian, university professor and university president. A native of Virginia, he was the son of a prominent Methodist minister, and was himself ordained as a minis ...
was chosen to be the first president of the University of the State of Florida.
The University of the State of Florida's first semester in Gainesville began on September 26, 1906, with an enrollment of 102 students. Two buildings had been completed at the time:
Buckman Hall
Buckman Hall is a historic building located in Murphree Area on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was designed by architect William A. Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and opened in 1906 as one of ...
, named after the primary author of the law that created the university, and Thomas Hall, named after the mayor of Gainesville who had led the successful effort to bring the school to town. Both structures were designed by William A. Edwards, who designed many of the university's original buildings in the Collegiate Gothic style in his role as lead architect for Florida's Board of Control.
Growth, mascots, and establishment of colleges
During his term, first university president Andrew Sledd often clashed with key members of the Board of Control over his insistence on rigorous admittance requirements, which his detractors claimed was unreasonably impeding school enrollment. Sledd resigned over these issues in 1909.
Florida State College for Women president Albert Murphree was named UF's second president before the 1909–1910 academic year, which was also when the school's name was simplified from the "University of the State of Florida" to the "University of Florida". Murphree oversaw a reorganization of the university that included the establishment of several colleges, beginning with colleges of
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
Florida Blue Key
Florida Blue Key is a student leadership honor society at the University of Florida which was founded in 1923.
History
Founding and early years
"Florida Blue Key was founded on November 1, 1923, several days prior to the University's Homeco ...
leadership society and in building total enrollment from under 200 to over 2000. He is the only University of Florida president honored with a statue on campus.
The
alligator
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
became the school's informal
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
when a local vendor designed and sold school pennants imprinted with the animal, which is very common in lakes in and around Gainesville and throughout the state. The 'gator was a popular choice, and the university's sports teams had officially adopted the nickname by 1911. The school colors of orange and blue were also officially established in 1911, though the reasons for the choice are unclear. The most likely rationale was that they are a combination of the colors of the university's two largest predecessor institutions, as the East Florida Seminary used orange and black while Florida Agricultural College used blue and white. The older schools' colors may have been an homage to early Scottish and Ulster-Scots Presbyterian settlers of north central Florida, whose ancestors were originally from Northern Ireland and the Scottish Lowlands.
In 1924, the Florida Legislature mandated women of a "mature age" (at least twenty-one years old) who had completed sixty semester hours from a "reputable educational institution" be allowed to enroll during regular semesters at the University of Florida in programs that were unavailable at Florida State College for Women. Before this, only the summer semester was coeducational, to accommodate women teachers who wanted to further their education during the summer break. Lassie Goodbread-Black from Lake City became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida, in the College of Agriculture in 1925.
Murphree died in 1928 and John J. Tigert was named UF's third president. Disgusted by the under-the-table payments being made by universities to athletes, Tigert established the grant-in-aid
athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...
program in the early 1930s, which was the genesis of the modern athletic scholarship plan used by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
.
Inventor and educator
Blake R. Van Leer
Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (August 16, 1893 – January 23, 1956) was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956.
Early life and education
Van Leer was ...
was hired as Dean to launch new engineering departments and scholarships. Van Leer also managed all applications for federal funding, chaired the Advanced Planning Committee per Tigert's request. These efforts included consulting for the Florida Emergency Relief Administration throughout the 1930s.
Post World War II
Beginning in 1946, there was dramatically increased interest among male applicants who wanted to attend the University of Florida, mostly returning
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
veterans who could attend college under the
GI Bill of Rights
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
(Servicemen's Readjustment Act). Unable to immediately accommodate this increased demand, the Florida Board of Control opened the Tallahassee Branch of the University of Florida on the campus of Florida State College for Women in
Tallahassee
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
. By the end of the 1946–47 school year, 954 men were enrolled at the Tallahassee Branch. The following semester, the Florida Legislature returned the Florida State College for Women to coeducational status and renamed it Florida State University. These events also opened up all of the colleges that comprise the University of Florida to female students.
Florida Women's Hall of Fame
The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...
member Maryly Van Leer became the first woman to receive from the University of Florida a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in engineering. African-American students were allowed to enroll starting in 1958.
Shands Hospital
UF Health Shands Hospital is a teaching hospital of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is one of seven hospitals in the University of Florida Health system, and one of two campuses for UF's Health Science Center, the other bei ...
opened in 1958 along with the
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida. The school grants Doctor o ...
to join the established
College of Pharmacy
This article is a list of pharmacy schools by country.
A
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
B
Bangladesh
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
C
Cambodia
Canada
China
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jia ...
. Rapid campus expansion began in the 1950s and continues today.
The University of Florida is one of three Florida public universities, along with Florida State University and the
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...
, to be designated as a "preeminent university" by Florida senate bill 1076, enacted by the Florida legislature and signed into law by the governor in 2013. As a result, the preeminent universities receive additional funding to improve the academics and national reputation of higher education within the state of Florida.
Integration
From its inception until 1958, only white students were allowed to attend. In 1958,
George H. Starke
George H. Starke Jr. was the first Black student admitted to the University of Florida.
In 1958, Starke entered the University of Florida's law school after graduating from Morehouse College. He was given police protection during his first semest ...
became the first Black student.
National and international prominence
In 1985, the University of Florida was invited to join the
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
(AAU), an organization of sixty-two academically prominent public and private research universities in the United States and Canada. Florida is one of the seventeen public, land-grant universities that belong to the AAU. In 2009, President Bernie Machen and the
University of Florida Board of Trustees
The University of Florida Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University of Florida, the Flagship University for the State University System of Florida. The University is located in Gainesville, Florida, United States
The United ...
announced a major policy transition for the university. The Board of Trustees supported the reduction in the number of undergraduates and the shift of financial and other academic resources to graduate education and research. In 2017, the University of Florida became the first university in the state of Florida to crack the top ten best public universities according to U.S. News. The University of Florida was awarded over $1 billion in annual research expenditures in sponsored research for the 2022 fiscal year. In 2017, university president Kent Fuchs announced a plan to hire 500 new faculty to break into the top five best public universities; the most new faculty members will be hired in STEM fields. 230 faculty have been hired with the remaining 270 faculty to be hired by fall of 2019.
Academic freedom controversy
In October 2021, three professors filed a federal lawsuit against UF, claiming they were barred from testifying in a voting rights lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee and Governor
Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...
. The university claimed that testifying against the state would be "adverse to the university’s interests as a state of Florida institution," igniting controversy over alleged inappropriate political influence at the university, interference in academic freedom, and violation of the professors'
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
rights. Earlier in the year, the chairman of UF's Board of Trustees, Morteza Hosseini, reportedly pushed the university to hire Joseph Ladapo, a controversial doctor known for his support of DeSantis's COVID-19 policies and promotion of COVID misinformation. Hosseini is a major Republican Party donor and DeSantis adviser.
The reports prompted investigations by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the UF Faculty Senate, and UF's accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC). Further reporting in November 2021 revealed that the university had prohibited at least five more professors from offering expertise in legal cases, including a professor of pediatric medicine who was not allowed to offer expert testimony in a case related to masking of children during the COVID pandemic, a measure supported by medical experts but opposed by Governor DeSantis.
In response to the allegations, UF's administration appointed a task force to "review the university's conflict of interest policy and examine it for consistency and fidelity" and reversed its decision to bar professors from testifying, stating that they were permitted to testify pro bono on their own time. The recommendations of the task force were accepted by UF President Kent Fuchs in late November 2021. However, a December 2021 report from the UF Faculty Senate deepened the controversy, citing external pressure and a widespread fear of reprisal if faculty promoted unpopular viewpoints and alleging that course titles on racial topics were edited, faculty were advised against criticizing Governor DeSantis or his policies, and medical researchers were compelled to destroy data related to the COVID pandemic.
Academics
Admissions
Undergraduate
The 2022 annual ranking of '' U.S. News & World Report'' categorizes the University of Florida as "most selective." For the Class of 2024 (enrolled fall 2020), Florida received 48,193 applications and accepted 15,002 (31.1%). Of those accepted, 6,333 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 42.2%. Florida's freshman
retention rate
The term "retention rate" is used in a variety of fields, including marketing, investing, education, in the workplace and in clinical trials. Maintaining retention in each of these fields often results in a positive outcome for the overall organiz ...
is 97%, with 89% going on to graduate within six years.
The enrolled first-year class of 2024 had the following standardized test scores: the middle 50% range (25th percentile-75th percentile) of
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
scores was 1310–1450, while the middle 50% range of ACT scores was 29–33. The University of Florida has the second most selective application process of any university or college in the state of Florida, behind only the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
.
The University of Florida is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 288 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 342 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.
In 2007, the University of Florida joined the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, and
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in announcing the discontinuation of
early decision
Early decision (ED) or early acceptance is a type of early admission used in college admissions in the United States for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the university or college that the candidate conside ...
admissions to foster economic diversity in their student bodies. These universities assert early decision admissions forces students to accept an offer of admission before evaluating the
financial aid
Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...
offers from multiple universities. The university's single application deadline is November 1.
Tuition and scholarships
For the 2018–19 academic year tuition and fees were $6,381 for in-state undergraduate students, and $28,658 for out-of-state undergraduate students. Tuition for online courses is lower and for graduate courses is higher.
The Lombardi Scholars Program, created in 2002 and named in honor of the university's ninth president John V. Lombardi, is a merit scholarship for Florida students. The scholarship offers $2,700 a semester for eight to ten semesters.
The J. Wayne Reitz Scholars Program, created in 1997 and named in honor of the university's fifth president
J. Wayne Reitz
Julius Wayne Reitz (December 31, 1908 – December 24, 1993) was an American agricultural economist, professor and university president. Reitz was a native of Kansas, and earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in his chosen fie ...
, is a leadership and merit-based scholarship for Florida students. Its yearly $2,500 stipend may be renewed for up to three years.
The Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars Program was created in 2005. This is a full grant and scholarship financial aid package designed to help new, low-income UF students that are the first to attend college in their families. Every year, 300 scholarships are awarded to incoming freshmen with an average family income of $18,408.
The Alec Courtelis Award is given annually at the International Student Academics Awards Ceremony. The award is given to international students, in recognition of their academic excellence and outstanding contribution to the university and community. Louise Courtelis established the Alec Courtelis Award in honor of husband, a successful businessman and former chairman of the
Florida Board of Regents
The Florida Board of Regents was from 1965 to 2001 the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida, United States. It was created to replace a predecessor body called t ...
in 1996.
Rankings
In its 2021 edition, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ''(USN&WR)'' ranked the University of Florida as tied for the fifth-best public university in the United States, and tied for 28th overall among all national universities, public and private.
Many of the University of Florida's graduate schools have received top-50 national rankings from ''U.S. News & World Report'' with the school of education 25th, Florida's Hough School of Business 25th, Florida's Medical School (research) tied for 43rd, the Engineering School tied for 45th, the Levin College of Law tied for 31st, and the Nursing School tied for 24th in the 2020 rankings.
Florida's graduate programs ranked for 2020 by ''USN&WR'' in the nation's top 50 were audiology tied for 26th, analytical chemistry 11th, clinical psychology tied for 31st, computer science tied for 49th, criminology 19th, health care management tied for 33rd, nursing-midwifery tied for 35th, occupational therapy tied for 17th, pharmacy tied for 9th, physical therapy tied for 10th, physician assistant tied for 21st, physics tied for 37th, psychology tied for 39th, public health tied for 37th, speech-language pathology tied for 28th, statistics tied for 40th, and veterinary medicine 9th.
In 2013, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the engineering school 38th nationally, with its programs in biological engineering ranked third, materials engineering 11th, industrial engineering 13th, aerospace engineering 26th, chemical engineering 28th, environmental engineering 30th, computer engineering 31st, civil engineering 32nd, electrical engineering 34th, mechanical engineering 44th.
The 2018 '' Academic Ranking of World Universities'' list assessed the University of Florida as 86th among global universities, based on overall research output and faculty awards. In 2017, ''
Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...
'' ranked the University of Florida 18th among national universities, with criteria based on research, community service, and social mobility. The lowest national ranking received by the university from a major publication comes from Forbes which ranked the university 68th in the nation in 2018. This ranking focuses mainly on net positive financial impact, in contrast to other rankings, and generally ranks liberal arts colleges above most research universities.
University of Florida received the following rankings by
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
in its latest ''Best 380 Colleges'' Rankings: 13th for Best Value Colleges without Aid, 18th for Lots of Beer, and 42nd for Best Value Colleges. It also was named the number one vegan-friendly school for 2014, according to a survey conducted by PETA.
On Forbes' 2016 list of Best Value Public Colleges, UF was ranked second. It was also ranked third on Forbes' Overall Best Value Colleges Nationwide. The University of Florida is ranked among The Best Colleges in America in 2022 and positioned #8 on Money.com’s list.
Colleges and academic divisions
The University of Florida is the flagship university of the state and it has 16 different colleges. UF has more than 150 research centers, service centers, education centers, bureaus, and institutes offering more than 100 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate degrees.
These colleges include:
Honors program
The University of Florida has an
honors program
Honors colleges and honors programs are special accommodation constituent programs at public and private universities – and also public two-year institutions of higher learning – that include, among other things, supplemental or alternative ...
; after they are accepted to the university, students must apply separately to the Honors Program and show significant academic achievement to be accepted. There are over 100 courses offered exclusively to students in this program. In 2011, more than 1900 students applied for 700 available seats. The Honors Program also offers housing for freshman in the Honors Residential College at Hume Hall. The program also offers special
scholarships
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholarsh ...
,
internships
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...
In 2005, the University of Florida became a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for environmental and wildlife management, resource conservation, environmental education, waste management, and outreach.
Through long-term environmental initiatives, the University of Florida created an Office of Sustainability in 2006. Their mission is to improve environmental sustainability in many areas on campus. They have stated their goals are to produce zero waste by 2015 and to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2025. Recently the university appointed a new sustainability director. Florida received a "B+" grade on the 2009 College Sustainability Report Card for its environmental and sustainability initiatives. In 2009, "B+" was the second highest grade awarded by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
College of Nursing
Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...
, and
College of Pharmacy
This article is a list of pharmacy schools by country.
A
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
B
Bangladesh
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
C
Cambodia
Canada
China
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jia ...
. A number of residencies are also offered at this facility. The university's College of Pharmacy also maintains campuses in
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
and
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. The College of Dentistry maintains clinics in
Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area, whi ...
,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, and
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
extensions
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
* Extensible cardinal
* Extension (model theory)
* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* E ...
in each of the 67 counties in Florida, and 13 research and education centers with 19 locations throughout the state. In 2005, the university established the Beijing Center for International Studies in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
that offers research facilities, offices, and degree opportunities.
Research
The university spent over $1 billion on research and development in 2022, ranking it one of the highest in the nation. In 2022, UF's research portfolio exceeded $1.08 billion, a value exceeded by only 15 public universities in the United States.
According to a 2019 study by the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the university contributed $16.9 billion to Florida's economy and was responsible for over 130,000 jobs in the 2017–18 fiscal year. Royalty and licensing income includes the glaucoma drug Trusopt, the sports drink Gatorade, and the Sentricon
termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...
elimination system.
Research includes diverse areas such as health-care and citrus production (the world's largest citrus research center). In 2002, Florida began leading six other universities under a $15 million
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
grant to work on space-related research during a five-year period. The university's partnership with Spain helped to create the world's largest single-aperture optical telescope in the Canary Islands (the cost was $93 million). Plans are also under way for the University of Florida to construct a research facility in collaboration with the
Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Sanford Burnham Prebys is a 501(c)(3) non-profit medical research institute focusing on basic and translational research, with major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, infectious, inflammatory, and childhood diseases. The ...
that will be in the center of
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
's Health Sciences Campus in Orlando, Florida. Research will include diabetes, aging, genetics and cancer.
The University of Florida also houses one of the world's leading lightning research teams. The university is also host to a
nuclear research reactor
Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or mariti ...
known for its Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory. In addition, the University of Florida was the first American university to receive a
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
grant to house a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
The University of Florida manages or has a stake in numerous notable research centers, facilities, institutes, and projects
Research Facilities
, the University of Florida had more than $750 million in new research facilities recently completed or under construction, including the Nanoscale Research Facility, the Pathogens Research Facility and the Biomedical Sciences Building. Additionally, Innovation Square, a 24/7 live/work/play research environment being developed along Southwest Second Avenue between the University of Florida campus and downtown Gainesville, recently broke ground and plans to open next fall. The university's Office of Technology Licensing will relocate to Innovation Square, joining Florida Innovation Hub, a business "super-incubator" designed to promote the development of new high-tech companies based on the university's research programs. Innovation Square will include retail space, restaurants and local businesses, and residential space.
UF Health
University of Florida Health
University of Florida Health (UF Health) is a medical network associated with the University of Florida. It includes two academic hospitals – UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville and UF Health Jacksonville – and several other hospitals an ...
has two campuses: Gainesville and Jacksonville. It includes two teaching hospitals and two specialty hospitals, as well as the colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Health Professions, and Veterinary Medicine, including a large animal hospital and a small animal hospital. The system also encompasses six UF research institutes: the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, the Genetics Institute, the UF Health Cancer Center, the Institute on Aging and the Emerging Pathogens Institute. UF Health is the only academic health center in the United States with six health-related colleges on a single, contiguous campus.
Patient-care services are provided through the private, not-for-profit UF Health Shands family of hospitals and programs. UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville includes UF Health Shands Children's Hospital and UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital. The specialty hospitals, UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital and UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital, are also in Gainesville. UF Health Jacksonville is the system's northeast Florida center.
UF Health has a network of outpatient rehabilitation centers, UF Health Rehab Centers, and two home-health agencies, UF Health Shands HomeCare; as well as more than 80 UF physician outpatient practices in north central and northeast Florida. UF Health is affiliated with the
Veterans Affairs
Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...
hospitals in Gainesville and North Florida/South Georgia.
In all, 6,159 students are enrolled in all six of the colleges. The Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute is also part of the Health Science Center and is the most comprehensive program of its kind in the world. The institute comprises 300 faculty members from 10 colleges, and 51 departments campus-wide.
The University of Florida is a winner of the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
Clinical and Translational Science Award and member of the NIH national consortium of medical research institutions.
In December 2018 Expertscape recognized it as #4 in the world for expertise in
Diabetes Mellitus Type 1
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...
.
=UF Health Jacksonville
=
UF Health Jacksonville
UF Health Jacksonville is a teaching hospital and medical system of the University of Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Part of the larger University of Florida Health system, it includes the 603-bed UF Health Jacksonville hospital, ...
is an academic health center with three UF colleges, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, as well as a network of primary and specialty care centers in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.
=UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health
=
In 2010,
Orlando Health
Orlando Health is a private, not-for-profit network of community and specialty hospitals based in Orlando, Florida. Orlando Health is Central Florida’s fourth largest employer with nearly 23,000 employees and more than 4,500 affiliated physicians ...
and UF Health teamed up to form joint clinical programs in the areas of pediatrics, neuroscience, oncology, women's health, transplantation and cardiovascular medicine. The partnership provides undergraduate and graduate medical residency and fellowship training opportunities at Orlando Health, and will allow Orlando Health physicians and patients to be part of clinical trials through UF's clinical research program.
UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health launched in January 2014. The center focuses on developing safe, individualized molecular-based targeted oncology therapies to improve patient outcomes in Florida. The joint oncology program offers clinical trial collaborations and comprehensive cancer services customized to the patient by combining physicians and the collective strengths of UF Health and Orlando Health.
Participation in the Large Hadron Collider
A team of UF physicists has a leading role in one of the two major experiments planned for the Large Hadron Collider, a -long, $5 billion, super-cooled tunnel outside Geneva, Switzerland. More than 30 university physicists, postdoctoral associates, graduate students and now undergraduates are involved in the collider's
Compact Muon Solenoid
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment is one of two large general-purpose particle physics detectors built on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland and France. The goal of the CMS experiment is to investigate a wide range ...
(CMS) experiment, one of its two major experiments. About 10 are stationed in Geneva. The group is the largest from any university in the U.S. to participate in the CMS experiment. The UF team designed and oversaw development of a major detector within the CMS. The detector, the Muon system, is intended to capture subatomic particles called muons, which are heavier cousins of electrons. Among other efforts, UF scientists analyzed about 100 of the 400 detector chambers placed within the Muon system to be sure they were functioning properly. Scientists from the University of Florida group played a central role in the discovery of the Higgs particle. The bulk of the UF research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Partnership with Zhejiang University
In July 2008, the University of Florida teamed up with the
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the n ...
to research sustainable solutions to the Earth's energy issues. Overall a Joint Research Center of Clean Sustainable Energy among the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy, at UF, and the State Key Lab of Clean Energy Utilization and the Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, at Zhejiang University will collaborate to work on this pressing issue.
The International Center for Lightning Research and Testing
Florida has more
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...
than any other U.S. state. UF sponsors the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT), which occupies over at the
Camp Blanding
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain nonflying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation i ...
Army National Guard Base, about northeast of UF's campus in Gainesville, Florida. One of their primary research tools is lightning initiation from overhead thunderclouds, using the triggered lightning rocket-and-wire technique. Small sounding rockets, connected to long copper wires, are fired into likely lightning storm
cumulonimbus
Cumulonimbus (from Latin ''cumulus'', "heaped" and ''nimbus'', "rainstorm") is a dense, towering vertical cloud, typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful buoyant air currents. ...
clouds. When the rocket—or its wire—is struck by lightning, the passing of the high-voltage lightning strike down the wire vaporizes it as the lightning travels to the ground. Undergraduate and graduate research in UF's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's Lightning Research Group is used to increase new fundamental knowledge about lightning-based phenomena.
SECU: SEC Academic Initiative
The University of Florida is a member of the SEC Academic Consortium. Now renamed the
SECU
Secu is a commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the wes ...
, the initiative was a collaborative endeavor designed to promote research, scholarship and achievement among the member universities in the
Southeastern conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
. Along with the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, University of Florida,
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
and other SEC institutions, SECU formed its mission to bolster collaborative academic endeavors of Southeastern Conference universities. Its goals include highlighting the endeavors and achievements of SEC faculty, students and its universities and advancing the academic reputation of SEC universities.
In 2013, the University of Florida was part in the SEC Symposium in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
which was organized and led by the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
George A. Smathers Libraries
The George A. Smathers Libraries of the University of Florida constitute one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The system includes eight of the nine libraries of the University of Florida and provides primary support ...
at the University of Florida is one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The George A. Smathers Libraries has a collection of over 6 million+ print volumes, 1.5 million digital books, 1,000+ databases, approximately 150 thousand print/digital journals, and over 14 million digital pages
Collections cover virtually all disciplines and include a wide array of formats—from books and journals to manuscripts, maps, and recorded music. An increasing number of the collections are digital and are accessible on the Internet from the library web page or the library catalog. The George A. Smathers Libraries support all academic programs except those served by the
Levin College of Law
The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida, and second oldest overall ...
.
Renovations
In 2006, Library West went through a $30 million renovation that doubled capacity. This facility is now better equipped to handle the information technology students need to complete their studies. Such progress is represented by its state-of-the-art Information Commons, which offers production studios, digital media computing areas, and a presentation area.
=Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center
=
The Levin College of Law's students, faculty, and guests are served by
Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center
The Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center at the Levin College of Law is part of the library system at the University of Florida. The Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center contains legal research materials supporting the study of state, federa ...
.
Campus
The University of Florida campus encompasses over . The campus is home to many notable structures, such as Century Tower, a carillon tower in the center of the historic district. Other notable facilities include the Health Science Center,
O'Connell Center
The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the university, Stephen C. O' ...
The Reitz is the campus union at the University of Florida. On February 1, 2016, it was reopened after an extensive renovation and expansion. The of new space includes support space for student organizations, new lounges, study spaces, a game room, an arts and crafts center and dance studios.
Historic sites
A number of the University of Florida's buildings are historically significant. The
University of Florida Campus Historic District
The University of Florida Campus Historic District is a historic district on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The district, bounded by West University Avenue, Southwest 13th Street, Stadium Road and Gale Lemeran ...
comprises 19 buildings and encompasses approximately . Two buildings outside the historic district, the old WRUF radio station (now the university police station) and Norman Hall (formerly the P.K. Yonge Laboratory School), are also listed on the historic register. The buildings on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places for their architectural or historic significance are:
Student life
Student demographics
In fall 2019, the University of Florida had 56,567 students, 37,874 (67%) being undergraduate students, 12,110 (21%) being graduate students, 3,804 (7%) being professional students, 2,644 (5%) being unclassified, and 133 (0.2%) being correspondence students. Out of all 56,567 students, 3,797 were enrolled through UF Online. The ratio of women to men was 57:43 and 28 percent were graduate or professional students. Professional degree programs include architecture, dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, UF has "the largest
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
student body in the US." It is estimated that 18% of UF undergraduate and graduate students identify as Jewish compared to around 2% of the United States population.
A social mobility report conducted by the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
in 2014 found that 48% of UF undergraduate students came from families with incomes above the 80th percentile (>$110,000), while 6% came from families in the bottom 20th percentiles (<$20,000). The same report also indicates that 30% of the student body came from families from the top 10% of households, and 3% came from the top 1%.
In 2016, the university had 5,169 international students. According to the Annual Admissions Report conducted by UF in 2019, roughly 17% of the incoming freshman class was entering from outside of Florida. The majority of freshmen starting at the University of Florida come from urban backgrounds with the biggest demographic hailing from South Florida cities; the metropolitan areas of Tampa,
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
, and
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
historically form a significant share of the incoming class as well.New York and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
are the biggest feeder states outside of Florida.
The University of Florida is ranked second overall in the United States for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to African-Americans, and third overall for Hispanics. The university ranks fifth in the number of doctoral degrees awarded to African-Americans, and second overall for Hispanics, and third in number of professional degrees awarded to African-Americans, and second overall for Hispanics. The university offers multiple graduate programs—including engineering, business, law and medicine—on one contiguous campus, and coordinates 123 master's degree programs and 76 doctoral degree programs in 87 schools and departments.
PaCE
UF launched a new program in the fall of 2015 called PaCE, or Pathway to Campus Enrollment. PaCE was designed to provide an alternative way to enroll students who would have been accepted through regular admissions, but there is not enough space in dorms or classrooms. To be accepted into the PaCE program, you would have been accepted to UF initially. PaCE was randomly given to admitted students based on major. Through PaCE, students are admitted to UF, but are required to complete 60 credit hours and all of their prerequisite courses through UF online before transitioning to on-campus learning. The University of Florida admitted 2,420 students for PaCE for the class of 2021.
Innovation Academy
The Innovation Academy at UF is a program designed for students that want to focus on innovation, creativity, leadership, and entrepreneurship along with their intended major. Students that enroll in the Innovation Academy go to UF during the spring and summer semesters so that they can participate in internships and study abroad opportunities during the fall. IA offers 25+ different majors that all share a common minor of Innovation.
Fraternities and sororities
Approximately 5,200 undergraduate students (or approximately 15%) are members of either a sorority or fraternity.
Sorority
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
National Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...
(NPHC). The
Order of Omega
The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather ...
has a chapter at the university.
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) comprises 25 fraternities, and the Panhellenic Council is made up of 17 sororities. Some of the fraternity chapters on campus are older than the university itself, with the first chapters being chartered in 1884 and founded on the campus of one of the university's predecessor institutions in Lake City.
The Multicultural Greek Council consists of 12 cultural organizations (
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
, Asian, South Asian, etc.), seven fraternities and five sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council comprises nine historically black organizations, five fraternities and four sororities.
There are also three Greek service organizations for students, two sororities Delta Nu Zeta and
Omega Phi Alpha
Omega Phi Alpha () is an American national service sorority. It was founded in at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Omega Phi Alpha, also known as OPhiA, currently has twenty nine active chapters in the United States, as ...
and one fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.
There are also three university recognized Greek organizations for Christian students: Kappa Phi Epsilon,
Sigma Phi Lambda
Sigma Phi Lambda (), also known as Sisters for the Lord or Phi Lamb, is a Christian sorority founded in 1988 in Austin, Texas.
History
Sigma Phi Lambda was founded in 1988 at the University of Texas at Austin. Its Founders were:
* Patricia Ada ...
, and
Theta Alpha
Delta Sigma Lambda () was a social fraternity founded on September 9, 1921, formed entirely of members of the Order of DeMolay. It continued for about fifteen years, numbering 12 chapters in its rolls, with several closing in the early years of th ...
.
In early 2015 the Panhellenic Council announced the arrival of two new sororities. Gamma Phi Beta was chartered in Fall 2015 and Alpha Phi will start recruitment in Fall 2018. Construction is underway on Sorority Row for Gamma Phi Beta's house.
Dance Marathon at UF
Dance Marathon at UF is an annual 26.2-hour event benefiting the patients of
University of Florida Health
University of Florida Health (UF Health) is a medical network associated with the University of Florida. It includes two academic hospitals – UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville and UF Health Jacksonville – and several other hospitals an ...
Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. Each year, more than 800 students stay awake and on their feet to raise money and awareness for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. In the 23 years of Dance Marathon at UF's existence, more than $15 million has been donated, making it the most successful student-run philanthropy in the southeastern United States. In 2017, DM at UF raised a record total of $2,724,324 for UF Health Shands Children's Hospital, becoming the second most successful Dance Marathon in the nation.
Reserve Officer Training Corps
The University of Florida
Reserve Officer Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
Overview
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
is the official
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
training and commissioning program at the University of Florida. Officially founded in 1905, it is one of the oldest such programs in the nation.
The Reserve Officer Training Corps offers commissions for the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
,
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
,
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
, and the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
. The unit is one of the oldest in the nation, and is at Van Fleet Hall.
The Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Florida offers training in the military sciences to students who desire to perform military service after they graduate. The Departments of the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
, and
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
each maintain a Reserve Officers Training Corps and each individual department has a full staff of military personnel.
Housing
The University of Florida provides over 9,200 students with housing in residence halls and complexes on the eastern and western sides of campus. Facilities vary in the cost of rent and privacy. Housing plans also offer students access to dining facilities. The university also provides housing to a number of graduate students and their families. , the university is building a new residence hall on campus that will be more accessible to students with disabilities.
Recreation and Fitness on Campus
The University of Florida's Department of Recreational Sports (RecSports) includes operation of two lake-front parks at Lake Wauburg, group fitness, personal and small group training, massage therapy, intramural sports, 51 competitive sports clubs, two world-class indoor fitness and recreation facilities, four campus pools, outdoor rock climbing, an adventure travel recreation program, campus fields and facilities, a skate park and staff development services for over 700 students who are employed by the department's programs.
RecSports manages the University of Florida Southwest Recreation Center, a state-of-the-art facility with six indoor basketball courts, a split-level cardio room, personal training studio, massage therapy rooms, strength and conditioning area and a social lounge with a smoothie bar. Other campus facilities operated by RecSports include the Student Recreation & Fitness Center.
Outside of RecSports, campus recreation options include an arts and crafts center, bowling alley and game room—all in the J. Wayne Reitz Union, and the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
The campus also contains nature trails, open spaces, small ponds, picnic areas, shady nooks and an wildlife sanctuary.
The UF Scientific Diver Development Program provides SCUBA training for students interested in pursuing a career involving underwater research.
Student government
The University of Florida Student Government is the governing body of students who attend the University of Florida, representing the university's nearly 50,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university's student government operates on a yearly $22.1 million budget (2020-2021 fiscal year), one of the largest student government budgets in the United States, and the money is allocated by the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the Student Senate. The student government was established in 1909 and consists of executive, judicial and unicameral legislative branches.
Alma mater
Milton Yeats composed University of Florida's alma mater in 1925.
Campus and area transportation
The university campus is served by nine bus routes of the
Gainesville Regional Transit System
Gainesville Regional Transit System is the local area transit corporation that serves the Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida area, the University of Florida and Santa Fe College campuses. It presently serves 40 city routes (19 on Saturdays, 16 ...
(RTS). Students, faculty, and staff with university-issued ID cards are able to use the system for no additional fee. RTS also provides other campus services, including Gator Aider (during football games), S.N.A.P, and Later Gator nighttime service.
The Gainesville region and the university are served by the
Gainesville Regional Airport
Gainesville Regional Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of Gainesville, in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Gainesville-Alachua Co. Auth. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 catego ...
, which is in northeast Gainesville and has daily flights to
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
.
Student media
The University of Florida community includes six major student-run media outlets and companion Web sites.
* ''
The Independent Florida Alligator
''The Independent Florida Alligator'' is the daily student newspaper of the University of Florida. ''The Alligator'' is one of the largest student-run newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of 35,000 and readership of more tha ...
'' is the largest student-run newspaper in the United States, and operates without oversight from the university administration.
* ''The Really Independent Florida Crocodile'', a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
of the Alligator, is a monthly magazine started by students.
* ''Tea Literary & Arts Magazine'' is UF's student-run undergraduate literary and arts publication, established in 1995.
* WRUF (850 AM and 95.3 FM) (www.wruf.com) includes ESPN programming, local sports news and talk programming produced by the station's professional staff and the latest local sports news produced by the college's Innovation News Center.
*
WRUF-FM
WRUF-FM (103.7 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Gainesville, Florida, United States, the station serves the Gainesville/Ocala area. The station is currently owned by the University of Florida. The station ...
(103.7 FM) broadcasts country music and attracts an audience from the Gainesville and
Ocala
Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida.
Home to ...
areas.
*
WRUF-LD
WRUF-LD, virtual channel 10 (VHF digital channel 5), is a low-power independent television station licensed to Gainesville, Florida, United States. Owned by the University of Florida, it is sister to Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member WU ...
is a low-power television station that carries weather, news, and sports programming.
* WUFT (www.wuft.org) is a PBS member station with a variety of programming that includes a daily student-produced newscast.
*
WUFT-FM
WUFT-FM is an NPR member radio station owned by the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, broadcasting news and public media programming from NPR along with other distributors including APM, PRX, WNYC Studios and the BBC. The station ...
(89.1 FM) is an NPR member radio station which airs news and public affairs programming, including student-produced long-form news reporting. WUFT-FM's programming also airs on WJUF-FM (90.1). In addition, WUFT offers 24-hour classical/arts programming on 92.1.
Various other journals and magazines are published by the university's academic units and student groups, including the Bob Graham Center-affiliated Florida Political Review and the literary journal '' Subtropics''. On the other hand, the social media app
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version o ...
was banned from use across all Florida state universities.
Career placement
The University of Florida Career Resource Center is in the Reitz Student Union. Its mission is to assist students and alumni who are seeking career development, career experiences, and employment opportunities. These services involve on and off-campus job interviews, career planning, assistance in applying to graduate and professional schools, and internship and co-op placements. The Career Resource Center offers workshops, information sessions, career fairs, and advisement on future career options. Staff also counsel students and alumni regarding resumes and portfolios, interviewing tactics, cover letters, job strategies and other potential leads for finding employment in the corporate, academic and government sectors.
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
ranked the Career Resource Center as the best among 368 ranked universities in career and job placement services in 2010, and fourth overall in 2011.
Museums
The Florida Museum of Natural History, established in 1891, is one of the country's oldest natural history museums and was officially chartered by the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. This facility is dedicated to understanding, preserving and interpreting biological diversity and cultural heritage. In over 100 years of operations, the Florida Museum of Natural History has been housed in several buildings, from the
Seagle Building
The John F. Seagle Building (also known as Hotel Kelley or the Dixie Hotel) is a historic building located at 408 West University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. Built in 1926, it was designed by noted University of Florida a ...
to facilities at Dickinson Hall, Powell Hall, and the Randell Research Center. In 2000 the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity was opened after a generous donation from University of Florida benefactors. The McGuire Center houses a collection of more than six million butterfly and moth specimens, making it one of the largest collections of Lepidoptera in the world, rivaling the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England.
The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, established in 1990, is also at the University of Florida on the southwest part of campus. This facility is one of the largest university art museums in the South, the Harn has more than 7,000 works in its permanent collection and an array of temporary exhibitions. The museum's permanent collections focus on Asian, African,
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
and
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...
, as well as
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...
. The university sponsors educational programs at the museum including films, lectures, interactive activities, and school and family offerings. In October 2005 the Harn expanded by more than with the opening of the Mary Ann Harn Cofrin Pavilion, which includes new educational and meeting areas and the Camellia Court Cafe, the first eatery for visitors of the Cultural Plaza.
Constans Theatre
The Constans Theatre is a performing arts venue located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida.
History
The facility first opened in 1967, and currently serves as a venue for musical concerts, theater, dance, and lectures. T ...
, the
Baughman Center
The Baughman Center consists of two buildings located along Lake Alice on the University of Florida campus. The main building is a nondenominational chapel or pavilion, while the other one is an administrative building. The chapel has seating fo ...
, and performances at the
O'Connell Center
The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the university, Stephen C. O' ...
. The mission is to provide an unparalleled experience where performing artists create and share knowledge to serve the student body, faculty, and staff at the university; Gainesville residents; and visitors to North Central Florida.
The University Auditorium was founded in the mid-1920s and is home to the Anderson Memorial Organ. The auditorium has a concert stage and can seat up to 843 patrons. The venue is suitable for musical concerts, special lectures, convocations, dance concerts, and pageants.
The Phillips Center for the Performing Arts was founded in 1992 and is a performing arts
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. The Phillips Center is on the western side of campus, and hosts established and emerging national and international artists on the main stage, as well as the annual
Miss University of Florida
Miss University of Florida Pageant and the Miss Florida Gator Pageant is the University of Florida's official pageant competition that is part of the larger Miss Florida and Miss America pageants. Florida Blue Key organizes the Miss University of ...
pageant and performances by the University of Florida's original student-run dance company, Floridance. The Phillips Center consists of a 1,700-seat proscenium hall and the 200-seat Squitieri Studio Theatre.
Constans Theatre
The Constans Theatre is a performing arts venue located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida.
History
The facility first opened in 1967, and currently serves as a venue for musical concerts, theater, dance, and lectures. T ...
was founded in 1967 and is a performing arts venue next to the J. Wayne Reitz Union. Constans Theatre serves as a venue for musical concerts, theater, dance, and lectures, and is a sub-venue of the Nadine McGuire Pavilion and Dance Pavilion.
The
Baughman Center
The Baughman Center consists of two buildings located along Lake Alice on the University of Florida campus. The main building is a nondenominational chapel or pavilion, while the other one is an administrative building. The chapel has seating fo ...
was founded in 2000 and serves as a venue for small musical and performing arts events. The facility consists of two buildings next to Lake Alice on the western portion of campus. The main building is a pavilion, the other is a administrative building. The Baughman Center can accommodate up to 96 patrons.
In popular culture
The University of Florida has been portrayed in several books, movies and television shows. In addition, the University of Florida campus has been the backdrop for a number of different books and movies.
Robert Cade, a professor in the university's College of Medicine, was the leader of the research team that invented the sports drink Gatorade as a hydration supplement for the Florida Gators football team in 1965–66.
Athletics
: ''For individual articles on the Florida Gators team in each sport, see the table at right.
The University of Florida's intercollegiate sports teams, known as the " Florida Gators," compete in
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(SEC). The Gators compete in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports.
For the 2014–15 school year, the
University Athletic Association
The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an American athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illinois, M ...
budgeted more $100 million for its sports teams and facilities. Since 1987–88, the Gators have won twenty-three of the last twenty-six SEC All-Sports Trophies, recognizing Florida as the best overall athletics program in the SEC. Florida is the only program in the nation to finish among the nation's top ten in each of the last thirty national all-sports standings and is the only SEC school to place 100 or more student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll each of the last fifteen years.
The Florida Gators have won thirty-five national team championships, thirty of which are NCAA championships. Florida Gators athletes have also won 267 NCAA championships in individual sports events. Florida is one of only two Division I FBS universities to win multiple national championships in each of the two most popular NCAA sports: football (1996, 2006, 2008) and men's basketball (2006, 2007).
Football
The University of Florida fielded its first official varsity football team in the fall of 1906, when the university held its first classes on its new Gainesville campus. Since then, the
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...
team has played in 40 bowl games, won three consensus national championships and eight
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(SEC) championships, produced 89 first-team All-Americans, 45
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) first-round draft choices, and three Heisman Trophy winners.
The Gators won their first post-season game on January 1, 1953, beating Tulsa 14–13 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Gators' first major bowl win was the 1967
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...
in which coach
Ray Graves
Samuel Ray Graves (December 31, 1918 – April 10, 2015) was an American college and professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting ...
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wrec ...
.
In 1990, Spurrier returned to his alma mater as its new head coach, and spurred the Gators to their first six official SEC football championships. The Gators, quarterbacked by their second Heisman Trophy winner, Danny Wuerffel, won their first national championship in 1996 with a 52–20 victory over Florida State Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl. In 2006,
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is a college football TV commentator and former American football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons fro ...
coached the Gators to a 13–1 record, capturing their seventh SEC Championship, and defeating the top-ranked
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...
for the team's third national championship.
Since 1930, the Gators' home field has been Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, which seats 88,548 fans. The stadium is popularly known as "The Swamp."
Basketball
Center
Neal Walk
Neal Eugene Walk (July 29, 1948 – October 4, 2015) was an American college and professional basketball player who was a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons during the late 1960s and 1970s, playing overseas after ...
is the only Gator to have had his number retired by the basketball team. The
Florida Gators men's basketball
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Con ...
team has also gained national recognition over the past 20 years. The Gators went to the Final Four of the 1994 NCAA tournament under coach
Lon Kruger
Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is a retired American college and professional basketball coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State Uni ...
, and coach Billy Donovan led the Gators back to the NCAA Final Four in 2000, losing to the
Michigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...
in the final. Under Donovan, the Gators won their first Southeastern Conference (SEC) tournament championship in 2005, beating the
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
. After repeating as SEC tournament champions in 2006, the Gators won their first basketball national championship, defeating the
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...
73–57 in the final game of the NCAA basketball tournament.
The Gators beat the
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...
77–56 to win their third consecutive SEC tournament title in 2007. Florida defeated Ohio State 84–75 to again win the NCAA basketball tournament championship.
The Gators play their home games in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The 10,133-seat multi-purpose indoor arena was completed in 1980 and underwent massive renovations during the 2016–17 season. The arena is popularly known as the "O'Dome."
Olympics
Since 1968, 163 Gator athletes and 13 Florida coaches have represented 37 countries in the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
, winning 50 Olympic gold medals, 28 silver medals and 30 bronze medals through the 2012 Summer Olympics. The list of University of Florida alumni who are Olympic gold medalists includes
Brad Wilkerson
Stephen Bradley Wilkerson (born June 1, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for eight seasons. Wilkerson played college baseball for the University of Florida, and was selected ...
(baseball);
Delisha Milton-Jones
DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American ...
(basketball);
Steve Mesler
Steven Michael Mesler (born August 28, 1978) is an American bobsledder. He is the co-founder, President and CEO of the international award-winning non-profit education organizatioClassroom Champions Mesler also currently serves on thBoard of Dir ...
(bobsled);
Heather Mitts
Heather Mitts Feeley (born Heather Blaine Mitts; June 9, 1978) is an American former professional soccer defender. Mitts played college soccer for the University of Florida, and thereafter, she played professionally in the Women's Professional ...
Tracy Caulkins
Tracy Anne Stockwell, OAM, (born January 11, 1963), née Tracy Anne Caulkins, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion, and former world record-holder in three events.
Caulkins was ...
Conor Dwyer
Conor James Dwyer (born January 10, 1989) is a former American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. He competed in freestyle and medley events, and won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle relay team a ...
,
Geoff Gaberino
Geoffrey Steven Gaberino (born July 18, 1962) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Gaberino was a member of two national championship college teams and a four-time college national ch ...
Mike Heath
Michael Thomas Heath (born February 5, 1955) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees (1978), Oakland Athletics (1979–1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1986 ...
,
David Larson
David Erwin Larson (born June 25, 1959) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. Larson is a Georgia native who became an All-American college swimmer for the University of Flori ...
Anthony Nesty
Anthony Conrad Nesty (born November 25, 1967) is a former competition swimmer from Suriname who was an Olympic gold medallist in the 100-metre butterfly event in 1988. He is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators men's and women's swim ...
,
Dara Torres
Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967) is an American former competitive swimmer, who is a 12-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events. Torres is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Gam ...
Kerron Clement
Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael John ...
,
Dennis Mitchell
Dennis Allen Mitchell (born February 20, 1966) is an American former college and international track and field athlete, who was a member of the gold medal-winning team in the 4 x 100 meters relay race at ...
,
Frank Shorter
Frank Charles Shorter (born October 31, 1947) is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the ac ...
Bernard Williams
Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity'' ...
(track and field).
Notable people
Notable alumni
As of August 2018 the University of Florida has 545,165 alumni. Over 57,000 are dues-paying members of the University of Florida Alumni Association. Florida alumni live in every state and more than 100 foreign countries. Florida alumni include two
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winners, nine
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
astronauts, ten
U.S. Senators
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
, forty-two
U.S. Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, eight U.S. ambassadors, eleven state governors, eleven state Supreme Court justices, and over fifty federal court judges. Florida graduates have served as the executive leaders of such diverse institutions as the U.S. Marine Corps and the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
.
File:Bob Graham, official Senate photo portrait, color.jpg, Bob Graham
File:Beverly Perdue.jpg, Beverly Perdue
File:1joe scarborough.jpg,
Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of ''Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarbo ...
File:EmmittSmith2007 (crop).jpg, Emmitt Smith
File:Faye Dunaway - 1971 - PBS.JPG,
Faye Dunaway
Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. In 2011, the government of France mad ...
File:MNirenberg-NIH.jpg,
Marshall Nirenberg
Marshall Warren Nirenberg (April 10, 1927 – January 15, 2010) was an American biochemist and geneticist. He shared a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968 with Har Gobind Khorana and Robert W. Holley for "breaking the genetic code" ...
File:Stephen Stills 2011.jpg, Stephen Stills
File:Carol Browner Senate.jpg,
Carol Browner
Carol Martha Browner (born December 16, 1955) is an American lawyer, environmentalist, and businesswoman, who served as director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011. Browne ...
File:Kevin A. Ford.jpg, Kevin Ford
File:Marco Rubio, Official Portrait, 112th Congress.jpg, Marco Rubio
File:ErinAndrews.jpg,
Erin Andrews
Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster, television personality, and actress. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox S ...
Awards won by University of Florida faculty members include a Fields Medal and an Abel Prize in Mathematics,
Albert Einstein Medal
The Albert Einstein Medal is an award presented by the Albert Einstein Society in Bern. First given in 1979, the award is presented to people for "scientific findings, works, or publications related to Albert Einstein" each year.
Recipients
...
,
Dirac Medal
The Dirac Medal is the name of four awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations, named in honour of Professor Paul Dirac, one of the great theoretical physicists of the 20 ...
,
Sakurai Prize
The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, is presented by the American Physical Society at its annual April Meeting, and honors outstanding achievement in particle physics theory. The prize consists of a monetary award ($10,000 U ...
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize
The Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize is an annual award given by the American Physical Society "to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics." It was endowed by AT&T Bell Lab ...
LIGO
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large ...
's discovery of gravitational wave in Physics, numerous
Pulitzer Prizes
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
, and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's top award for research, and the Smithsonian Institution's conservation award. There are more than sixty eminent scholar endowed faculty chairs, and more than fifty faculty elections to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, or Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine or a counterpart in a foreign nation. More than two dozen faculty are members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering and the Institute of Medicine or counterpart in a foreign nation.
File:John_Griggs_Thompson.jpg, John Thompson
File:Marjorie_Kinnan_Rawlings.jpg,
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953) accessed December 8, 2014. was an
File:pramod khargonekar in 2002.jpg,
Pramod Khargonekar
Pramod P. Khargonekar is the Vice Chancellor for Research and Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. An expert in control systems engineering, Dr. Khargonekar has served in ...
File:JosephGloverUFProvost.JPG,
Joseph Glover :''for the 1630s pioneer of the printing press in the New World see Jose Glover''.
Joseph Glover is an American professor and currently serves as the Provost for the University of Florida.
Glover attended Cornell University for his bachelor's deg ...
Carl Van Ness
Carl Van Ness is the Curator of Manuscripts & Archives Department in the University of Florida LibrariesSpecial & Area Studies Collections and was appointed the University Historian for the University of Florida in 2006. He followed the former Uni ...
File:Harald von Boehmer.jpg, Harald von Boehmer
File:William Alphonso Murrill.gif,
William Murrill
William Alphonso Murrill (October 13, 1869 – December 25, 1957) was an American mycologist, known for his contributions to the knowledge of the Agaricales and Polyporaceae. In 1904, he became the assistant Curator at the New York Botanical Ga ...
ACCENT Speakers Bureau
ACCENT Speakers Bureau is the student government-run speakers' bureau of the University of Florida. It claims to be the largest student-run speakers' bureau in the United States. The organization is a student government agency.
ACCENT was creat ...
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) is the official oral history program at the University of Florida. With over 6,500 interviews and more than 150,000 pages of transcribed material, it is one of the premier oral history programs in ...
University of Florida forensic science distance education program
The University of Florida, University of Florida's (UF) online forensic science distance education programs cater to working professionals and students who have completed their Bachelor of Science degrees.
The program offers six areas of concen ...
University of Florida Press
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...