The University of Central Florida

About The University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university with its main campus in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida. With 68,442 students as of the fall 2022 semester, UCF has the fourth-largest on-campus student body of any public university in the United States. UCF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

UCF was founded in 1963 and opened its first classes in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the mission to provide personnel educated in science, technology, engineering and math to support the growing U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (known at the time as Cape Kennedy Air Force Station) on Florida's Space Coast. As its academic scope expanded beyond engineering and technology, Florida Tech was renamed the University of Central Florida in 1978. UCF continues to have space root connections, as it developed and oversees the Florida Space Institute, Robinson Observatory, manages the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, and is the leader of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium. Initial enrollment in 1968 was 1,948 students; enrollment in 2022 exceeds 68,000 students from over 150 countries, all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Most students attend classes on the university's main campus, 13 miles (21 km) east of downtown Orlando and 35 miles (56 km) west of Cape Canaveral. UCF offers more than 230 degrees through 13 colleges including the Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona Medical City, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in south Orlando and the city campus in downtown Orlando. Since its founding, UCF has awarded more than 401,245 degrees, including over 60,000 graduate and professional degrees.

Why Should Study at The University of Central Florida?

In the 2023 U.S. News & World Report rankings, UCF was tied for 124th in the National Universities category (tied for 64th among "Top Public Schools"). In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Central Florida as the 14th most innovative school and 8th best in online bachelor's program in the nation. Every year Florida is a top choice for international students looking to continue their higher education. Many international students are surprised to find themselves studying in Florida at a high-quality institution for a fraction of the cost students may pay elsewhere. University of Central Florida is ranked #432 in Best Global Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence. Read more about how we rank schools. With its thriving industries and strong economy, Florida offers a wide range of job opportunities for graduates. STEM jobs are exploding in all industries, education, government and graduate schools.

Campus

The University of Central Florida main campus is located along Alafaya Trail east of Orlando, Florida. The campus is designed to be pedestrian-oriented, with a series of concentric circles. The outermost circle is Gemini Blvd, which is also the main road for vehicular traffic on campus. Inside of Gemini, there is Apollo Circle, Mercury Circle, and finally Pegasus Circle as the innermost circle.

Pegasus Circle contains the student union, with the John C. Hitt Library located directly to the south of it. All academic buildings are located inside of Gemini, with the circle divided up into pie-shaped sections for each college. As there are very few roads inside of Gemini, many buildings' loading docks are accessible only by sidewalks and thus receive most deliveries at night. The University of Central Florida campus is one of only two in the nation with a concentric circle design, the other being the University of California, Irvine. Newsweek ranked UCF as having the 20th most beautiful university campus in the country in 2011.

Regional campuses

In addition to the Orlando campus, the University of Central Florida has several other campuses to service the Central Florida region.

In Orlando, there is another campus, located in downtown Orlando, the health sciences campus located at Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida. In addition, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management is located away from the main campus, in close proximity to the heart of Orlando's tourism industries near Universal Studios and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

Downtown Campus

In 2019, a 15-acre (6-hectare) campus was opened in Downtown Orlando in collaboration with Valencia West. It includes the Dr. Phillips Academic Commons, the Union West, and the UCF Center for Emerging Media buildings

Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona

The 50-acre (20-hectare) UCF Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona includes the UCF College of Medicine and the Burnett Biomedical Sciences Building. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nemours Children's Hospital, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute, turning the area into a medical city. The campus will also serve as the future home of the UCF College of Nursing and the newly approved UCF College of Dental Medicine. The College of Medicine welcomed its charter class in August 2009.

Upon completion of construction, the campus could accommodate as many as 5,000 upper division, professional, and graduate students and faculty members in the health-related programs, and include up to two million square feet of research and instruction space.