University of Florida Ranking

Introduction

The University of Florida, commonly referred to as Florida or UF is an American public land-grand, sea grand, space-grand research university on a 8.1 km2 campus in Gainesville, Florida. Tracing back its origins to the very start of publicly funded higher education in the state, it eventually merged with the former Florida Agricultural College, the St Petersburg Normal and Industrial School and the South Florida Military College in 1905 to assume its current form.

In 1906, the Florida Museum of Natural History was incorporated into the University of Florida. In 1909, President Albert Murphee reorganized the separate colleges under a single mission and greatly expanded the size of the institution, with a yearly intake skyrocketing from 200 to over 2.000.

Since 2000, Florida has remained at the tip of the spear in many research areas, often through high profile international collaborations. The university is in an ongoing collaboration with Spain on the world’s largest single-aperture optical telescope.

In 2014, the grand total of UF graduates reached the staggering number of half a million. Amongst its most notable alumni is presidential candidate, Mario Rubio, astronaut Kevin Ford, and actress Faye Dunaway.

Undergraduate & Graduate Programs

It is necessary to stretch how the UF strives to make great students even greater. More than 96 percent of incoming freshmen score above the national average on standardized exams. Florida currently supports roughly one hundred undergraduate programs and two hundred graduate programs. This great variety basically guarantees that an aspiring student will be able to discover his true calling and academic inclinations.

The following list is indicative and certainly not exhaustive of the different undergraduate programs provided by Florida:

As is fairly evident the University of Florida covers all major disciplines, sufficiently diverse to support the vast majority of career paths for its students.

When it comes to graduate programs, again, Florida delivers big time. The following list is not exhaustive, only indicative:

The University of Florida also allows the combination of a bachelor’s degree (undergraduate program) and a master’s degree program allowing academically superior undergraduate students to earn credits counting towards both degrees. Students getting admitted into a combined program have above average GPAs and very strong scores on all portions of the GRE examinations.

Research Opportunities

UF has extremely well developed research teams collaborating amongst themselves and with various other institutes across the world. The central focus is not merely on developing new products or making scientific breakthroughs, but also shaping new mental theories in order to ameliorate the future.

For example, the McKnight Brain Institute literally works on discovering how the brain operates, and on how it can be repaired after injury, disease or old age. The general cultural background is that of innovation where questions and connections between multiple disciplines are heavily encouraged. Currently, more than one hundred sixty start ups and companies are bringing millions of dollars in revenue back to Florida, seeding future innovations.

Extracurricular Activities

Even though the University of Florida has a very strong academic orientation and focuses on providing a superior academic arsenal to its students so that they will have a sound professional future that is not to say it lacks anything in providing its students with a quality lifestyle and extracurricular activities. Amongst its biggest attractions is definitely the Museum of natural history, one of the top, largest university museums in the whole country. In addition, UF has roughly a thousand student run organizations, a staggering number that pretty much guarantees to keep your out of class hours full.

Finally, of no less importance are the sixty intramural and club sports supported. Florida is home to one of the top fitness facilities of the whole country, as recreational sports and fitness are part of the university’s culture. There are also two lakes in campus, for those interested in swimming.

Ranking

According to one of the most reputable ranking systems, the Financial Times University Rankings currently holds the 94^th rank. Its three year average rank is 78. It ranks very strongly at the 34^th spot for “value for money” rank, and is 95^th when it comes to “career progress”. Finally it ranks pretty high when it comes to research, scoring the 27^th rank.

A general estimate of a Florida graduate’s salary today comes up at 93,317$ annually, which admittedly seems to have taken a hit in relation to previous iterations of the ranking list – at roughly 5,855$ less.

Notable is the high level of diversity in Florida, with international students comprising more than 20 percent of its student total and a raising number of female students of multiple backgrounds.

In an alternative ranking list, that of the U.S. News & World Report, 2017 edition, ranks as the 14^th best public university of the United States and tied for 50^th overall among all national universities, public and private.

Conclusion

To summarize the aforementioned information, the University of Florida is a sound choice for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. It ranks high in global university rankings, holds a very strong research team, and has many connections across the world. Of no less importance are its quality of life features, such as its fitness facility and the Museum of Natural History. All in all, the University of Florida is definitely a completely viable option to consider for your studies.