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About the University of Florida

A Top Public University by the Numbers

Find current stats on enrollment, retention and graduation rates, degrees awarded, diversity, finances and more.

Among America’s Best Universities

See what others are saying about Florida in this comprehensive guide to our latest national and international rankings.

The National Higher Education Call to Action

On August 3, 2026, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a National Call to Action letter urging college and university presidents and governing boards to publish, by the end of 2026, a public statement outlining their institution's commitments across seven areas: admissions transparency and merit, free speech and open inquiry, intellectual pluralism, affordability and student outcomes, academic rigor in the age of AI, research integrity, and protections against malign foreign influence.

Statement from the State of Florida

Public University

Forbes

16:1

Faculty-to-Student Ratio

97.3%

Retention Rate

As of 2021.

UF President Bell seated at a table speaking

Meet President Dr. Stuart R. Bell and the teams that lead our university.

Administration

See accreditation info from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Accreditation

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Visiting Campus

Overview

The University of Florida is a land-, sea- and space-grant institution and serves as the flagship university for the state of Florida.

UF's presence extends beyond its Gainesville academic campus. In Fall of 2026, UF officially opened its Jacksonville campus. It will also soon have a presence in Washington D.C. through its recently established Ballard House, connecting UF's academic strengths with the nation's capital.

In keeping with its land-grant status, UF has one of the most comprehensive agriculture and natural resources programs through its Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). Because of this program, UF/IFAS has an extension office in each of Florida's 67 counties.

Additionally, UF has a world-class health system through the UF Health network, which consists of 12 hospitals and hundreds of physician practices and outpatient locations in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Central Florida.

AI Across the Curriculum

In 2020, UF launched a university-wide effort to integrate AI across the curriculum, providing students and graduates with the tools to navigate the demands of an AI-driven economy. This same year, UF established a public-private partnership with NVIDIA that boosted the capabilities of UF's supercomputer, HiPerGator.

Since the inception of this initiative, UF has hired more than 100 AI-focused faculty members to work across the different colleges and started offering professional development to existing faculty to assist them with incorporating AI into their classrooms.

We’ve come a long way from the days of 19th century predecessors like the East Florida Seminary and the Florida Agricultural College. Today, the University of Florida is one of the nation's top public universities and a world-class destination for students, scholars and innovators.

Driving Innovation Since 1853

In 1858, James Henry Roper founded the Gainesville Academy. Eight years later, he offered the school as a new site for the Ocala-based East Florida Seminary. Eventually, the seminary would merge with other institutions to become a state university.

Grounded in Gainesville

In 1884, Florida Agricultural College in Lake City became the state’s first land-grant college. Seeking to expand the school’s focus, the Florida legislature renamed it the “University of Florida.” Before long, it too would merge into a greater institution.

Florida’s First “University”

In 1905, the Florida legislature merged the state’s existing public institutions into new schools segregated by race and sex. Gainesville lobbied to become home to the largest—the University of the State of Florida. The new university operated in Lake City while construction proceeded on the Gainesville campus.

Consolidation & Campaigning

In 1909, Albert Murphree—the university’s second president—led a reorganization that created the institution’s first group of colleges and increased enrollment tenfold to more than 2,000. The university also officially shorted its name to “The University of Florida.”

Growing with Purpose

In 1911, Florida’s sports teams adopted the gator mascot and nickname after pennants featuring an alligator proved popular. Orange and blue became the official colors that same year.

Here Come the Gators

Gator Athletics

In 1924, the state legislature mandated that the university accept women into programs not available at Florida State College for Women, the sex-segregated school created nearly 20 years prior. Lassie Goodbread-Black became the first woman to enroll.

Opening to Women

women's team holding NCAA championship trophy

In the early 1930s, university president John J. Tigert created grant-in-aid athletic scholarships to quash under-the-table payments to student athletes. The program offered the foundation for modern athletic scholarships implemented by the NCAA.

Leadership for College Sports

The 1940s and 1950s saw drives to open the university to more women and to people of color. By 1947, Tallahassee’s Florida State College for Women became Florida State University, and both state universities went co-ed. In 1958, George H. Starke became UF’s first Black student.

Road to Opportunity

In 1956, Florida’s colleges of medicine and nursing opened, followed by a teaching hospital in 1958. Today, Florida is the only U.S. university with six health-sciences colleges on a single campus.

Center for Health

UF Health

In 1965, Florida scientists introduced a beverage that helps athletes stay hydrated and dubbed it "Gatorade." When the Gators won their first Orange Bowl over the Georgia Tech Yellow jackets in 1967, the opposing coach quipped, "We didn't have Gatorade. That made the difference."

Better than Water

In 1985, Florida joined the Association of American Universities, a network of North America’s leading research institutions. In 2009, the university announced renewed emphasis on graduate programs and research—another sign of its emergence as a leader in discovery.

A Greater Commitment

Professor looking at camera with student

In 2015, W. Kent Fuchs became Florida’s 12th university president. In 2017, he announced a plan to hire an additional 500 faculty members, part of a coordinated effort to boost Florida’s national standing. The move has reduced Florida’s faculty-to-student ratio to 17:1.

Investment in Innovation

Engineering student does the Gator Chomp, creating light trails.

In 2020, Florida forged a $70 million partnership with NVIDIA to create the nation’s most powerful university-owned supercomputer. It’s part of a university-wide project to infuse artificial intelligence across the curriculum and increase AI-related research and development.

Focusing on AI

AI Initiative