University of Florida

132nd
World University Rankings 2024
54th
US College Rankings 2022
126-150th
World Reputation Rankings 2023
Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States

About University of Florida

The University of Florida can trace its origins back to the very start of publicly funded higher education in the state. In 1853, shortly after Governor Thomas Brown passed a bill offering financial support, a man called Gilbert Kingsbury opened the East Florida Seminary. This eventually merged with the former Florida Agricultural College, the St Petersburg Normal and Industrial School and the South Florida Military College in 1905 to become the new University of the State of Florida. The relevant legislation was known as the Buckman Act and its originator, Henry Holland Buckman, is honoured in the university’s Buckman Hall.   

Major developments soon followed. In 1906, the Florida Museum of Natural History was incorporated into UF. As well as being invaluable for teaching and research, this represented a commitment to the study of biological diversity still significant almost a century later in 2000, when the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity was established as one of the largest collections of butterflies and moths in the world. In 1909, president Albert Murphree reorganised the separate colleges under a single mission and greatly expanded the size of the institution, with an annual intake rising from 200 to over 2,000.

Major developments in the 20th century include the creation of the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing in 1956 and a teaching hospital two years later. By building on these, UF is now the only university in the country which incorporates six different healthcare colleges on a single campus. A different landmark was reached in 1968, when the first ever “Gator” took part in the Olympics.

Since the millennium, the university has remained at the forefront of research in many areas, often through high-profile international collaborations. In 2002, it led a consortium of seven universities which secured a $15 million grant from NASA to carry out space research. From 2008, a partnership with Zhejiang University in China worked on sustainable energy. In 2012, over 30 UF physicists, postdocs and students played a leading part in the team whose experiments at the Large Hadron Collider established that the elusive Higgs boson really existed. The university continues to work with Spain on the world’s largest single-aperture optical telescope.

In 2014, the total number of students who had graduated from UF reached half a million. Notable alumni include actress Faye Dunaway, astronaut Kevin Ford and senior senator of Florida Marco Rubio.

Explore rankings data for University of Florida

All ranked institutions have an overall score and 4 pillar scores. However for each pillar, only institutions ranked in the top 500 overall or the top 500 in this pillar have a publicly visible score

Compare universities on their key stats

Key statistics

  • 16.7
    No. of students per staff
    (1)
  • 9%
    Percentage of International Students
    (1)
  • 56 : 44
    Student Ratio of Females to Males
    (1)
  • 22%
    Proportion of ISR Publication
    (1)
  • 48,114
    Number of FTE Students
    (1)
  • $10,220
    On-campus Room and Board
    (2)
  • $28,659
    Out-of-state Tuition and Fees
    (2)
  • $53,400
    Salary after 10 years
    (2)
Based on data collected for the (1) 2024 World University Rankings and (2) 2022 US Rankings

Subjects taught at University of Florida

  • Engineering & technology

    • Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
    • General Engineering
    • Electrical & Electronic Engineering
    • Chemical Engineering
    • Civil Engineering
  • Social sciences

    • Communication & Media Studies
    • Sociology
    • Geography
    • Politics & International Studies (incl Development Studies)
  • Business & economics

    • Economics & Econometrics
    • Business & Management
    • Accounting & Finance
  • Clinical, pre-clinical & health

    • Medicine & Dentistry
    • Other Health
  • Life sciences

    • Veterinary Science
    • Biological Sciences
    • Agriculture & Forestry
    • Sport Science
  • Psychology

    • Psychology
  • Computer science

    • Computer Science
  • Physical sciences

    • Mathematics & Statistics
    • Chemistry
    • Physics & Astronomy
    • Geology, Environmental, Earth & Marine Sciences
  • Education

    • Education
  • Arts & humanities

    • Languages, Literature & Linguistics
    • Art, Performing Arts & Design
    • Architecture
    • History, Philosophy & Theology
  • Law

    • Law