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Vanderbilt University

Ranked
Nashville, United States
=92nd in World University Rankings 2024
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About

Basic information and contact details for Vanderbilt University

institution

Vanderbilt University is a private research institution in the US comprising four undergraduate schools in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, music, education and human development, and a full range of graduate and professional degrees.

Its location, in Nashville, Tennessee – also known as ‘Music City, USA’ – is within walking distance of the city’s vibrant downtown area.

The university was built when shipping and rail magnate, "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, donated a $1 million endowment in 1873.

Its 330-acre campus has 120 centres and institutes, including the Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center, and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, which was established to support the First Amendment and educate students on issues of freedom of speech.

The university has won three national championships and boasts a football stadium that seats over 40,000 people.

Intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed Commodores, after Vanderbilt’s nickname, and wear the black and gold of a sea captain. Their mascot is also a commodore figure who wears a sea captain’s hat and jacket.

Vanderbilt has its own hand sign, involving the extension of the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand to form a ‘V’ and a ‘U’ shape.

The oldest building date on campus dates back to 1859, while others are registered National Historic Landmarks. The Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Though Vanderbilt was intended to be an all-male institution, this was never enforced, and women were admitted from 1875 onwards.

When a fire burnt down the university’s Kirkland Hall in 1905, the schoolchildren of Nashville collected pennies to pay for a replacement bell. That same 2,000-pound bell still chimes in the rebuilt Kirkland Tower, on the hour, every hour.

Vanderbilt has produced four Nobel Laureates in its history, as well as several congressmen, judges, NFL major league baseball players and one Poet Laureate.

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Rankings

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Key Student Statistics

A breakdown of student statistics at Vanderbilt University

gender ratio
Student gender ratio
55 F : 45 M (1)
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International student percentage
17% (1)
student per staff
Students per staff
3.9 (1)
student
Student total
12971 (1)

Based on data collected for the (1) World University Rankings 2024

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Subjects Taught at Vanderbilt University

See below for a range of subjects taught at Vanderbilt University

Life Sciences=72nd

  • Biological Sciences

Law54th

  • Law

Education27th

  • Education

Arts and Humanities201–250th

  • Languages, Literature and Linguistics
  • History, Philosophy and Theology
  • Archaeology
  • Art, Performing Art and Design

Business and Economics126–150th

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Business and Management
  • Accounting and Finance

Clinical and Health58th

  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Other Health

Computer Science201–250th

  • Computer Science

Engineering176–200th

  • General Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Social Sciences101–125th

  • Sociology
  • Politics and International Studies
  • Geography
  • Communication and Media Studies

Psychology41st

  • Psychology

Physical Sciences201–250th

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