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 With
over 53,000 students enrolled in fall of 2009, the
University of Central Florida
has the third highest enrollment of all public universities in the
United States
and the most enrolled of all Florida
universities. The university is located in
Orlando, Florida and is
one of the 11 public universities that make up the State University System of
Florida. Central Florida was founded in 1963 as the
Florida Technological
University (‘Florida Tech’), which
served as a training school for the
Kennedy
Space Center.
The university would later develop into a more traditional university
with multiple disciplines, and it became the
University of Central Florida
in 1978. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report
named Central Florida
the fifth best ‘up-and-coming’ university. The
university’s campus design is a blueprint for other universities around the
country, with its concentric-circled design that emphasizes pedestrian use in
its center with automobile-traffic flowing on its outer-most circle.
Central Florida is still connected to the space
program by way of being a space-grant university, which means it is one of 52
universities that are a part of the
National
Space
Grant College
and Fellowship Program that was began in 1988 and is managed by N.A.S.A. (Florida
State University
is also a space-grant university). Noted research areas for
Central Florida
include optics, modeling and simulation, digital media,
engineering and computer science, business administration, education, and
hospitality management.
The
University of Central Florida
maintains 11 satellite campuses and offers 225 different degrees in 12 colleges.
Other than the three satellite campuses also located in
Orlando with the main campus, there are campuses in
Cocoa,
Clermont,
Daytona Beach,
Heathrow,
Kissimmee,
Leesburg,
Ocala,
Palm Bay and
Sanford.
The university recently became more selective for incoming freshmen due
to its rapidly expanding size, with 42% of prospective students being admitted
in the fall of 2009, down from 61% in 2005.
The University
of Central Florida’s location
in
Orlando,
Florida helps to define
some of its emphasis and usefulness for students. The
College
of Business Administration at
Central Florida is the only accredited business school for undergraduates and
graduates in the
Orlando
metropolitan area. The
College
of Education
at the university produces the most teachers statewide. UCF’s
College of
Engineering and
Computer Science specializes in providing an education that translates for
careers at such Orlando-area institutions as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing,
Siemens and Walt Disney World. Likewise, the Rosen College of Hospitality
Management of Central Florida
benefits from being located in the belly of the tourism industry.
The internationally revered
College of
Optics and Photonics at
UCF consists of three major research institutions which include the Center for
Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), the Florida Photonics
Center of Excellence and the newly-founded Townes Laser Institute.
With every three-point shot, touchdown, goal and award our
players achieve, UCF Athletics scores points toward the national recognition it
deserves. In everything they do, our players work to make UCF a better place to
live, work and play. Start getting in on the action by visiting the
UCF Athletics Web site.
UCF may be the only university to open two new venues in a
single year. And that’s just what we did in 2007. We’re committed to bringing
our students, alumni, friends and neighbors together to celebrate long-held
traditions and to create new ones. It’s all right here on the Orlando campus.
At UCF, student life is vibrant and diverse. Students can
attend concerts and athletic events, take advantage of lectures and exhibits,
and participate in any of our 350 clubs and organizations. The Office of Student
Involvement fosters relationships between students, their communities and their
academic endeavors. The Multicultural Student Center, the Campus Activities
Board and Volunteer UCF are just a few examples of the kinds of organizations
and programs available. UCF is more than a place to learn. It’s a place to live.
Whether you’re looking for entertainment at the
UCF Arena, want to meet others and make a
difference at the Student Union or
just want to relax at any one of our restaurants and shops—we know just the
place.
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