University of Florida Marston Science Library, University of Florida, Gainesville. (more) University of Florida university, Florida, United States Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Florida Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　External Websites Official Site of the University of Florida, Florida, United States Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. University of Florida - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Ask the Chatbot a Question Written by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Aug 2, 2025 • Article History Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot Areas Of Involvement: land-grant universities public education (Show more) Notable Alumni: Carl Hiaasen Michael Connelly Tim Tebow Kate DiCamillo Marco Rubio (Show more) See all related content News • Drones reveal 41,000-turtle nesting mega-site hidden in the Amazon • July 30, 2025, 5:28 AM ET (ScienceDaily) Show less University of Florida, public coeducational institution of higher learning in Gainesville, Florida, U.S. It is a comprehensive research university with land-grant status and is part of the State University System of Florida. The university awards bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees and consists of 23 colleges and schools, including the Fisher School of Accounting, the M.E. Rinker, Sr., School of Building Construction, the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, the School of Teaching and Learning, and the College of Health and Human Performance. There are also professional colleges of law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine; more than 100 undergraduate majors and some 200 graduate programs, as well as an honours program. The university has had one of the most successful collegiate programs for American football in the country.

　　The university has dozens of research facilities, including the University of Florida Brain Institute, the Whitney Laboratory (a marine research facility located in St. Augustine), the Center for Exercise Science, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, which includes a large citrus research centre in Lake Alfred. The university operates two television and three radio stations. The Florida Museum of Natural History (the largest of its kind in the southern United States), the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, and a wildlife sanctuary are on the campus. The university also operates a health science centre in Jacksonville. Total enrollment is approximately 50,000.

　　The University of Florida is the oldest and largest university in the state. Its history dates to 1853, when the Kingsbury Academy in Ocala was acquired by the state-supported East Florida Seminary. In the 1860s the seminary moved to Gainesville and later was consolidated with Florida Agricultural College, a land-grant school in Lake City. In 1905 it became the University of Florida and returned to Gainesville. Women were first admitted in 1947, and the university was racially integrated in 1958. Notable alumni include physicist John V. Atanasoff (a developer of the electronic digital computer), Olympic swimmer Tracy Caulkins, and Nobel laureate biochemist Marshall Nirenberg.

　　This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.