University of Miami

University of Miami is a private institution that was founded in 1925. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 11,380, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 239 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Miami's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 48. Its tuition and fees are $44,350 (2014-15).

Located in Southern Florida, the University of Miami has an ideal location for students who love the outdoors. With popular spots like South Beach, the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park nearby, students have plenty of opportunities for water sports, hiking and sunbathing. Downtown Miami, also near to the school, is a thriving sports and cultural center. On campus, more than 2,400 students are involved in more than 30 fraternities and sororities. Students can also choose from more than 250 clubs and organizations to join. Freshmen are not required to live on campus, but many opt to live in the school’s five residential colleges. The communities, modeled after housing at England’s Oxford and Cambridge universities, combine living and learning with group meals, poetry readings, sports and more. For students who do not live in university housing, the Commuter Assistant Program pairs freshmen with an on-campus representative to help ease the transition into college. University of Miami Division I sports teams are known as the Hurricanes and compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The school’s mascot is Sebastian the Ibis, a species of marsh bird that is known for weathering tropical storms.

The University of Miami is known as a research institution, and research opportunities begin at the undergraduate level. Annual campus events include the Canes Film Festival, which showcases student-produced movies, and Sportsfest, three days of competition between residence hall teams. Undergraduates are also known for upholding school spirit with traditions like the Boat Burning Ceremony held on Lake Osceola during homecoming. Notable alumni of the University of Miami include actor Sylvester Stallone and entertainer Gloria Estefan

The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. A brilliant faculty corps draws exceptional students, and the cumulative impact of the two has made the University one of the fastest-rising research universities in the nation. Our steadfast pursuit of excellence begins at the top, with University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala. In the 2014 edition of the U.S. News & World Report annual Best Colleges issue, the University of Miami ranked number 47. For the fifth year in a row, UM has ranked in the top 50 and continues to be the highest ranked school in Florida. The University of Miami is a living, breathing example of the exponential power of great people doing ground-breaking work. What they accomplish at the University flows through global circuits to spark human progress on the grand scale. Dynamic courses are offered in more than 180 majors and programs. At UM, a student can construct learning around individual strengths, interests, curiosities, passions, and goals by offering a unique array of learning options in our nine undergraduate schools and two graduate professional schools. The Cognates Program allows a student to use those options to create an education that is both broad and deep and that displays who the student is and what the student cares about. Because of our geographical location, the University of Miami offers what most places cannot: a mosaic of cultures and traditions amid a beautiful subtropical environment. Our experiential approach nurtures curiosity and exploration of the world outside the classroom while also bringing the world to the University of Miami campus. The value of a University of Miami education is the ability to become part of this vast and renewable resource, gaining knowledge, inspiration, camaraderie, and connections that will prove invaluable for years to come