Welcome to the University of South Florida, a Preeminent State Research University! Located in the heart of Tampa Bay, the University of South Florida is dedicated to empowering students to maximize their potential for lifelong success.
USF is situated in the vibrant and diverse Tampa Bay region, with campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee. Together these campuses serve more than 50,000 students and offer undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral degrees.
Across our 14 colleges, undergraduates choose from over 180 majors and concentrations, from business and engineering to the arts and USF Health. We are dedicated to empowering our students to prosper and have been recognized nationally for closing the achievement gap regardless of race, background or socioeconomic status.
Founded: 1956
Undergraduates: 36,854
Graduate Students: 9,493
Accreditation: Institutionally Accredited, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Faculty & Staff: 15,678
Diversity: 40% of students are African American, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or multiracial.
Countries Represented: 146
In the region, in the state, in the nation and across the globe, the University of South Florida is making an impact. Here are just a few of the distinctive attributes that make our young, vibrant and dynamic university a leading institution of higher education.
Note: Some of the below statistics apply to the USF Tampa campus prior to consolidation on July 1, 2020.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
USF’s innovation and economic development efforts generate more than $582 million in statewide impact each year, sustain more than 4,000 jobs and return more than $71 million in tax revenue to local, state and federal coffers, according to a 2019 analysis from the Washington Economics Group, a leading national firm. 82% of the jobs created by USF innovation statewide are in the knowledge-based services sector.
The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame (FloridaInvents.org) was founded at USF in 2013. As of 2020, 51 outstanding Florida inventors have been elected, including 10 from USF.
USF ranks 8th in the nation among public universities, and 15th worldwide for granted U.S. patents among all universities according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association/NAI (2020). USF has ranked in the top 10 among public universities for U.S. patents granted for the ninth consecutive year.
USF ranked 4th worldwide among organizations with the most Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) named in 2020, a rank USF has held for the past six years. As of 2020, USF has a total of 82 AAAS Fellows among its faculty.
USF is one of 63 public research universities nationwide classified as a Doctoral University with “Highest Research Activity” and as a “Community Engaged” institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The title of “Highest Research Activity” is a distinction attained by only 4% of all post-secondary institutions, making USF one of five public universities in the state of Florida classified as such (2021).
USF is the founder and home of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) (AcademyofInventors.org), a non-profit member organization with over 4,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 250 U.S. universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutes. The NAI’s nationally recognized Fellows program has 1,228 elected Fellows, including Nobel Laureates, U.S. National Medal of Technology & Innovation and National Medal of Science recipients and National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees, who collectively hold more than 41,500 patents. USF has 22 NAI Fellows. The USF Chapter of the NAI has over 450 USF faculty, staff, students and alumni members, who collectively hold more than 2,400 U.S. patents (2019).
USF Tampa was ranked #19 among the “Best Universities for Technology Transfer, 2017” by the prestigious Milken Institute.
USF is designated by the Association for Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) as an Innovation & Economic Prosperity University, one of only 63 in the nation (2019).
ACADEMIC VALUE
USF rose to #46 among public universities and #103 among all public and private universities in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) National University Rankings.
The Princeton Review listed USF as a Best Value College in 2021 for providing students with high-quality education and career readiness at an affordable cost.
One USF's graduate-level programs continue to be ranked among the best according to the 2023 U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) Graduate School Rankings. USF graduate programs in the top 50 include:
#3 Industrial and Organizational Psychology
#16 Public Health
#18 Audiology
#18 Criminology
#27 Rehabilitation Counseling
#27 Library and Information Studies
#35 Medical: Graduates Practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas
#42 Nursing - Master's
#43 Health Care Management
#46 Medical: Research
#47 Industrial Engineering
#49 Physical Therapy
#50 Engineering: Environmental/Environmental Health
USF Tampa is ranked #18 in the nation and #9 among all public institutions in the 2021 Princeton Review Best Graduate Entrepreneurship program rankings.
USF ranks 29th among U.S. public institutions (marking the ninth consecutive year ranked in the top 50) and in the top 250 best universities in the world according to the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
USF is ranked among the best in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) Online Education Program rankings. USF online graduate programs ranked in the top 50 include Engineering, and the online MBA program, with Computer Information Technology in the top 15 nationwide.
The University of South Florida is home to a student body of 49,867 students representing over 146 different countries.
USF’s fall 2021 Freshman academic profile posts an average SAT score of 1297 and a high school GPA of 4.18, which exceeds the Florida Board of Governors Preeminence benchmarks.
The Morsani College of Medicine 2025 Class represents the most diverse and strongest academic class with an average MCAT score of 517 placing it among the 94th percentile nationally and a GPA of 3.83 (2021).
According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), USF Tampa ranks among the top 40 of the best U.S. public colleges and universities and is in the top 300 in the world (2022).
According to the most recently published Top American Research Universities (TARU) report, USF Tampa remains ranked as a top 50 university among public institutions and is now ranked in the top 50 among all institutions (2020).
USF ranks third among the 50 Most Affordable In-State Public Universities (AffordableColleges.com) (2020).
USF Tampa was named one of the Top 100 Best Values in Public Colleges (#34 in-state, #15 out-of-state) by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance for 2019.
In 2018, USF was awarded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest and most prestigious national honor organization in America.
USF ranks in the top 100 of all public institutions according to Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges (2021).
USF is ranked first in the Top 50 U.S. Financial Aid Counseling Programs by LendEDU (2020).
USF Tampa is recognized by The Education Trust as being #6 in the nation for eliminating the completion gap between black and white students, #4 in the nation for Latino student success, and #1 in the state of Florida for both (2017).
USF Tampa is recognized among the top 50 four-year public colleges and universities by The Chronicle of Higher Education (2019) for Best 6-year Graduation Rate for Pell Students. among 4-year public colleges and universities.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
USF faculty continue to earn national and international recognition. In 2020: USF faculty received 119 highly prestigious honors and awards.
The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked USF #7 in the nation for Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars, with 7 faculty scholars for the 2021-2022 academic year.
USF won the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) 2019 Institutional Award for Global Learning, Research & Engagement. The Platinum Level APLU award focuses on four areas of excellence: inclusivity, internationalization of research and engagement, leadership and pervasiveness, and assessment.
USF is a recipient of the 2019 American Council on Education/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation, a recognition of USF’s commitment to student success.
USF ranks as the top university in Florida and eighth-best in the nation according to the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings.
USF ranks 2nd with performance-based funding (PBF) scores in the State University System (SUS), as ranked by the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) in 2021. Top achievements in these important metrics demonstrate USF’s commitment to providing affordable access, graduating students on time, and preparing students to compete successfully in high-demand career fields.
USF ranks first in Florida and 8th in the nation for reducing inequalities by Times Higher Education (2021). The rankings measure universities by several categories, including the number of first-generation students, the number of students from developing countries, the proportion of students and staff with disabilities, discrimination policies, and the amount of research a university conducted on reduced inequalities.
USF is the winner of the Institute of International Education’s 2019 Heiskell Award for Access and Equity.
USF was home to 52 national scholarship and fellowship student awardees during the 2020-2021 academic year including Boren, Fulbright, Gilman, and Goldwater.
USF is now a “Preeminent State Research University," as designated by the Florida Board of Governors in June of 2018.
USF ranks #4 in student success among 1,100 public research and doctoral universities according to the 2018 Eduventures Student Success ratings.
USF is one of seven universities nationwide and the only university in Florida to earn the Active Minds Healthy Campus Award for promoting student health and well-being (2018).
The Institute of International Education has ranked USF 39th in the nation for all doctorate-granting institutions and 30th among public doctorate-granting universities as a Leading Institution for Study Abroad in the 2017-2018 academic year, according to the most recent Open Doors annual report.
