University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university with its main campus in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida. With 68,442 students as of the fall 2022 semester, UCF has the fourth-largest on-campus student body of any public university in the United States. UCF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UCF was founded in 1963 and opened its first classes in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the mission to provide personnel educated in science, technology, engineering and math to support the growing U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (known at the time as Cape Kennedy Air Force Station) on Florida's Space Coast. As its academic scope expanded beyond engineering and technology, Florida Tech was renamed the University of Central Florida in 1978.UCF continues to have space root connections, as it developed and oversees the Florida Space Institute, Robinson Observatory, manages the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, and is the leader of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium. Initial enrollment in 1968 was 1,948 students; enrollment in 2022 exceeds 68,000 students from over 150 countries, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Most students attend classes on the university's main campus, 13 miles (21 km) east of downtown Orlando and 35 miles (56 km) west of Cape Canaveral. UCF offers more than 230 degrees through 13 colleges including the Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona Medical City, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in south Orlando and the city campus in downtown Orlando.Since its founding, UCF has awarded more than 401,245 degrees, including over 60,000 graduate and professional degrees. Its official colors are black and gold, and the university academic seal features Pegasus, which "symbolizes the university's vision of limitless possibilities". The university's intercollegiate sports teams, known as the UCF Knights and represented by mascot Knightro, compete in NCAA Division I and in the Big 12 Conference, except for Men's Soccer, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference.