The University of Central Florida (UCF) is an American public state university in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1963, UCF is the largest university in the United States by undergraduate enrollment, as well as the largest by total enrollment. It is a member institution of the State University System of Florida and is categorized as a Research I university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
As of 2019, UCF has an enrollment of over 68,000 students, making it one of the largest universities in the United States by student body size. The majority of its students are enrolled at its main campus located on a 1,415-acre (5.73 km2) site in unincorporated Orange County, Florida; however two additional campuses are located in downtown Orlando and at Lake Nona respectively. In addition to its main campus presence, UCF operates 12 satellite campuses throughout Central Florida including those affiliated with joint partnerships and research initiatives. The school colors are black and gold, and its mascot is Knightro. The school’s sports teams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily as members of Conference USA (CUSA).
The Knights have won numerous conference championships including four C-USA titles since 2013. They have also appeared in several bowl games including five New Year’s Six bowls: Fiesta Bowl (2017), Peach Bowl (2018), Cotton Bowl Classic (2019), Camping World Bowl (2020), and PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (2021). As such it has been ranked highly among national universities for academic success and value; namely being ranked No. 2 among schools that charge under $50 per credit hour by Business Insider In recent years it has been classified as a “Hidden Gem” among southern colleges by Newsweek In 2018–19 Times Higher Education ranked UCF 36th globally out of more than 25,000 colleges and universities for employability while QS World University Rankings placed it 176th overall out 2018–19 list – both up from previous year’s rankings.”