The University of Rochester (U of R or UR) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six colleges: the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Simon School of Business; the Warner School of Education; the School of Medicine and Dentistry; the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; and the Nursing school. Additionally, UR operates several interdisciplinary centers focused on areas such as optics, imaging science, biomedical engineering/health care delivery systems, and energy storage/conversion.
The University Of Rochester was founded in 1850 as a Baptist-sponsored institution. The impetus to found the university came primarily from two groups: abolitionists eager to help escape slaves achieve freedom through education, and Baptists seeking to set up an educational institution that would be free from secular control. In 1851, UR was one year old when it opened its doors to men only – making it one of America’s earliest institutions to do so – with sixty-seven students enrolled in its inaugural class. It remained a predominantly male institution until 1870 when women began being admitted on an equal basis with men.
UR is ranked as the 37th best national university in the 2021 edition of U.S. News & World Report rankings. In 2020 Money ranked UR as fourth in value among all private colleges. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has consistently ranked UR as one of America’s Best Values in Private Universities, while Forbes magazine has ranked UR among America’s Top Colleges for nine consecutive years (2011–2019).