Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Introduction and Academics

Introduction

Also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, this public, co-educational, research university is located in the state of Florida. The first public university in southeast Florida and the first university in the U.S. to offer only upper-division and graduate level courses, Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964. Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, declared the school officially open. A group of 867 students were in the first class and today the school boasts an enrollment of nearly 28,000 students representing over 50 states and 180 countries worldwide.

The university serves a seven county region, which has a population of over three million people and covers more than 100 miles of Florida’s eastern coastline. The main campus at Boca Raton spans 850 acres of land near the Atlantic Ocean. The site is nestled between the cities of Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The University also has six satellite campuses and sites located in Florida:

Dania Beach (SeaTech)
Davie
Fort Lauderdale
Harbor Branch
Jupiter
Treasure Coast

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Information Summary

Ranks 20th in Florida and 520th overall. See the entire top 2,000 colleges and universities list
Overall Score (about)	86.4
Total Cost On-Campus Attendance	$24,235
Admission Success rate	N/A
ACT / SAT 75%ile scores	25 / 1240
Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty	23 : 1
Retention (full-time / part-time)	82% / 78%
Enrollment Total (all students)	29,772

Academics

More than 170 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs are offered in a wide range of subjects such as arts, computer science, engineering, nursing, and business. The University is composed of ten academic colleges: Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters; College of Business; College for Design and Social Inquiry; College of Education; College of Engineering and Computer Science; The Graduate College; Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College; Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine; Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

Students here have two honors options: the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and a University Scholars Program. Wilkes Honors College is located in the John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter; whereas the University Scholars Program is located in the Boca Raton campus. It offers special honors seminars, forums, courses, and advanced course substitution for freshmen.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has classified Florida Atlantic as a research University with high research activity. The school has established significant partnerships with major research institutions like the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, the Scripps Research Institute, and the Max Planck Society.

FAU Online:

Excellent online education opportunities are available to students worldwide, through its graduate and undergraduate courses. The school also participates in the Southern Regional Board’s Electronic Campus, which lists college courses and programs from southern region of the United States.

The online courses are available to students as ‘anywhere, anytime’ courses which are equivalent in quality with the traditional semesters but they don’t require any traditional classroom attendance. Some of the popular online programs include Online Bachelor of Business Administration, Executive Masters of Taxation, Online Masters of Accounting, and Online MBA in Accounting.

Most Popular Fields of Study

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Admissions

Each year, the University admits more than 20,000 undergraduates, over 3,000 graduate and professional students, and more than 2,000 unclassified students. Furthermore, the undergraduate student body is composed of 44% ethnic minorities.

Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. Freshman students must send their High School GPA, along with SAT or ACT test score to be considered for admission. The priority deadline for the applications is the mid of Feb.

Transfer students can take part in the LINK program, developed by a partnership with Broward College and Palm Beach State College, to get guaranteed admission upon the completion of their Associate in Arts Degree. The deadlines for transfer students application is the first week of July (fall session); mid of November (Spring session); mid of April (Summer session).

International students, whose first language is not English, must appear for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and send the test score along with SAT or ACT score.

Financial Aid

Students seeking financial aid can apply for it by completing an online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the deadline for which is usually the first week of March. Financial support is offered to the students in the form of grant, scholarships, loans, and need based employment.

Grants offered to the students are National Alumni Association Grant, Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG), ACG and SMART Grants, Federal Perkins Loan Program, and Federal Stafford Loans.

Some of the scholarships offered to students are Athletic Scholarships, Freshman/ Transfer/ International Scholarships, General Scholarships, Other Scholarships, Pepsi Cola Scholarships, Prestige Scholarships, State of Florida Scholarships, and Community Foundation Scholarship Program.

Loans that will assist students and parents to bear the educational expenses are Federal Perkins Loan, Graduate PLUS Loans, Parent PLUS Loan, Private Student Loans, and Short Term Advance.

Other types of financial aid programs include Florida Prepaid Program, Florida Student Assistance Grant, Bright Futures Scholarship Program, Florida Work Experience Program, and First Generation Matching Grant Program.

Student Financial Aid Details

Ranks 4299th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best scholarships and financial aid in Florida.

Students

Florida Atlantic offers its students the best of everything – a top-notch education facility in a breathtaking sub-tropical setting. Student body boasts a diverse mix of domestic and international students and the campus is home to more than 150 registered student organizations, which includes academic organizations, honor societies, spiritual/religious organizations, service organizations, diversity-appreciation organizations, personal interest organizations, sports clubs, and student government agencies.

Students can either join a club of interest or create one of their own. The student government finances various student life programs such as career fairs, the University Press, OWL TV and Owl Radio, and the Homecoming. The University’s homecoming, also called the ‘Owl Prowl,’ is celebrated each year in the fall semester. The highlights of homecoming celebrations include kickoff parties, bonfires, comedy shows, costumed dances, a golf cart parade, alumni events and dinners, and tailgating.

Greek life has a strong presence on the campus and is home to more than 20 chapters of national fraternities and sororities, including nearly or 4% of the undergraduate population. They are governed by the Interfaternity (IFC), College Panhellenic (CPA), National Pan-Hellenic (NPHC), and Multi-Cultural Greek (MGC). The ‘Greek Week’ is celebrated each year in the University, during the spring semester. Some of the popular fraternities and sororities include Delta Tau Delta, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Chi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Mu, Lambda Theta Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Nu Omega Sorority, and Alpha Xi Delta.

Media and Publications:

The University Press or UP is the student-run newspaper of the University. It is published semi-monthly during the summer; and weekly during the fall and spring semesters.

OWL TV is the student-operated television station. Since its inception in 1998, OWL TV airs daily on-campus and covers events, meetings and what’s happening at the student programs. Some of the popular programs include Movie Preview, Swag Cab, Tech Talk, and Boca Bites. Owl radio station is also run by the students.

Campus Facilities:

The school is home to two Centers of Excellence: Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, committed to innovation of new medicines; and Ocean Energy Technology, committed to discovering new methods to harness energy from ocean currents in South Florida.

Well-stocked libraries are spread across the various campuses. They are S.E. Wimberly Library in Boca Raton Campus; University/ College Library in Davie Campus; Broward County Library in Fort Lauderdale Campus; Harbor Branch Campus Library; John D. MacArthur Campus Library in Jupiter Campus; and St. Lucie West Library in Treasure Coast Campus.

Residence and Dining:

There are excellent on-campus housing and residential opportunities for the students. Some of the residence halls and apartments include Algonquin Hall, Business Professional Woman’s House, Scholarship House, Glades Park Towers, Heritage Park Towers, Innovation Village Apartments North, Innovation Village Apartments South, Indian River Towers, and University Village Apartments. There are also several off-campus residential options available for the students.

The University also offers some great on-campus dining options for the students in the Centre Marketplace (Resident Dining Hall); Faculty & Staff Club; Outtakes (College of Business); Chick-N-Grill (College of Engineering Atrium); Salsarita’s, Quiznos, and Wendy’s (Breezeway Food Court); Coyote Jack’s Grill (Student Union); and Dunkin Donuts (Wimberly Library). You will find a wide range of delectable options ranging from fast food to full meals.

Student Enrollment Demographics

Student Graduation Demographics

Athletics

The Owl’s athletic department presents 18 varsity men’s and women’s teams, which complete in sports like basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and volleyball. Their official mascot is Owlsey, the Burrowing Owl. The colors are Blue, Red, and Silver.

The teams are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s Division I and Sun Belt Conference.

The University is home to state-of-art sports facilities such as FAU Aquatic Center, FAU Arena (The Burrow), FAU Baseball Stadium, FAU Soccer Stadium, FAU Softball Stadium, FAU Track and Field Complex, Fountains Country Club, Innovation Village, Landshark Stadium, Lockhart Stadium, Patch Reef Park, Tom Oxley Athletic Center, and Oxley Football Practice Fields.

Intramural Sports:

A wide range of recreational and intramural sports are also offered for the students. The Club Sports program encourages students to take part in diverse physical and athletic activities such as bowling, climbing, cricket, surf, paintball, sailing, volleyball, softball, soccer, wrestling, and more. The Department Of Campus Recreation offers several facilities such as a world-class recreation and fitness center, track and field complex, Henderson multi-purpose fields, outdoor lap and leisure pool, outdoor basketball and tennis courts.

Traditions

Several sports-related traditions and school spirit organizations are celebrated. ‘Bury the Burrow in Red’ is a popular tradition which calls for students to be dressed in as much red as possible and fill the University’s multi-purpose arena or Burrow.

The prOWLers are a spirited group which supports all athletic teams at the University through their presence at various on and off campus events.

The annual Shula Bowl is another traditional competition held between Florida Atlantic and Florida International, at the Sun Life Stadium. This intercollegiate football event is named after Don Shula, legendary coach.

Alumni

Since its inception the school has awarded over 110,000 degrees to approximately 105,000 alumni across the world. FAU Owls have earned great reputation in diverse professions. Some of the notable alumni are R. David Paulison, the former head of the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency; Frank T. Brogan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Florida; Richard DiMarchi, Former Vice President at Eli Lilly and Company; Phil Zimmermann, Creator of Pretty Good Privacy; Ralph de la Vega, Chief Operating Officer of Cingular Wireless; Ana M. Azcuy, First Hispanic television anchor in South Florida; and Steven Swanson, NASA astronaut.

Additional School Information

The University is home to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, one of the leading ocean research centers in the United States.

Education is provided to over 20,000 individuals of retirement age thorough the nation’s largest University based lifelong learning program.

The School of Accounting ranks consistently in the top 10 for its high passing rate of graduates in the National CPA Exam.

Accreditation

Accreditation is provided by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Florida Atlantic University