University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida is home to the University of Florida, sometimes known simply as Florida or UF. This Gainesville institution is a public land-grant research university. It is the oldest institution in the State University System of Florida, having been founded in 1853; since September 1906, it has been continually operating on the Gainesville campus where it is located.

Following the establishment of performance benchmarks in 2013 by the Florida state legislature, the Florida Board of Governors recognised the Institution of Florida as a "preeminent university." The Institution of Florida was recognised as the fifth (tied) best public university and the 28th (tied) best university in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for the year 2022.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has conferred its accreditation to the institution (SACS). With 57,841 students enrolled for the academic year 2020–21, it is the third biggest institution in Florida in terms of student population and the fifth largest single-campus university in the United States. Both of these rankings are based on the total number of students enrolled. There are sixteen academic colleges and more than one hundred and fifty research centres and institutes housed under the University of Florida. On its single, contiguous campus, it provides a number of graduate professional programmes, some of which include business administration, engineering, law, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine. Additionally, it is responsible for the administration of 123 master's degree programmes and 76 doctoral degree programmes, which are distributed among eighty-seven schools and departments. The seal of the institution is also the seal of the state of Florida, and both may be seen on the flag of the state, albeit the state seal appears on the flag in blue rather than in many colours.

Intercollegiate sports teams from the University of Florida, sometimes known as the "Florida Gators," participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The university's varsity sports teams have won 45 national team championships throughout the course of its 111-year existence, 40 of which are NCAA titles. Additionally, Florida players have earned 275 individual national championships over the course of their athletic careers. In addition, as of the year 2021, students and graduates of the University of Florida have been awarded a total of 143 Olympic medals, including 69 gold medals.