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Studying in Florida
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The Sunshine State, a major tourism destination for people from
around the globe, offers natural wonders and environmentally
rich lands along with major metropolitan areas teeming with
nightlife and high culture. It offers the wonders of Orlando and
Tampa, with such attractions as Walt Disney World, Universal
Studios and Busch Gardens. It dazzles with the rocket launches
from Cape Kennedy, and tantalizes with the pulsating late-night
rhythms of Miami's South Beach nightclubs.
It offers the serenity of crystal springs that stimulate the
senses so much that Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon believed one
of them had to be the fountain of youth. It soothes with the
Everglades, a river of grass so large and important to the
ecosystem that is has gained federal protection and worldwide
recognition.
In abundant ways, Florida is a state of many countries, a place
where diversity is not an ideal, but a reality. As the fourth
largest of the 50 United States, Florida and its 15 million
residents represent a cross-culture of contemporary life, making
the state a living experiment on many issues, ranging from
educating diverse populations to caring for elders. For many
academic disciplines, the opportunity to observe and study
real-life applications often rests within the classroom. With a
history begun by Native Americans, shaped by European explorers,
molded by the settlers who followed, and polished with the
recent immigrants from northern states and foreign countries,
the state offers something for every student from every culture.
The State University System has 10 public institutions offering
undergraduate, graduate and research opportunities for all types
of student, from those seeking the intimacy of a smaller campus,
to advanced researchers looking for cutting-edge technology. The
system includes some of the best universities in the nation, and
one of the newest: Florida Gulf Coast University is just one
year old, with an emphasis on technology and distance learning.
The 220,000 students in the system represent all 50 states and
192 countries. About one of every 10 students is from a foreign
country, students who already have realized the benefits of
studying in high quality institutions with a climate to match.
The state also boasts of nearly 200 private colleges with
enrollments totaling about 130,000.
In order to prepare itself for the rigorous challenges of the
next millennium, the State University System recently adopted a
five-year master plan that classifies universities, challenges
them to reach for greatness, and outlines how the system can
produce the highly skilled graduates who will be needed in
sunrise technologies so important to the blossoming electronic
age.
The comprehensive universities, the smallest in the system,
primarily emphasize undergraduate education, though they have
continuing research missions. They are the University of North
Florida in Jacksonville, the University of West Florida in
Pensacola and Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.
Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, the state's capital, is
the state's historically black institution, and classified as a
comprehensive/doctoral university because of its development of
masters and doctoral programs.
Research II institutions are the system's fast-growing urban
universities. They are the University of Central Florida in
Orlando, Florida International University in Miami, and Florida
Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Research I universities are
charged with becoming the best in the nation. They are the
University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida State University
in Tallahassee and the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Research opportunities abound through such endeavors as the
Brain Institute recently designated by the U.S. Department of
Defense at the University of Florida. The National High Magnetic
Field Laboratory at Florida State University is a collaborative
effort with the University of Florida and the Los Alamos
National Laboratory. The Moffitt Cancer Center and Research
Institute at the University of South Florida has achieved
national prominence.
Professional studies are available in such fields as law,
medicine and engineering, and the system is on the verge of
launching the Virtual Campus, a joint effort with the state's 28
community colleges to market the nearly 2,000 courses offered
through distance technology from the state's public higher
education institutions.
Academics may be the primary reason for attending a university,
but campus life is also important, and Florida's public
universities have nationally ranked athletic teams, tropical
settings for leisure activities and a host of activities to
satisfy most interests. Tuition is among the lowest in America,
yet quality continues to improve as universities embark on
preparing themselves for the next millennium.
Detailed information can be accessed through the Internet with
systemwide information available at www.borfl.org. The site
includes links to each of the universities. |
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