Florida State University

One of the nation's elite research universities, Florida State University preserves, expands, and disseminates knowledge in the sciences, technology, arts, humanities, and professions, while embracing a philosophy of learning strongly rooted in the traditions of the liberal arts.

FSU is a sprawling public school in Tallahassee, the state’s capital. It has been officially designated as a preeminent research university in the state by the Florida Legislature as a result of having met a set of rigorous benchmarks.

With an impressive breadth of programs, Florida State University has leading graduate, professional, and undergraduate programs in a variety of fields. Many units have programs that consistently rank among the nation’s top twenty-five public universities, including programs in physics, chemistry, oceanography, statistics, ecology and evolutionary biology, meteorology, political science, psychology, sociology, criminology, information, creative writing, public policy, business and law.  

U.S. News National University Rankings 2016 placed FSU the 92nd in the United States. Worldwide it is ranked the 201st according to Academic Ranking of World Universities 2016. Florida State University’s arts programs: dance, film, music and theatre are ranked among the finest in the world. 

At the Ph.D. level, interdisciplinary programs provide a range of offerings drawing on notable research faculty strengths that transcend the traditional disciplines, including neuroscience, molecular biophysics, computational science, materials science and research at the national high magnetic field laboratory.

Major corporations run by graduates include the Federal Reserve Bank, Texaco, Deloitte, Welch's, and the National Cancer Institute. Major USA regulatory bodies such as the General Services Administration, the Federal Reserve Bank and the American Council on Education have had Florida State University alumni at the helm in the recent years.

The university comprises 16 separate colleges and more than 110 centers, facilities, labs and institutes that offer more than 360 programs of study, including professional school programs.

The most popular majors are psychology, criminal justice/safety studies, the English language and literature.

Many of Florida State University's graduate schools have received top-50 rankings from U.S. News & World Report: 

• In 2016, U.S. News ranked the College of Education the 36th and the College of Law the 50th.
• Florida State has the second most competitive medical school in the country for admissions, according to U.S. News and World Report 2016. 
• In 2015, the FSU College of Business undergraduate program was ranked the 40th among all public universities.
• The FSU College of Law is the No. 1 law school in Florida with the highest job placement and one of the highest passing rates.