The University of Virginia is a proudly public institution, consistently ranked among the best universities in the United States for excellence and value. UVA serves the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation and the world by advancing knowledge and preparing students to be citizen leaders who are guided by empathy, integrity and truth.
[♪ Music Playing ♪]
Raed Gilliam: We cannot be great unless we are also good.
Camilo Sánchez: And to be good, we must ask questions.
Melody Barnes: What can we do to strengthen our democracy?
Jefferey Elias: Can we invent technology that improves lives around the world?
Karen McGlathery: How do we conserve natural resources?
Ian Solomon: Because we ask great questions
Jim Ryan, UVA President: We strive not just for excellence, but excellence for a purpose.
Student: To advance the greater good.
An early drawing of people on the Lawn with the Rotunda and Pavilions.
The University of Virginia, founded in 1819, was the first of its kind. Many colleges speak of innovation, but how many can say their very founding was an innovation that became the model for modern universities around the world?
Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary idea for higher education created, in his words, “something new under the sun,” designed to educate citizen leaders for a fledgling democracy.
Much like our nation, the University is a bold experiment that continues to evolve, challenging us to realize the best version of ourselves and contribute to the progress of society.
The University of Virginia’s world-class research programs advance knowledge and enable discoveries that enrich and improve lives.
The Rotunda and Lawn remain the center of the University of Virginia.
At the heart of the University is the Academical Village, where students today still live in single rooms between the pavilions that Jefferson designed to be professors’ homes, all sharing the Lawn that is crowned at its end by the University’s first library – also known as The Rotunda.
The Academical Village was a purposeful design that brought physical shape to Jefferson’s ideal of an environment in which students and faculty could live and learn from one another.
Today, the spirit of collaboration and cross-disciplinary exchange remains fundamental to this place of constant inquiry where differing perspectives not only coexist, they co-create.
UVA remains a vibrant and relevant institution as long as it defies easy categorization. We aren’t limited to this or that; we are this and that and more. Making space for differences gives us room to grow and challenges us to be open-minded, remain curious and work together to change things for the better. Only by inviting an array of possibilities can we strive to be an institution “based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind.” We’re an uncommon community of many that identifies as a unified one: Hoos.
The University of Virginia is a World Heritage Site, the only educational institution in the United States so designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. A deeper appreciation awaits those who visit us, one felt when walking in the footsteps of history. But don’t be deceived by the casual elegance of your surroundings. The University of Virginia is no artifact – it’s an instrument of change. Even on a lovely spring afternoon on the Lawn, there remains an underlying urgency to make the most of your time here, to improve your future – then everyone’s.
Serving the public is our heritage and our culture. Before we can seek to answer society’s needs, we must first ask ourselves the right questions: “What truly matters?” and “How can we help?”
More than 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson said he wanted students at this University to reach for “destinies of high promise.” Today, the University of Virginia is one of the top public universities in the nation because we remain committed to inspiring excellence in thought and action from those who come here, and from ourselves.
Student self-governance is an important aspect of life at UVA. Being part of the UVA community is an opportunity to take an already influential and meaningful institution and make it into something better. From the Honor Code students pledge at Opening Convocation – a high standard of conduct enforced by the students themselves – to Final Exercises when they graduate wearing the “honors of Honor,” Hoos are bound by a unique shared experience and ongoing commitment to excellence. Ask any UVA alum. It’s the powerful feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself and also having it belong to you.
Ingenuity implies application. Our science is applied to real-world problems. UVA is a top-tier research university where translational research changes lives. From discoveries at nanoscale to new findings outside our solar system to breakthroughs in health care, UVA researchers are continually expanding our capacity to help others and understand the world around us.
As a public institution, the University of Virginia is responsible for delivering excellence and opportunity. UVA is committed to helping talented students pursue their dreams, regardless of their financial situations.
“Hoos First” is a University initiative that offers resources and support for students who are the first generation in their families to attend college. The cohort of first-generation students at UVA has more than doubled since 2015, growing from 9% to 19% in 2024.
The Hoos First initiative offers support to first-generation college students.
We have expanded our AccessUVA financial aid program to increase the number of Virginia families eligible for significant need-based aid. The University will cover tuition and fees of students from Virginia families with household incomes of less than $100,000; for students from Virginia families with household incomes of less than $50,000, the University will cover tuition, fees, room and board.
We meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for all in-state and out-of-state students who apply by the annual March 1 deadline. Financial assistance is provided through a combination of scholarships, grants, work-study and need-based loans; student loans are capped to minimize student debt. Two-thirds of Hoos graduate with no college debt.
Between our financial aid packages and world-class education with an industry-leading graduation rate, it’s no surprise UVA is ranked as a “best value” among our nation’s public universities and colleges.
UVA Health, anchored by Virginia’s top-ranked medical center, is one of 69 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in the United States and has Virginia’s top-ranked children’s hospital. We are proud to serve the commonwealth by providing patients with advanced and compassionate care, discovering life-changing treatments, training medical professionals and expanding scientific knowledge.
#1
Children’s Hospital in Virginia, U.S. News & World Report, 2024-25
#3
Hospital in Virginia, U.S. News & World Report, 2024-25
1st
National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Virginia
As the state’s flagship university, our achievements, productivity and progress are intrinsic to that of Virginia. UVA is the largest employer in the region and is a catalyst for growth across the commonwealth.
Employed by the University
30,000+
Annual Economic Impact of the University on the Commonwealth
$5.9B
Sponsored Research Awards in FY2024
$549M
U.S. Patents Issued in FY2024
56
Jobs in Virginia Provided by Companies Founded or Directly Supported by UVA Alumni
> 371K
Responsible stewardship and visionary financial leadership strengthen our foundation and enable us to continually pursue our highest ambitions. Careful resource management, prudent investments and organizational excellence are reasons why we’re one of only four public universities in the country with an AAA bond rating from all three major credit-rating agencies.
We maintain a long view in our planning and decision-making to allow UVA to thrive in the years ahead, providing an evolving and inspiring growth environment for learning, living, research and health care.
The Virginia Cavaliers are the sports teams representing the University of Virginia.
The inaugural University of Virginia sporting event was a football game in 1888, the same year orange and blue were adopted as the school colors. In the 1890s, fans of the rival baseball team from Washington and Lee University called the UVA players “a bunch of rowdy Wahoos!” Intended to be derogatory, the term was embraced by the UVA community, and today the nickname “Wahoos” and the shortened version “Hoos” are used to refer to UVA students and find voice in the school’s rally cry, “Wahoowa!”
The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level and have been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953. Many of UVA’s 25 NCAA teams have enjoyed success and, in the recent case of women’s swimming and diving, sheer dominance.
Our Olympic sports student-athletes compete on the world stage. During Paris 2024, 14 members of Team USA were currently or had been student-athletes at UVA; those Olympian Hoos brought home 14 medals.
