Florida State University

Overview

Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university located in the city of Tallahassee in Florida. FSU ranks as one of the best public universities in the United States for the strength of its academic programs and high research activity.

FSU currently offers over 300 bachelor's, master's, and doctorate programs in diverse fields of study, along with fully accredited professional programs in Nursing, Medicine, and Law. Popular majors at the university include Psychology, Finance, Marketing, and Literature. The university's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice and College of Motion Picture Arts have ranked highly in the United States as well. Students can also participate in FSU's nationally recognized honors program, which offers scholarships, internships, and study-abroad opportunities.

In addition to traditional degree programs, FSU offers dual degree programs, joint graduate pathways, and combined and direct-entry pathways. Students at FSU can also pursue distance education through online degree programs and certificate programs in fields such as College Teaching, Systems Engineering, and Nursing Practice.

FSU is also one of the foremost research universities in Florida. The university offers graduate degree programs in various research fields and is home to numerous facilities, institutes, and centers that accommodate interdisciplinary research. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Mag Lab) can also be found at the university. The Mag Lab is the largest, highest-powered magnetic field laboratory in the United States.

Other FSU research facilities that have gained recognition include the High-Performance Materials Institute, the Center for Advanced Power Systems, and the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory. FSU is also one of the universities that received the highest amount of physical sciences funding from the National Science Foundation.

Florida State University is the result of a plan by the 1823 United States Congress to establish a system of higher education. In 1854, the city of Tallahassee created the Florida Institute, a school for boys intended to provide common school education. By the end of the Civil War, the seminary had become coeducational and renamed itself the Florida Military and Collegiate Institute. The Florida Legislature recognized the school as the "University of Florida" only in 1885, and the legislature designated the university as a state university in 1947.

FSU is also located on Florida's oldest continuous site of higher education. Aside from its main campus in Tallahassee, FSU has established Florida State University Panama City in early 1982. FSU Panama City offers undergraduate programs in fields such as Accounting, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Social Work, and Professional Communication.

You can also learn more about the educational performance of Florida State University in our ranking of US universities & colleges.