University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a metropolitan research university in Orlando, Florida. It has 12 colleges and offers degrees from bachelor's to doctoral level. UCF was founded in 1963 to supply talent for Central Florida and the growing US space program.

The main campus is in east Orlando. UCF also teaches at UCF Downtown, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and the Academic Health Sciences Center. It has several regional locations too. Students can study fully online for bachelor's degrees, graduate degrees and certificates.

UCF offers 112 bachelor's, 98 master's and 34 doctoral programs, plus research doctorates and specialist degrees. It confers more than 18,000 degrees a year. Aerospace engineering is one of its bachelor's degrees. Other programs cover optics and photonics, computer science, systems engineering and travel technology and analytics. Graduate certificates include applied photonics, smart cities, and emergency management and homeland security.

UCF is strong in optics and lasers, modeling and simulation, engineering and computer science, business, public administration, education, hospitality management, healthcare and video game design. Its Institute for Simulation and Training works on immersive systems. The CAVE virtual reality system, co-invented at UCF in 1992, is now used by NASA, the US military, car makers and research labs. UCF says high-stakes work, such as emergency landings, has to be simulated before it happens.

Space work is also part of research at UCF. One researcher studies the surface of the Moon to help prepare astronauts for the next era of space exploration. A UCF scientist also received a NASA award to study a virtual telescope concept.

UCF works closely with industry. It is launching a new school with Universal Destinations & Experiences, backed by a US$10M investment. The Rosen College adds four decades of hospitality experience. U.S. News & World Report ranked UCF's national security and emergency management graduate program first in the nation from 2024 to 2026. UCF also has more than 650 student clubs, and its teams compete in NCAA Division I.

Services

• Undergraduate degrees
• Graduate degrees
• Doctoral programs
• Online degrees
• Graduate certificates
• Aerospace engineering
• Modeling and simulation
• Optics and photonics research
• Emergency management programs
• Industry partnerships