Florida Atlantic University (FAU or Florida Atlantic) is a public university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-campus State University System of Florida and serves South Florida, which has more than five million people and spans more than 100 miles (160 km) of coastline. Florida Atlantic University is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university offers more than 170 undergraduate and graduate degree programs within its 10 colleges.
Florida Atlantic opened in 1964 as the first public university in southeast Florida, offering only upper-division and graduate level courses. Initial enrollment was only 867 students, increasing in 1984 when the university admitted its first lower-division undergraduate students. As of 2018, enrollment has grown to over 30,000 students representing 140 countries, 50 states, and the District of Columbia. Since its inception, Florida Atlantic has awarded more than 110,000 degrees to nearly 153,160 alumni.
Since 2004, FAU has undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standings while also evolving into a more traditional university. The university has raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions. Changes include an on-campus stadium, additional on-campus housing, and the establishment of a College of Medicine in 2010.
As of fall 2013, the university's student body consists of 24,686 undergraduates, 4,666 graduate and professional students, 256 medical students, and 1,451 unclassified students. As of 2013, the undergraduate student body contains 47% ethnic minorities and includes students from more than 180 countries, 49 states, and the District of Columbia.
The university has ten colleges which altogether offer over 180 different bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs: the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, College for Design and Social Inquiry, College of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the Graduate College.
Florida Atlantic University's main campus in Boca Raton was established on the remnants of a World War II American Army airbase in 1964. Spanning 850 acres (3.5 km²), the site is located between the cities of Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The campus was designated a burrowing owl sanctuary in 1971 by the Audubon Society. The owls find the campus appealing because there are few predators, due to the university's proximity to the Boca Raton Airport, and because the campus was originally cleared of vegetation when operating as an airbase during World War II. "The feisty bird, traditionally associated with wisdom and determination, serves as the university's mascot."
The Boca Raton campus is home to a wide variety of university programs and facilities. These facilities are labs and classrooms, housing for students, a 6,000-gallon shark tank for aquatic research, a movie theater, athletic and recreational facilities, and the student-run record label Hoot/Wisdom Recordings. In addition to academic and cultural programs, the campus also houses Florida Atlantic's Division I athletics program. The main campus serves approximately 19,077 students, or 70% of the university's student body, offering a number of academic programs, activities, and services.
The Boca Raton campus also houses a number of other institutions, including the A. D. Henderson University School, FAU High School, one of two Florida Atlantic University Research Parks, and the Lifelong Learning Society.
