THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a public research university with its main
campus in Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1785, it is one of the oldest public universities in
the United States.
The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research
activity," and as having "more selective" undergraduate admissions, its most selective
admissions category, while the ACT Assessment Student Report places UGA admissions in the
"Highly Selective" category, the highest classification. In keeping with the teaching
portion of its motto, the university has a student-to-faculty ratio of 17 students per
faculty member, and 46 percent of its classes have fewer than 20 students. In its 2020
rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university tied for 50th among all U.S. public
and private national universities and 16th among all public ones.
In addition to the main campuses in Athens with their approximately 470 buildings, the
university has two smaller campuses located in Tifton and Griffin. The university has two
satellite campuses located in Atlanta and Lawrenceville. The university operates several
service and outreach stations spread across the state. The total acreage of the university
in 30 Georgia counties is 41,539 acres (168.10 km2). The university also owns a residential
education and research center in Washington, DC, as well as three international residential
and research centers located at Oxford University in Oxford, England, at Cortona, Italy, and
at Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Student life includes more than 700 student organizations. The University of Georgia's
intercollegiate sports teams, commonly known by their Georgia Bulldogs nickname, compete in
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Southeastern Conference
(SEC). In their more than 120-year history, the university's varsity sports teams have won
45 national championships, 264 individual national championships, 170 conference
championships, and 45 Olympic medals.
The University of Georgia has distinguished alumni and attendees including current and
former members of the United States Senate, members of the United States House of
Representatives, a member of the Supreme Court of the United States, members of the Cabinet
of the United States, U.S. ambassadors, U.S. governors, federal judges, state supreme court
justices, attorneys general, and members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine, chairmen and chief executive officers (CEOs) of Fortune 500 companies, banks,
and charitable organizations, plus many scholars including Rhodes Scholars, Gates Cambridge
Scholars, Marshall Scholars, and Boren Scholars, as well as MacArthur Fellows (the "Genius
Grant") winners, plus Pulitzer Prize winners, a United States Poet Laureate, Peabody Award
winners, The New York Times Best Seller list authors, Emmy Award winners, Grammy Award
winners, inventors and entrepreneurs, prominent attorneys, medical doctors, scientists, and
academics.
When the University of Georgia was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly on January
27, 1785, Georgia became the first state to charter a state-supported university. In 1784
the General Assembly had set aside 40,000 acres of land to endow a college or seminary of
learning.
At the first meeting of the board of trustees, held in Augusta on February 13, 1786, Abraham
Baldwin was selected president of the university. A native of Connecticut and a graduate of
Yale University, Baldwin — who had come to Georgia in 1784 — drafted the charter adopted by
the General Assembly.
The university was actually established in 1801 when a committee of the board of trustees
selected a land site. John Milledge, later a governor of the state, purchased and gave to
the board of trustees the chosen tract of 633 acres on the banks of the Oconee River in
northeast Georgia.
Josiah Meigs was named president of the university and work was begun on the first building,
originally called Franklin College in honor of Benjamin Franklin and now known as Old
College. The university graduated its first class in 1804. The curriculum of traditional
classical studies was broadened in 1843 to include courses in law, and again in 1872 when
the university received federal funds for instruction in agriculture and mechanical arts.
Seventeen colleges and schools, with auxiliary divisions, carry on the university’s programs
of teaching, research, and service. These colleges and schools and the dates of their
establishment as separate administrative units are: Franklin College of Arts and Sciences,
1801; College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 1859; School of Law, 1859; College
of Pharmacy, 1903; D. B. Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 1906;
College of Education, 1908; Graduate School, 1910; C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College
of Business, 1912; Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, 1915;
College of Family and Consumer Sciences, 1933; College of Veterinary Medicine, 1946; School
of Social Work, 1964; College of Environment and Design, 1969; School of Public and
International Affairs, 2001; the College of Public Health, 2005, the Odum School of Ecology,
2007 and the College of Engineering, 2012. The Division of General Extension, now the
Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel, was incorporated into the
university in 1947.
In 1931 the General Assembly of Georgia placed all state-supported institutions of higher
education, including UGA, under the jurisdiction of a single board. This organization, known
as the University System of Georgia, is governed by the board of regents. The board of
regents’ executive officer, the chancellor, exercises a general supervisory control over all
institutions of the University System, with each institution having its own executive
officers and faculty.
Chartered by the state of Georgia in 1785, the University of Georgia is the birthplace of
public higher education in America — launching our nation’s great tradition of world-class
public education. What began as a commitment to inspire the next generation grows stronger
today through global research, hands-on learning and extensive outreach. A top value in
public higher education and research, the University of Georgia tackles some of the world’s
grand challenges, from combating infectious disease and creating a dependable food supply to
advancing economic growth and strengthening cyber and global security.
As Georgia’s flagship institution, the university is recognized for its commitment to
student excellence through an emphasis on rigorous learning experiences both inside and
outside the classroom, including hands-on research and leadership opportunities. These
experiences contribute to the university’s exceptional rates in retention, graduation and
career placement. Among public universities, the University of Georgia has been one of the
nation’s top three producers of Rhodes Scholars over the past two decades, and its honors
program is ranked as one of the top 10 in the country. The university is also home to the
Peabody Awards, the most prestigious prize in electronic media.
Scholars at the University of Georgia are committed to improving quality of life for all and
are leaders in pivotal fields, such as vaccine development, regenerative medicine, plant
sciences and more. One of the nation’s top universities for technology commercialization,
the University of Georgia is ranked No. 1 for total products reaching the market, with more
than 775 products to date derived from university research. The University of Georgia has
been in the top 20 public universities in overall licensing revenue for 14 consecutive
years, ranking No. 12 among public universities and No. 31 overall in the most recent
ranking from AUTM.
With its comprehensive reach, the university’s 17 colleges and schools enroll more than
37,000 students and have produced over 315,000 alumni living worldwide. The University of
Georgia’s initiatives extend globally while touching every corner of the state, realizing
the university’s land- and sea-grant missions. The university’s eight Public Service and
Outreach units, which are among the strongest in the nation, help create jobs, develop
leaders and address critical challenges. Research, outreach and extension serve as major
drivers of economic and workforce development and spark successful partnerships that create
new businesses and train the workforce of tomorrow.
The university’s threefold teaching, research and service mission spans the globe with
campuses in five Georgia locations, Washington, D.C., England and Italy, as well as
partnerships in more than 50 countries on six continents.
Located in the Classic City of Athens, approximately an hour northeast of Atlanta, the
university thrives in a community that combines a culture-rich college town with a strong
economic center. The campus is home to nearly 800 registered student and service
organizations. The university’s athletic programs 21 varsity athletic teams competing as the
Georgia Bulldogs — are among the most successful in NCAA Division I, and its English bulldog
mascot, Uga, consistently ranks as one of the nation’s most recognizable mascots.
At the University of Georgia, it’s more than a mission. It’s a commitment we make to our
students, the state of Georgia and the world.