Here are the best colleges and universities in Florida based on the academic achievements of faculty and alumni associated with the schools. The best colleges in Florida have rich histories of hiring stellar faculty and producing influential alumni.
The state of Florida offers a wealth of options for students seeking both traditional and online degree programs. With more than 40 public and 50 private schools, prospective students can earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from an extremely wide variety of brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Florida.
Colleges in Florida are also uniquely affordable, with the state average tuition of $6,360 falling well under the national average. Among the most popular disciplines in Florida are anthropology, nursing, law, religious studies, and earth sciences. Many of these valuable degrees are available through online courses and fully online degree programs.
Indeed, nearly 40 colleges and universities in Florida offer online degrees. These online degree programs offer flexibility, convenience and accessibility. Make sure to choose an online degree program with accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Among the largest colleges in Florida is Miami Dade College. This public college is home to over 165,000 students across eight campuses and 21 outreach centers as well as various excellent online degree programs. Miami Dade College also offers an extremely affordable in-state tuition of $3,000.
Students seeking a religious school can choose from 21 colleges and universities that are grounded in Judeo-Christian, Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, and Christian principles. Ranked as the top two schools, the University of Florida (UF) and Florida State University (FSU) both have large student populations, with just over 45,000 at UF and just under 39,000 as FSU. Both are also affordable, with tuition at $6,000 and $7,000, respectively.
At $50,000, the University of Miami is the most expensive private college in the state and has graduated influential people such as Gene Roddenberry, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne The Rock
Johnson. Florida also offers its nursing students up to $4,000 in financial aid through their Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
Coastal cities, sandy beaches, orange groves, and vibrant flowers - it’s no wonder Florida is called The Sunshine State. Home to the famous Everglades National Park and Disney World, Florida also boasts 90 higher education institutes.
With so many options for both traditional and online colleges in Florida, this state has a lot to offer higher education students. Check out Florida’s best degree programs and top career paths.
Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
We’ve identified a total of 71 colleges and universities in Florida that meet our criteria. This list of the top 30 colleges in Florida below focuses on schools that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. The ranking features fully accredited public and private colleges and universities in Florida.
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
91%
Student body
48K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
University of Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
28%
Graduation
84%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1335/30
University of Miami’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
37%
Graduation
83%
Student body
41K
Median SAT/ACT
1285/29
Florida State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
75%
Student body
63K
Median SAT/ACT
1250/27
University of Central Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
49%
Graduation
75%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/27
University of South Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
67%
Student body
49K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
Florida International University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
55%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/23
Florida Atlantic University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
66%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
Florida Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
35%
Graduation
55%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/22
Florida A&M University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
61%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
Nova Southeastern University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
49%
Graduation
71%
Student body
3K
Rollins College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
63%
Student body
4K
Stetson University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
67%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
University of North Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
41%
Student body
6K
Barry University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
52%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/24
University of West Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
66%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1267/27
New College of Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
35%
Student body
41K
Miami Dade College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
68%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/27
Florida Southern College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
68%
Student body
2K
Eckerd College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
48%
Student body
4K
Jacksonville University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
46%
Student body
35K
Valencia College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$22K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
67%
Student body
29K
Keiser University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
54%
Graduation
62%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/24
University of Tampa’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
61%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1129/24
Ave Maria University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
56%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
Florida Gulf Coast University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
46%
Student body
9K
Saint Leo University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$26K
Graduation
40%
Student body
32K
Full Sail University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
33%
Student body
25K
Broward College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
56%
Student body
9K
Santa Fe College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
36%
Student body
17K
St. Petersburg College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.