University of Georgia

By James A. Barham, PhD

In brief

The University of Georgia, in Athens, was chartered on January 27, 1785, making it the first state-chartered public university in the United States; it enrolled its first students in 1801. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #62 in the United States and #180 in the world. It admitted 37.7% of applicants for fall 2024, and admitted students had a median SAT score of 1375.

Where UGA’s influence is strongest

UGA’s influence is spread across the social sciences, biology, and law. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Social work: #32 in the US
• Biology: #33
• Law: #34
• History: #36
• Education: #37

UGA ranks #1 in the US and the world in consumer economics, and #4 in sport psychology. By comparison, it sits further back in engineering (#122) and physics (#124).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

UGA-connected scientists include the ecologist Eugene Odum and the molecular biologist Cynthia Kenyon. Its alumni include the poet Natasha Trethewey, the journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe of R.E.M., the actor Kyle Chandler, the broadcaster Ryan Seacrest, and former US Senators Johnny Isakson and Zell Miller. Our full lists of UGA’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is UGA hard to get into? Moderately. It admitted 37.7% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 640–730 on the SAT reading section and 630–750 on math.

What does UGA cost after financial aid? Tuition is $11,492 for Georgia residents and $32,336 for out-of-state students in 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $11,169 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $8,715 for incomes of $30,000–$48,000 to $18,564 for incomes above $110,000.

How do UGA graduates do? 89.1% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 94% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $77,246.

What is UGA best known for academically? By our influence data: social work, biology, law, history, and education, plus consumer economics, where it ranks first in the world.