University

University of Virginia

University
#64 / #25
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#40
Most Desirable School
Public university in Charlottesville, Virginia

University of Virginia Featured Rankings

About University of Virginia

By James Barham, PhD

The University of Virginia (UVA) was very much the personal project of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Virginia already had a venerable and distinguished university, the College of William & Mary, which is the second-oldest in the country—founded right after Harvard—and was Jefferson’s own alma mater.

However, in Jefferson’s day, William & Mary continued to require its students to subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, whereas Jefferson had become a deist—not an atheist, but not a Christian, either, and certainly not a friend to the C of E.

Jefferson was a great admirer of the French Revolution, and nothing if not a child of the Enlightenment. Therefore, he wanted his home state of Virginia to benefit from a more modern kind of university that would advance the enlightened and progressive values he held dear.

In 1817, Jefferson met with three of his friends and political colleagues, the newly elected, fifth President of the United States, James Monroe; the outgoing fourth president, James Madison; and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall. At this meeting, they decided on a location for the new university near the town of Charlottesville.

Two years later, UVA received its charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia and construction began, with Jefferson himself serving as the main architect. The new university’s first classes began in 1825.

Two centuries later, UVA has become one of the premier public universities in the Old South. It has been affiliated with nine Nobel Prize laureates, namely,

  • Norman Ramsey and Clinton Davisson—physics
  • Alfred Gilman, Ferid Murad, & Barry Marshall—physiology or medicine
  • Ronald Coase & James M. Buchanan—economics
  • William Faulkner—literature
  • Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919

Two UVA undergrads have gone on to win the Turing Award for outstanding achievements in the field of computer science:

  • Edward M. Clarke
  • John Backus

Other UVA-connected faculty and alumni include:

  • Early American poet, pioneer of detective fiction, and virtuoso of the Gothic horror story form, Edgar Allan Poe
  • Arctic and Antarctic explorer, Richer E. Byrd
  • Painter, Georgia O’Keeffe
  • Former US poet laureate, Rita Dove
  • Novelist, Edward P. Jones
  • Comedienne, Tina Fey
  • Political analyst, Larry Sabato
  • Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian
  • Television personalities Brit Hume, Laura Ingraham, & Katie Couric
  • Civil Rights–activist, Julian Bond
  • no fewer than eight NASA astronauts

According to Wikipedia, The University of Virginia is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson. The university is set within the Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original governing Board of Visitors included three U.S. presidents: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the latter as sitting president of the United States at the time of its foundation. As its first two rectors, Presidents Jefferson and Madison played key roles in the university's foundation, with Jefferson designing both the original courses of study and the university's architecture. Located within its historic 1,135 acre central campus, the university is composed of eight undergraduate and three professional schools: the School of Law, the Darden School of Business, and the School of Medicine.

University of Virginia's Online Degrees

Undergraduate Certificate in Business Essentials
  • Required Credits: None Reported
  • Completion Time: None Reported
  • Format: None Reported
Undergraduate Certificate in Cybersecurity For Business Leaders
  • Required Credits: None Reported
  • Completion Time: None Reported
  • Format: None Reported
MT in Master'S Of Teaching
Degree Concentrations
  • English As A Second Language
  • Special Education
  • Required Credits: 30
  • Completion Time: None Reported
  • Format: None Reported
Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business
  • Required Credits: None Reported
  • Completion Time: None Reported
  • Format: None Reported

University of Virginia Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceGraduation RateMedian SAT ScoreMedian ACT Score
47,97121%94%141532

How Much Does University of Virginia Cost To Attend?

Tuition (in-state)Fees (in-state)
$16,547$3,238

How Much Do University of Virginia Graduates Make?

If you graduate from University of Virginia, then you can expect to earn an average of $79,400 per year. You also have a 92% chance of being employed after 10 years.

University of Virginia's Demographics

Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
28,32218,6649,658

Where is University of Virginia?

University of Virginia is located at 1827 University Avenue, Charlottesville VA 22903-2628

How Safe is University of Virginia?

Charlottesville has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%.

What Is University of Virginia Known For?

University of Virginia is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:

University of Virginia's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Law
#19
World Rank
#24
Historical Rank
#12
USA Rank
Political Science
#45
World Rank
#53
Historical Rank
#17
USA Rank
political-science Degrees
History
#46
World Rank
#54
Historical Rank
#18
USA Rank
history Degrees
Anthropology
#48
World Rank
#67
Historical Rank
#19
USA Rank
anthropology Degrees
Philosophy
#65
World Rank
#102
Historical Rank
#20
USA Rank
philosophy Degrees
Education
#60
World Rank
#63
Historical Rank
#21
USA Rank
education Degrees
Economics
#55
World Rank
#73
Historical Rank
#23
USA Rank
economics Degrees
Business
#49
World Rank
#49
Historical Rank
#24
USA Rank
business Degrees
Literature
#65
World Rank
#58
Historical Rank
#24
USA Rank
literature Degrees
Communications
#66
World Rank
#77
Historical Rank
#24
USA Rank
communications Degrees
Psychology
#38
World Rank
#54
Historical Rank
#25
USA Rank
psychology Degrees
Criminal Justice
#31
World Rank
#34
Historical Rank
#26
USA Rank
criminal-justice Degrees
Medical
#64
World Rank
#68
Historical Rank
#28
USA Rank
medicine Degrees
Engineering
#93
World Rank
#115
Historical Rank
#30
USA Rank
engineering Degrees
Computer Science
#72
World Rank
#72
Historical Rank
#31
USA Rank
computer-science Degrees
Sociology
#81
World Rank
#85
Historical Rank
#31
USA Rank
sociology Degrees
Biology
#108
World Rank
#133
Historical Rank
#34
USA Rank
biology Degrees
Religious Studies
#159
World Rank
#172
Historical Rank
#38
USA Rank
religious-studies-hub Degrees
Nursing
#77
World Rank
#78
Historical Rank
#39
USA Rank
nursing Degrees
Physics
#134
World Rank
#160
Historical Rank
#40
USA Rank
physics Degrees
Mathematics
#168
World Rank
#197
Historical Rank
#42
USA Rank
math Degrees
Chemistry
#206
World Rank
#236
Historical Rank
#52
USA Rank
chemistry Degrees

Who Are University of Virginia's Most Influential Alumni?

University of Virginia's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Law, Criminal Justice, and Business. Here are some of University of Virginia's most famous alumni:

Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
An American writer and literary critic .
Ronald Coase
Ronald Coase
A British economist and author .
Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
A Sixth director of the FBI. Robert Mueller is American attorney.
John Backus
John Backus
An American computer scientist.
William Faulkner
William Faulkner
An American writer .
Tom Regan
Tom Regan
An American philosopher.
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
An American artist .
Katie Couric
Katie Couric
An American journalist, presenter, producer, and author.
Francis Collins
Francis Collins
An American geneticist and director of the National Institutes of Health.
Anselm Strauss
An American sociologist .
Allen Tate
Allen Tate
An American poet, essayist and social commentator.
Ferid Murad
Ferid Murad
An American physician and pharmacologist.

Who Are University of Virginia's Most Influential Faculty?

University of Virginia's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Law, Criminal Justice, and Business. Here are some of University of Virginia's most famous alumni:

Kermit Roosevelt III
Kermit Roosevelt III
An American writer and lawyer.
Michael Wesch
Michael Wesch
An American anthropologist.
Christopher D. Manning
A Computer scientist.
Tim Wu
Tim Wu
An American legal scholar.
Maya Jasanoff
Maya Jasanoff
An American academic.
W. Bradford Wilcox
W. Bradford Wilcox
An American sociologist and demographer.
Kate Jones
A Chair in Ecology and Biodiversity at University College London and the Zoological Society of London.
Tomiko Brown-Nagin
An American legal academic.
Larycia Hawkins
Larycia Hawkins
An American scholar, author.
Jasmin Darznik
Jasmin Darznik
An American author.
Micah Schwartzman
An American lawyer.
Deanna M. Church
An American economist.