Ethnic enrollment, 2009	Percentage	Total number
Asian Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...	4%	1,423
Black (non-Hispanic)	12%	4,910
Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...  (of any race)	59%	24,093
Native American	<1%	86
White (non-Hispanic) White American White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...	17%	6,299
International International student According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national... , other	8%	3,644
Total	100%	40,455

Enrollment for Fall 2010 consisted of 44,010 students, 32,901 undergraduates

Undergraduate education

Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...

 and 11,109 graduate students

Graduate school

A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...

, including students enrolled in professional programs. Women accounted for 56% of student enrollment and minorities made up 75% of total enrollment. Enrollment included students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 119 countries. The most popular College by enrollment is the College of Arts and Sciences

Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences

The Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts college at Florida International University. Founded in 1965, it is the largest of FIU's 26 schools and colleges, and offers bachelor's degrees, master degree's, doctorates, and first professional degrees...

. The freshman retention rate for 2009 was 83%. The fall 2010 incoming freshman class had an average 3.69 GPA and 1140 SAT score.

In 2008, 7% of FIU students were international students. Of those, the most popular countries of origin were: China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 (20%), India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 (13%), Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 (10%), Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 (6%), Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 (5%), and Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

 (4%).

Students from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 make up the largest states for out-of-state students. Floridians make up 90% of the student population. Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

, Broward

Broward County, Florida

-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

, Palm Beach

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...

, Hillsborough

Hillsborough County, Florida

As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...

, and Orange County

Orange County, Florida

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....

 make up the largest Florida counties for in-state students.

University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

 accounted for 87% of the student population and 94% of housing students. The Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 accounted for about 13% of the student population, mostly of lower division undergraduates and students of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Fall 2009, the average age for undergraduates was 23 and 31 for graduate students.

Undergraduate admissions

In 2010 FIU had an admission rate of 39.5% for first-time-in-college freshmen, the lowest in the State University System. As Miami's public research university, competition to enroll at FIU has heightened as more students apply each year. The preliminary Fall 2010 FIU freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

 class had an average SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 score of 1700, a 25 ACT

ACT (examination)

The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...

 score and a 3.69 high school GPA. The freshmen 2010 acceptance rate was 39%. FIU received 15,061 freshmen applications and admitted 5,949, of which 2,338 enrolled.

Graduate admissions

For Fall 2010, 13,619 students applied for graduate admissions throughout the university. Of those, 31% were accepted. The Wertheim College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

 admitted 3.8% of its applicants, and the College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 admitted 19%. Admission to the Wertheim College of Medicine is competitive, and the college has one of the highest number of applicants in the state, greater than the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

. For Fall 2010, 3,606 students applied for 43 spots.

The FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 is the most competitive in Florida, with the lowest admission rate in the state at 14% (2011). For Fall 2009, the School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 received over 1,000 applications for the first-year Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

The Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...

 program, with 60 being accepted, giving the School of Architecture a 6% admissions rate. The average high school GPA for the freshman class in the School of Architecture was 3.98, also making it one of the most selective schools at FIU.

Rankings

Other FIU Rankings
USNWR International Business	16
USNWR Law	132
USNWR Part-time Law	40
USNWR Public Affairs	57
USNWR Social Work	71

In 2011, FIU was ranked in the top 16 nationally amongst universities with the toughest grading system.

FIU is working on a new vision called "FIU in the year 2015: FIU at FIFTY" as part of their 50th anniversary "FIU at Fifty". The goal is to make FIU one of the top ten urban-serving public research universities in the country.

In 2000, FIU became the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the country's oldest and most distinguished academic honor society. FIU is one of only 78 universities nationwide to hold both designations.

US News and World Report reported that FIU students are among the least indebted college students in the nation, and recognized the university as a "best buy" in higher education.

FIU ranked among the best values in public higher education in the country, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s 2011 survey, "100 Best Values in Public Colleges." FIU is ranked among the top 100 nationally for in-state students and out-of-state students.

FIU is ranked 1st in the U.S. for granting bachelor's degrees to minorities, and 9th in granting master's degrees to minorities (among the top 100 universities), according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, (2010). FIU is also 1st in the nation in awarding science, technology, engineering, and math degrees to minorities. FIU produces over 1,500 minority graduates in those fields annually (2010).

From 2007 to 2010, FIU has ranked 1st in Florida's State University System

State University System of Florida

The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...

 in energy conservation and sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

.

College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

 is among the top 7% of elite business schools worldwide accredited by the AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" (2010) ranks the undergraduate international business program 12th best in the nation and ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 11th in the nation. FIU has been ranked in the top 10 every year since 2005. FIU is also the only university in Florida to be ranked in the top 15.

BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek

Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

 (2008) ranks the College of Business among the top 15% of graduate business schools in the U.S., 1st in South Florida, and in the top 25 among public business schools in the U.S. The Landon Undergraduate School of Business was ranked in the top 5% in the U.S., ranked 8th in the country in the area of "Operations Management", and in the top 20 for "Accounting".

América Economía

América Economía

América Economía is a Latin American magazine founded in 1986 by Chilean Elías Selman and Swedish Nils Strandberg.The 1980s was considered the lost decade in Latin America but Selman and Strandberg decided to take risk and create the first Latin American business magazine.Since 1986 AméricaEconomía...

 ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 22nd in the nation.

The Financial Times (2008) ranks the Executive MBA in the top 85 MBA programs in the world, and in the top 35 among U.S. Executive MBAs.

Hispanic Business

Hispanic Business

Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...

 (since 1998) and Hispanic Trends (since 2003) have placed the College of Business among the top 25 business schools for Hispanics. In 2008, it was ranked #8.

Fortune Small Business recognized the college as among the best in the United States for entrepreneurship in its listing of “America’s Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs,” (August, 2007), in the “Cross-Disciplinary/Cross Pollination” category.

Hispanic Trends ranks the Executive MBA program 8th in its list of the best Executive MBA programs for Hispanics.

College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 has consistently ranked 1st in the state of Florida with the state's highest bar-passing rates (2005, 2007, and 2009), and 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96% in 2007.

In 2006, 2007, and 2009, the College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 was ranked 1st in bar passing rates in Florida and in 2007, the College of Law was also ranked 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96%. In July 2008, the College of Law achieved a 90.6% passing rate, which placed it 2nd among Florida's ten law schools.
In February 2009, the College of Law achieved a 81.5% passing rate, which placed it 1st among Florida's ten law schools.

In 2010, the FIU College of Law was ranked among the Top 10 Best Value schools by The National Jurist. The Best Value rating was based on three criteria: bar passage rate, average indebtedness after graduation, and employment nine months after graduation.

FIU College of Law also ranked 3rd amongst Florida schools for the scholarly impact of its faculties, behind University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 and Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

. According to the Leiter Rankings, the College of Law has already made a scholarly impact that dramatically outpaces its academic reputation.

Other colleges and schools

The Journal of Criminal Justice ranks the Criminal Justice program 10th in the U.S. (November 2007)

The Creative Writing

Creative writing

Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...

 program is ranked among the top ten in the country by "Who Runs American Literature?".

The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is one of the nation’s top programs. The School of Hospitality Management

Hospitality management studies

Hospitality management is the academic study of the hospitality industry. A degree in Hospitality management is often conferred from either a university college dedicated to the studies of hospitality management or a business school with a department in hospitality management studies...

 is recognized by industry leaders as one of the nation's top five hospitality management programs.

Faculty of the Ph.D. program in social welfare rank 4th in the United States in their scholarly accomplishment, according to Academic Analytics. FIU faculty were the only social work faculty in Florida to rank in the Top 10. (December 2007)

Campus

Florida International University has two major campuses in Miami, the main campus, University Park and its regional campus, the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

, as well as several branch campuses and research facilities throughout South Florida, in Tianjin, China, and in Nervi

Nervi

Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...

 and Genoa, Italy.

University Park (Modesto A. Maidique Campus)

The main campus, University Park, renamed Modesto Maidique Campus in 2009, encompasses 344 acres (1.4 km²) in the Miami neighborhood of University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

, (from which the area derives its name).

University Park houses almost all of the university's colleges and schools as well as all the administrative offices and main university facilities. University Park is also home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential House, the home of FIU's president, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

, the International Hurricane Research Center, and the university's athletic facilities such as FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

, U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium is a baseball stadium located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA. It is the home venue of the FIU Panthers college baseball team of the List of NCAA Division I Baseball programs Sun Belt Conference. The facility opened on January 26,...

.

Located five blocks north of University Park, is the 38-acre (145,000 m²) Engineering Center

Engineering Center

The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida...

 which houses a part of the College of Engineering and Computing

Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing

The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

 and is the home of FIU's Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

 Nanofabrication

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 Research Facility. The Engineering Center is serviced by the CATS Shuttle, FIU's student buses, which run throughout the day on weekdays connecting the two parts of campus.

University Park history

Construction on the campus began in 1965 with the complete destruction of Tamiami Airport in 1969. At the time, very little was located around FIU, and the campus was referred to as University Park. As Miami grew west, the area came to be known as University Park after the university's campus name.

Until the early-1990s, aerial pictures of the campus clearly revealed the features of the airport that used to occupy the land until 1969. Construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 has removed all of these features, and only the University Tower remains as a memory of the university's past. University Park is a lush, heavily vegetated campus, with many lakes and nature preserves, as well as an arboretum and has over 90 buildings. As of late 2009, current construction at University Park includes the Nursing and Health Sciences Building, the School of International and Public Affairs Building, and a fifth parking garage.

On June 12, 2009, FIU's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the University Park campus to the Modesto Maidique Campus. However, the change created a large backlash from the FIU community, as many felt it unfitting to name the campus after him. A campaign by FIU students and alumni was created to revert the name change, and to keep the name University Park. A Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 group, "No to Maidique's Campus" with over 2,000 supporters has made national news, in many newspapers, TV news stations, and collegiate magazines, supporting to keep the name "University Park".

Main University Park buildings

Campus Support Complex, 1999 Carlos Finlay Elementary School Chemistry & Physics Building, 1990 College of Business Complex, 2008 College of Health Building, 1989 Deuxième Maison, 1973 Engineering Center Engineering Center The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida... Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, 1990 Everglades Hall, 2002 FIU Stadium FIU Stadium FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for... , 1995 Frost Art Museum Frost Art Museum The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida.... , 1977 (new building: 2007) Graham Center, 1974

Green Library, 1975 Health and Life Sciences I and II, 2000 Labor Center, 1994 Lakeview Hall North and South, 2006 Management and Advanced Research Center, 2002 National Hurricane Center National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th... , 1967 Nursing and Health Sciences Building, 2009 Owa Ehan, 1975 Panther Hall, 1996 Paul Cejas School of Architecture Building, 2003 Primera Casa, 1969 Rafael Diaz-Balart Law Building, 2006

Recreation Center, 2005 Ronald Reagan House, 2001 Ryder Business Building, 1992 School of International and Public Affairs Building, 2010 University Health Services Complex, 1992 University Park Apartments, 1986 University Park Towers, 2000 U.S. Century Bank Arena, 1986 Viertes Haus, 1975 Wertheim Conservatory, 1991 Wertheim Performing Arts Center, 1996 Ziff Education Building, 1995

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 in North Miami is FIU's second-largest campus. It was opened in 1977 by Harold Crosby

Harold Crosby

Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...

 and occupies about 200 acres (809,000 m²), directly on the bay and adjacent to the Oleta River State Park

Oleta River State Park

The Oleta River State Park is a Florida State Park system on Biscayne Bay in the municipal suburb of North Miami in metropolitan Miami, Florida...

, with which FIU has a research partnership. Access to these resources inspired the creation of a marine biology

Marine biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...

 program on the Biscayne Bay Campus, which has become one of the university's most recognized programs. The Biscayne Bay Campus also houses the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, one of the nation's top programs, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Aquatic Center, and the Kovens Conference Center. The Golden Panther Express, FIU's student buses, connect the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus throughout the day on weekdays.

Regional campuses

FIU also has other smaller regional campuses located throughout South Florida in both Miami-Dade County and Broward County, serving the local communities in research, continuing studies, and in culture. In Broward County, there is the FIU Pines Center in Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines, Florida

Pembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city had a population of 154,750 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in Broward County, the tenth most populous in Florida, and the 150th most populous in the United States...

, opened to satisfy the demand from Broward County residents. This center serves mostly night students in programs within the College of Business Administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

. In Miami-Dade County, there are four regional FIU facilities, the Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

 Campus, the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach (Washington Avenue and 10th St), the FIU-Florida Memorial

Florida Memorial University

Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...

 research center in Miami Gardens, and a research site in Homestead

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

.

Downtown Miami Campus

FIU has a campus on Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue is the name given to the stretch of U.S. Route 1 in Miami, Florida just south of the Miami River. North of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, US Route 1 is known as Biscayne Boulevard...

 in Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

 at 1101 Brickell Avenue dubbed "FIU Downtown on Brickell". FIU's College of Business Administration has had classes at the Macy's Building on Flagler Street and the Metropolitan Center had offices at 150 SE 2nd Ave since 2004. Starting in August 2011, FIU is expanding its Downtown campus to 1101 Brickell with the expansion of course offerings for the College of Business Administration and the School of International and Public Affairs, as well as with FIU's research center, the Metropolitan Center. Most programs in Downtown are graduate-level evening courses geared for Downtown professionals and residents. As of Spring 2011, there were approximately 500 students enrolled at the Downtown campus, with plans to grow the campus to over 2,000 students by 2021.

International campuses

FIU also has international campuses in Asia and Europe. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum has a regional facility in Nervi

Nervi

Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...

, Italy, the School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 has facilities in Genoa, Italy for FIU's upper-division and graduate Architecture students, and the Florida International University Tianjin Center

Florida International University Tianjin Center

The Florida International University Tianjin Center is a campus of Miami, Florida-based Florida International University located in Tianjin, in the People's Republic of China, from which a branch of FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates...

 in China, from which a branch of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates. The Tianjin Center was constructed as a cooperative venture with the local municipal government and was opened in the Summer of 2006. FIU has also exchanged agreements with the American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

 in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

 so that FIU students can now take a semester abroad in Dubai.

Student housing

FIU residence halls	Year built	Room capacity	Accommodations
Bay Vista Hall (Biscayne Bay Campus)	1984	300	All students
University Park Apartments	1986	584	All students (inc. graduate and married housing)
Panther Hall	1996	400	Freshmen (inc. Honors College freshmen)
University Park Towers	2000	500	All students (inc. graduate, Law and Medical housing)
Everglades Hall	2002	400	All students (primarily sophomores)
Lakeview Hall North	2006	400	All students
Lakeview Hall South	2006	425	Freshmen (inc. Honors College and Architecture freshmen)
Total	-	3,009 students	-

Florida International University's student housing facilities are managed by the Office of Housing and Residential Life and are available on both the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

. Currently, there are 3,009 beds distributed throughout 10 apartment buildings and 6 residence halls. At University Park, these are the University Park Apartments, Panther Hall, the University Park Towers, Everglades Hall, Lakeview Hall North, and Lakeview Hall South. At the Biscayne Bay Campus, housing is available in Bay Vista Hall. Together, approximately 7% of FIU's student population lives on-campus in student housing (not including Greek housing).

The Office of Housing and Residential Life also offers optional communities in the residence halls. These communities include the Architecture and Arts Community, for students majoring in Architecture or art-related majors, Honors Place for Honors College students, F.Y.R.S.T. (First Year Residents Succeeding Together) for all freshmen in any major, F.Y.R.S.T. Explore, for undecided freshmen, Leader's in Residence for students interested in civic service and leadership opportunities and the Law Community for College of Law students.

As of 2011, plans are underway for two new residence halls for 1,240 students, called "Parkview Housing" to be built on the Panther Hall parking lot, north of FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

. Parkview Housing will be built in two phases in two separate buildings, each housing 620 and 600 students respectively, to be completed by Fall 2013 and Fall 2016.

Libraries

FIU has six libraries, Green Library, FIU's main library; the Glenn Hubert Library (Biscayne Bay Campus), the Wolfsonian Library, the Engineering Library, the Law Library, and the Medical Library.

Green Library

Green Library is FIU's main library, and is the largest building on-campus, and one of the largest libraries in the Southeastern United States. Originally built in the late 1960s, the Green Library was expanded by the architecture firm M. C. Harry & Associates, Inc. in the early 1990s to its current eight floors, with a capacity to expand to a total of 15 floors if expansions are necessary. This eight floor structure was built around the original three-story 1960s library, while it was still in use.

The first floor of the building has numerous offices, classrooms, auditorium spaces, a snack stop, and a Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

. The second floor has the reference section, cartography, circulation, and numerous computer and printing labs. The third and fourth floors are the home of the Medical Library, as well as a resource center for students of the Honors College, special collections section, archives, and study lounges. The fifth floor is the home of the School of Architecture Library, as well as the music and audiovisual sections. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors are strictly quiet floors, and contain the general collection floors, numerous student study lounges, and library administration offices.

Law and Engineering libraries

Other libraries at University Park include the three-story College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 Library in Diaz-Balart Hall, the Engineering Library, and the Medical Library. The Law Library opened in 2002, and has three floors, with all three holding the library's general collection. The third floor has a two-story, quiet reading room, as well as numerous study lounges. Although the Law Library is restricted to Law students, other students may use the library for research purposes. The Engineering Library is located on the second floor of the main building of the Engineering Center.

Medical Library

The FIU Medical Library opened in August 2009 at the same time as the opening of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. The Medical Library offers a rich array of resources, services, and instructional support to advance the teaching and learning, discovery, and healthcare programs of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and is currently located on the third floor of Green Library building. Future construction of buildings for the College of Medicine will include a new space for the Medical Library outside of Green Library.

Wolfsonian and Glenn Hubert libraries

The Wolfsonian Library is located at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

, on the corner of Washington Avenue and 10th Street. The collection focuses exclusively on architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

, and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 of the Western World

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 from 1885 to 1945. The library serves mostly as a research library

Research library

A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects . A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...

 with an extensive collection of primary sources. For students, prior approval from the staff is needed to enter the library. The Glenn Hubert Library, previously named the 'Biscayne Bay Library', is the main, and sole library at the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

.

Together, the entire FIU university-wide Library holdings include over 2,097,207 volumes, 52,511 current serials, 3,587,663 microform units, and 163,715 audio visual units.

International Hurricane Research Center

The International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) is the nation’s only university-based research facility dedicated to mitigating the damage tropical storms inflict on people, the economy, and the environment. The IHRC is home to four institutes: the Laboratory for Coastal Research; the Laboratory for Social Science Research; the Laboratory for Insurance, Financial & Economic Research; and the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, as well as the FIU Wall of Wind. This first-of-its-kind testing system consists of a series of large industrial fans powered by race car engines. It produces a wind field equivalent to a Category Four hurricane. Not to be confused with the National Hurricane Center

National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...

 (also located at University Park), the IHRC is located on the western side of the campus.

Construction and expansion

In the early 2000s, emphasis at FIU was placed on growth in degree programs and student enrollment. Since 2005 however, student enrollment has been capped and emphasis is now being placed on improving the quality of the existing academic programs. With the addition of the College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

, the demand for facilities and classroom space has greatly increased. Future projects and/or buildings under construction include:

Construction: 2009-2010

• FIU Stadium Field House - completed in July 2009
• College of Nursing and Health Sciences Building - completed in December 2009
• School of International and Public Affairs Building - broke ground in December 2008, to be finished by late 2010, designed by Arquitectonica
  Arquitectonica
  Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and urban planning corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, with offices in ten other cities throughout the world...
  
  
• PG5 Market Station- completed in August 2010- includes a new retail/restaurant area with fast food outlets
• Renovations of the Graham Center- completed in August 2010, will include: expanded food, drink and video game outlets, an expanded outdoor seating area, expanded bookstore café, and a renovated bookstore with a larger Panthers merchandise area

Construction: 2011-onward

• Wells Fargo Bank - Located in Gold Garage. Opened July 18th 2011.
• Ambulatory Care Center (Stempel Complex) - broke ground in July 2009, to be completed by 2011
• Expansion of U.S. Century Bank Arena- plans underway for a 2011 construction
• Expansion to FIU Stadium
  FIU Stadium
  FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...
  
   - Expansion to capacitate 45,000 fans to be done in four separate phases (Phase I and II have been completed, Phase III and IV are projected to be completed from around 2011 to 2013)
• Graduate Housing- 400-bed residence hall was to have begun Summer 2011 but postponed indefinitely.
• Alumni Center- funding plans underway

Campus transportation

Miami-Dade Transit

Miami-Dade Transit

Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th-largest transit system in the United States....

 serves University Park with Metrobus lines 8, 11, 24, and 71. Metrobus lines 75 and 135 serve the Biscayne Bay Campus. Bus lines 8, 11 and the 24 directly connect FIU with Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

.

Two distinct FIU-operated bus lines are available. The CATS Shuttle runs between University Park and the Engineering Center, and the Golden Panther Express, from University Park to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

The CATS Shuttle connects University Park from the Graham Center bus stop and the Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, to the Engineering Center

Engineering Center

The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida...

 on Flagler Street and 107th Avenue. The CATS Shuttle is free and runs roughly every 30 minutes between 7am to 10pm Monday through Friday. The Golden Panther Express connects the Biscayne Bay Campus to University Park. It runs from 7am to 11pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to approximately 8pm on Fridays, and costs $2.50 each way. The Golden Panther Express departs from the Graham Center bus stop at the main campus, and the Academic 1 bus stop at the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Greek life

FIU has over 30 fraternities and sororities divided into four governing councils: the Interfraternity Council (IFC)

North-American Interfraternity Conference

The North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...

, the Panhellenic Council (PC)

National Panhellenic Conference

The National Panhellenic Conference , founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities.Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae...

, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

National Pan-Hellenic Council

The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...

, and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC)

National Multicultural Greek Council

The National Multicultural Greek Council is an umbrella council for ten Multicultural Greek Letter Organizations established in 1998. The purpose of NMGC is to provide a forum that allows for the free exchange of ideas, programs, and services between its constituent fraternities and sororities;...

. The Order of Omega

Order of Omega

The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group in se...

, a Greek honor society, has had a chapter at the university since 1991 and represents the academic top 3% of FIU Greeks.

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) comprises 13 fraternities. The Panhellenic Council (PC) is made up of 7 sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) comprises 8 historically black organizations, (4 fraternities and 4 sororities). The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) consists of 7 cultural organizations for Latinos, Asians, and South Asians, (4 fraternities and 3 sororities).

Interfraternity Council	Panhellenic Council	National Pan-Hellenic Council	Multicultural Greek Council
AEΠ Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...	ΑΟΠ Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...	ΑKΑ Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...	∆ΦΩ Delta Phi Omega Delta Phi Omega , is the largest and fastest-growing, nationally based South Asian-interest sorority in the United States, with over 1300 sisters in thirteen chapters and twenty-seven colonies....
ΒΘΠ Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...	ΑΞΔ Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...	ΑΦΑ Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...	ΛΘA Lambda Theta Alpha Lambda Theta Alpha is a Latina sorority in the United States.The idea for Lambda Theta Alpha began in the late 1970s, when colleges and universities experienced an influx of Latino enrollment; the organization came into being at Kean University in 1975 with Lambda Theta Alpha's seventeen founding...
ΔΛΦ Delta Lambda Phi Delta Lambda Phi is a national social fraternity for gay, bisexual, and progressive men. It offers a social environment and structure similar to other Greek-model college fraternities. Delta Lambda Phi was founded on October 15, 1986 by Vernon L. Strickland III in Washington, D.C. and incorporated...	ΔΦΕ Delta Phi Epsilon (social) Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in New York City...	ΔΣΘ Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...	ΛΘΦ Lambda Theta Phi Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit social fraternity in the United States. It was founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean College in Union, New Jersey. It emphasizes Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture. In 1992 Lambda Theta Phi was accepted into the North-American Interfraternity...
KAΨ Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...	ΦΜ Phi Mu Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...	ΛΥΛ Lambda Upsilon Lambda La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity was established on February 19, 1982 in order to address the shortcomings of academic institutions in meeting and addressing the needs of Latino students in higher education...
ΛΧΑ Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...	ΦΣΣ Phi Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma , colloquially known as "Phi Sig," was the first collegiate nonsectarian fraternity, welcoming women of all faiths and backgrounds...	ΦΒΣ Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...	ΣBP
FIJI Phi Gamma Delta The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...	ΣΣΣ Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma , also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women’s sorority with membership of more than 100,000 members. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and hosts chapters on more than 110 college campuses and 89 alumnae chapters in communities all...	ΣΓΡ Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...	ΣΛΒ Sigma Lambda Beta Sigma Lambda Beta is the largest Latino-based social fraternity established on cultural understanding and wisdom. Founded on April 4, 1986 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, the organization is committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, advance...
ΦΣK Phi Sigma Kappa -Phi Sigma Kappa's Creed and Cardinal Principles:The 1934 Convention in Ann Arbor brought more changes for the fraternity. Brother Stewart W. Herman of Gettysburg wrote and presented the Creed, and Brother Ralph Watts of Massachusetts drafted and presented the Cardinal Principles.-World War II:The...	ΣΚ Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...	ΖΦΒ Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...	ΣΛΓ Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Lambda Gamma ' is a historically Latina-based national sorority with multicultural membership founded on April 9, 1990, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.-History:...
ΠΚΑ Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...		ΙΦΘ
ΠΚΦ Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
ΣΑΜ Sigma Alpha Mu Sigma Alpha Mu , also known as "Sammy", is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Originally only for Jewish men, Sigma Alpha Mu remained so until 1953, when members from all backgrounds were accepted. Originally headquartered in New York, Sigma Alpha Mu has...
ΣΦΕ Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
ΣX Sigma Chi Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
ΘX Theta Chi Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
ΤΚΕ Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

Student media

Student Media is the umbrella organization for The Beacon, the student-run newspaper; FIUSM.com, the student-run news and media website; and Radiate FM, the student-run radio station. Each organization's directors are selected by the Student Media board on a yearly basis.

The Beacon is the FIU student newspaper

Student newspaper

A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....

 since 1965. The Beacon is published thrice weekly in a compact format

Compact (newspaper)

A compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term is used also for this size came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier...

 during the Fall and Spring semesters (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and once a week on Wednesday during the Summer. It is split into five unique sections, News, reporting a mix of university, local and national events, At the Bay for news on the Biscayne Bay Campus, Sports, Opinion and Life! The Beacon is available free campus-wide in the residence halls, the Graham Center and all campus buildings.

FIUSM.com is the FIU student-run media website since 2008. FIUSM.com publishes content generated by the Student Media team, including text, audio, and video.

Radiate FM

WRGP

WRGP Radiate FM is the student run radio station of Florida International University in Miami, FL. WRGP broadcasts on 88.1 MHz from a transmitter site in rural Miami-Dade County at 17107 SW 248 St and rebroadcasts in the Miami metropolitan area on translator stations W237CP, 95.3 MHz in Miami...

 is FIU's student-run radio station since 1984. It broadcasts on 95.3 MHz at the University Park Campus and on 96.9 MHz at the Biscayne Bay Campus. The signal originates in Homestead

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

 on 88.1 MHz and a broadcast translator rebroadcasts Radiate FM's signal to the University Park Campus and later again translated to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Arts and culture

FIU has two museums, the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

 and the historic Wolfsonian-FIU Museum. The Frost Art Museum is located on campus and was opened in 1977 as The Art Museum at Florida International University as a student gallery. Today, the Frost Art Museum features collections of both Latin American and 20th century American art. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum is located in Miami Beach and promotes the collection, preservation and understanding of decorative art and design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

 from the period from 1885 to 1945. FIU also has the country's largest university sculpture collection, named the Martin Z. Margulies Family Collection, with over 80 such sculptures around campus. Many different art structures, statues, paintings and mosaics can be seen throughout campus in gardens, buildings, walkways, and on walls.

The School of Theatre and Dance produces a wide variety of live student performances, and the School of Music presents an annual fall series of concerts that showcase talent in a variety of genres. The festival features FIU musicians as well as distinguished visiting performers. Many plays, musicals, concerts, operas, and dance shows are produced each year, through the School of Theatre, Dance, & Speech Communication at FIU's Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

FIU annually hosts the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

 through the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. The festival is one of the major culinary events in the nation and an event that showcases the talents of the world's most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.

Student Government Association

The Student Government Association presides over and funds the over 300 student clubs and organizations and honor societies at the university and has an operating budget of over $11 million. The Student Government Association is split into three branches, with the Executive, a Legislative Student Senate, and Judicial Supreme Court. Due to the unique nature of a multi-campus university, the President of Modesto Maidique Campus (University Park) serves as the Student Representative on the University's Board of Trustees, the current President and Trustee is Patrick O'Keefe, while the current president for the Biscayne Bay Campus is Denise Halpin who also serves as a member of the Foundation Board.

The Student Government contains five separate governing councils- the Student Programming Council, the Council for Student Organizations, which represents the over 300 student clubs and organizations, the Homecoming Council, Black Student Union, and Panther Power, the student spirit group. The Panther Power group can be seen in all Golden Panthers athletic events along with the Golden Panthers Band, the Golden Dazzlers dance team and the Golden Panthers cheerleaders. In 2004, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's Campus Invasion Tour

MtvU

mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...

 was held at FIU, bringing numerous bands such as Hoobastank

Hoobastank

Hoobastank is an American rock band, best known for their 2004 hit "The Reason" and other hits "Crawling in the Dark" and "Running Away". They formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They...

 to FIU.

Order of the Torch

The Order of the Torch is a semi-secret honorary leadership society akin to other secret societies in the state such as Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key is a student honor and service society at the University of Florida. It is often written and referred to by the initialism "FBK."This organization was started at the University of Florida in 1923 under the presidency of Albert Murphree...

 at the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, and the Iron Arrow Honor Society

Iron Arrow Honor Society

The Iron Arrow Honor Society is a highly selective secret society and honor society at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for students, faculty, staff and alumni...

 at the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

. The organization is rumored to have been founded in 2003 as a way of organizing student leadership to restructure student life to mirror that of a traditional university. Members now include students, faculty, staff and community members, including FIU alumni Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez

Carlos Alvarez (mayor)

Carlos Alvarez is a Cuban American politician, and the former mayor of Miami-Dade County. He was first elected mayor in 2004, and re-elected in 2008. His mayoralty ended in March 2011 after a recall election...

 (class of 1974). Top leadership in Student Government, Homecoming, and the most elite campus fraternal organizations, rank among its members.

Spirit traditions

FIU has many traditions from student spirit groups, alumni association events and student spirit events. Panther Rage, one of FIU's largest student spirit groups are seen at all the athletics events.

FIU also holds many Golden Panther spirit events throughout the year. Some of these include, Panther Camp held in the Summer prior to the Fall term for incoming freshmen, where students spend a weekend in a retreat center learning all the traditional Golden Panther cheers, chants, traditions meeting other incoming students. Started in 2006, Panther Camp has grown quickly in popularity from only 25 participants in 2006 to over 120 participants in 2007. In 2008, Panther Camp expanded to two camps with a combined total of 240 freshman participants. Panther Camp is expected to grow in size for Summer 2010, as the waiting list has continued to double from year to year. Freshmen who participate are more likely to get involved in Student Life than other students.

Week of Welcome, usually held the first or second week of the Fall semester holds many spirit events, such as Trail of the Torch. Trail of the Torch is another university tradition that has continued to grow annually, where a pep rally

Pep rally

Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...

 is held in the Housing Quad with music, food, giveaways and dancing. After the pep rally, the torch of knowledge is lit and blue and gold candles are distributed to the crowd for the procession around the campus, trailing the torch from the Housing Quad to the torch in front of the Primera Casa building. Rage Week and Homecoming

Homecoming

Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...

 Week are other major back-to-back spirit weeks held in the Fall semester. They include the Homecoming Parade, Greek Row parties, Homecoming football game, Blue/Gold Party, pep rallies and other Panther Rage events.

Alma Mater

Florida International University (commonly referred to as FIU) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 public

Public university

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...

 research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, with its main campus in University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

. Florida International University is classified as a top-tier Research University with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center, whose primary activities of research and writing have resulted in published reports on every level...

, and is a first-tier research university as designated by the Florida Legislature

Florida Legislature

The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...

. Founded in 1965, FIU is the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa Society

Phi Beta Kappa Society

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...

, the country's oldest academic honor society

Honor society

In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...

.

FIU offers 191 programs of study with more than 280 majors

Academic major

In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....

 in 26 colleges and schools. FIU offers many graduate programs, including architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

, business administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

, engineering

Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing

The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

, law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

, and medicine, offering 82 master's degrees, 29 doctoral degrees

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

, and 3 professional degrees. FIU is one of Florida's primary graduate research universities, and awards close to 3,000 graduate and professional degrees annually.

FIU is the 15th-largest university in the United States, the 4th-largest university in Florida, and the largest in South Florida. For Fall 2010, total enrollment was 44,010 students, including 11,109 graduate students, and 2,974 full-time faculty with over 161,000 alumni around the world. In 2007, FIU's research expenditure was $89.1 million, with an endowment of $140 million.

Since 2007, more valedictorian

Valedictorian

Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...

s from South Florida choose to attend FIU than any other university in the country. For Fall 2009, the average incoming freshmen had an average SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 score of 1126, a 26 ACT

ACT (examination)

The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...

 score and a 3.24 high school GPA.

Founding: 1943 to 1969

The story of Florida International University's founding began in 1943, when state Senator Ernest 'Cap' Graham

Ernest R. Graham (politician)

Ernest R. "Cap" Graham was a political figure in Florida, having served as a member of the Florida Senate from 1937 to 1944, when he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in 1943-44. As a senator, Graham lobbied in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. to bring...

 (father of future Florida governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham

Bob Graham

Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...

) presented the state legislature with the initial proposal for the establishment of a public university in South Florida. While his bill did not pass, Graham persisted in presenting his proposal to colleagues, advising them of Miami's need for a state university. He felt the establishment of a public university was necessary to serve the city's growing population.

In 1964, Senate Bill 711 was introduced by Florida Senator Robert M. Haverfield. It instructed the state Board of Education and the Board of Regents

Board of Regents

In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...

 (BOR), to begin planning for the development of a state university in Miami. The bill was signed into law by then-governor W. Haydon Burns

W. Haydon Burns

William Haydon Burns was the 35th Governor of Florida from 1965 to 1967. He was also Mayor of the city of Jacksonville, Florida from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...

 in June 1965, marking FIU's official founding.

FIU's founding president Charles "Chuck" Perry

Chuck Perry

Charles Perry or Chuck Perry , was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami, having pushed for the university's founding from 1943 until 1965. Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried at FIU across the lake from the Ryder Business...

 was appointed by the Board of Regents in July 1969 after a nationwide search. At 32 years old, the new president was the youngest in the history of the State University System and, at the time, the youngest university president in the country. Perry recruited three co-founders, Butler Waugh, Donald McDowell and Nick Sileo. Alvah Chapman, Jr.

Alvah Chapman, Jr.

Alvah Herman Chapman, Jr. was an American newspaper publisher who served at the helm of The Miami Herald and as chairman of the Knight Ridder newspaper division.-Biography:...

, former Miami Herald publisher and Knight Ridder

Knight Ridder

Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...

 chairman, used his civic standing and media power to assist the effort. In the 1980s, Chapman became chair of the FIU Foundation Board of Trustees.

The founders located the campus on the site of the original Tamiami Airport

Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport

Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport is a public airport located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, 13 miles southwest of Downtown Miami....

 on the Tamiami Trail

Tamiami Trail

The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....

 (U.S. Route 41

U.S. Route 41

U.S. Route 41 is a north–south United States Highway that runs from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was U.S...

) between Southwest 107th and 117th Avenues, just east of where the West Dade Expressway (now the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike

Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike

Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the West Dade Expressway is a north–south free-flow toll road southern extension of the tolled Florida's Turnpike...

) was being planned. The abandoned airport’s air traffic control tower became FIU’s first building. It originally had no telephones, no drinking water, and no furniture. Perry decided that the tower should never be destroyed, and it remains on campus, where it is now known variously as the "Ivory Tower," the "Tower Building," or the "Public Safety Tower," and is the former location of the FIU Police Department.

Opening of the doors: 1969 to 1975

In September 1972, 5,667 students entered the new state university, the largest opening day enrollment at the time. Previously, Miami had been the largest city in the country lacking a public baccalaureate-granting institution. Eighty percent of the student body had just graduated from Dade County Junior College (now Miami-Dade College). A typical student entering FIU was 25 years old and attending school full-time while holding down a full-time job. Forty-three percent were married. Negotiations with the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

 and Dade County Junior College led FIU to open as an upper-division only school. It would be 9 years before lower-division classes were added.

The first commencement, held in June 1973, took place in the reading room of the ground floor of Primera Casa - the only place large enough on campus for the ceremony. More than 1,500 family members and friends watched FIU's first class of 191 graduates receive their diplomas.

By late 1975, after seven years at the helm, Charles Perry

Chuck Perry

Charles Perry or Chuck Perry , was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami, having pushed for the university's founding from 1943 until 1965. Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried at FIU across the lake from the Ryder Business...

 felt he had accomplished his goal and left the University to become president and publisher of the Sunday newspaper magazine Family Weekly (now USA Weekend

USA Weekend

USA Weekend is a national publication distributed through more than 800+ newspapers in the United States. It reaches 47 million readers in 22.6 million households every weekend. Awarded for its journalism and design, USA WEEKEND focuses on social issues, entertainment, health, food and travel....

), one of the country's largest magazines. When he left, there were more than 10,000 students attending classes and a campus with five major buildings and a sixth being planned.

Crosby and Wolfe: 1976 to 1986

Harold Crosby

Harold Crosby

Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...

, the University's second president and the founding president of the University of West Florida

University of West Florida

The University of West Florida, also known as West Florida and UWF, is a mid-sized public university located in Pensacola, Florida, United States. UWF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. The University of West Florida is a Research University, which specializes in...

 in Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

, agreed in 1976 to serve a three-year "interim" term. Under his leadership, FIU's North Miami Campus (which was officially renamed the Bay Vista Campus in 1980, the North Miami Campus in 1987, the North Campus in 1994, and the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 in 2000) - located on the former Interama site on Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...

 - was opened in 1977. State Senator Jack Gordon was instrumental in securing funding for the development of the campus. President Crosby emphasized the university's international character, prompting the launching of new programs with an international focus and the recruitment of faculty from the Caribbean and Latin America. President Crosby's resignation in January 1979 triggered the search for a "permanent" president.

Gregory Baker Wolfe

Gregory Baker Wolfe

Gregory Baker Wolfe is a former United States diplomat during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and later President of two urban institutions of higher education, Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and Florida International University in Miami, Florida...

, a former United States diplomat and then-president of Portland State University

Portland State University

Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...

 became FIU's third president, from 1979 to 1986. After stepping down as president, Wolfe taught in the university's International Relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

 department. The student union

Student activity center

A student activity center is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center...

 on the Biscayne Bay Campus is named in his honor.

Maidique: 1986 to 2009

Cuban born Modesto A. Maidique assumed the presidency at FIU in 1986, becoming the fourth in the university's history. Maidique graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), before joining the private sector. He held academic appointments from MIT, Harvard and Stanford Universities, and has been named to several US Presidential boards and committees.

Under his leadership, FIU heralded in an era of unprecedented growth and prestige with all facets of university undergoing major transformations. Physically, the university tripled in size and its enrollment grew to nearly 40,000. During his 23 years as president, the school established the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the FIU College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

, the FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 and the Robert Stempel School of Public Health. Also during his tenure, endowment grew from less than $2 million to over $100 million.

During Maidique’s tenure, the university added 22 new doctoral programs. Research expenditures grew from about $6 million to nearly $110 million as defined by the National Science Foundation. In 2000, FIU attained the highest ranking in the Carnegie Foundation classification system, that of “Doctoral/Research University-Extensive.” FIU’s faculty has engaged in research and holds far-reaching expertise in reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, diabetes and other diseases, and change the approaches to the delivery of health care by medical, public health, nursing and other healthcare professionals, hurricane mitigation, climate change, nano-technologies, forensic sciences, and the development of biomedical devices.

The arts also flourished while Maidique was at the helm, with the university acquiring The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum

Wolfsonian-FIU

The Wolfsonian–Florida International University or The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in the heart of the Art Deco District, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For over one decade, The Wolfsonian has been a division...

 on Miami Beach and building the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

 on its main campus. In athletics, FIU made inroads in becoming a powerhouse athletic university during Maidique's time as president and he championed the eventual establishment of a NCAA football program. Finally, the school earned membership into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest honor society.

Maidique was the second longest-serving research university president in the nation. Now President Emeritus, he currently serves as the Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Eminent Scholar Chair in Leadership and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Professor of Management at FIU.

Worlds Ahead: FIU today

On August 29, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg

Mark B. Rosenberg

Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg is the president of Florida International University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. He was first appointed as chancellor in November 2005, following the passage of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida that mandated the...

 became FIU's fifth president. FIU's student enrollment of 44,010 (Fall 2010) makes FIU one of the 15-largest universities in the United States.

Having started as a two-year upper division university serving the Miami area, FIU has grown into a traditional university serving students from all over the world. To strengthen this growth, more than $600 million have been invested in construction, with the addition of new residence halls, the on-campus FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

, recreation center, student center, and Greek Life mansions, as well as the fielding of the Division I-A Golden Panthers football

FIU Golden Panthers football

The FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...

 team in 2002. FIU has also increased its academic prestige with the founding of the FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

, FIU College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 and the FIU College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

, as well as the acquisition of the historic Wolfsonian-FIU Museum

Wolfsonian-FIU

The Wolfsonian–Florida International University or The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in the heart of the Art Deco District, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For over one decade, The Wolfsonian has been a division...

 in Miami Beach.

Florida International University also emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and sponsored research funding (grants and contracts) from external sources for the year 2007-2008 totaled $110 million. FIU has a budget of over $649 million FIU is ranked as a Research University in the High Research Activity category of the Carnegie Foundation’s prestigious classification system. FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management collaborated with China's Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Education, Central People's Government from 1949 to 1954, State Education Commission from 1985 to 1998, is headquartered in Beijing. It is the agency of the State Council which regulates all aspects of the...

 to work on preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

. FIU was the only university in the United States invited to do so.

On November 14, 2008, Maidique announced that he would be stepping down and asked FIU's Board of Trustees to begin the search of a new president. He said he would remain president until a new one was found. On April 25, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg

Mark B. Rosenberg

Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg is the president of Florida International University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. He was first appointed as chancellor in November 2005, following the passage of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida that mandated the...

 was selected to become FIU's fifth president. He signed a five-year contract with the Board of Trustees. On June 12, 2009, the FIU College of Medicine received the largest donation in the university's history. Herbert Wertheim

Herbert Wertheim

Dr. Herbert A. Wertheim is an inventor, scientist, educator, clinician, optometric physician,visual neurologist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and community leader...

 donated $20 million to the College of Medicine, to be matched by state funds to create a total donation to the College of Medicine of $40 million. As such, the College of Medicine changed its name to the "Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine".

University presidents

President	Tenure
Charles Perry Chuck Perry Charles Perry or Chuck Perry , was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami, having pushed for the university's founding from 1943 until 1965. Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried at FIU across the lake from the Ryder Business...	1965–1976
Harold Crosby Harold Crosby Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...	1976–1979
Gregory Baker Wolfe Gregory Baker Wolfe Gregory Baker Wolfe is a former United States diplomat during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and later President of two urban institutions of higher education, Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and Florida International University in Miami, Florida...	1979–1986
Modesto A. Maidique	1986–2009
Mark B. Rosenberg Mark B. Rosenberg Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg is the president of Florida International University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. He was first appointed as chancellor in November 2005, following the passage of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida that mandated the...	since 2009

Academics

FIU offers 191 academic programs, 74 baccalaureate

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 programs, 82 master's programs, 3 specialist

Specialist degree

-The Specialist degree in the Commonwealth of Independent States:The specialist degree was the only first degree in the former Soviet Union and currently is being phased out by the bakalvr's - magister's degrees....

 programs, 30 doctoral programs, and 2 professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 program in 26 colleges and schools. In addition, 97% of the faculty have terminal degrees, and 50% currently have tenure at the university with a student/teacher ratio of 27:1.

Colleges and schools

College of Architecture and the Arts School of Architecture Florida International University School of Architecture The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the... School of Art and Art History School of Music School of Theatre, Dance and Speech Communication College of Arts and Sciences Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences The Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts college at Florida International University. Founded in 1965, it is the largest of FIU's 26 schools and colleges, and offers bachelor's degrees, master degree's, doctorates, and first professional degrees... School of Environment and Society School of Integrated Life Sciences School of International and Public Affairs College of Business Administration Florida International University College of Business Administration The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965... Alvah H. Chapman Graduate School of Business R. Kirk Landon Undergraduate School of Business School of Accounting College of Education Florida International University College of Education The College of Education at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965... College of Engineering and Computing Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965... School of Computing and Information Sciences Honors College Florida International University Honors College The Florida International University Honors College is an academic college located on-campus at Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Honors program opened in 1990 and the Honors College in 1997... College of Law Florida International University College of Law The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States... Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine College of Nursing and Health Sciences Florida International University College of Nursing and Health Sciences The College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1982. The Interim Dean of the college is Dr... School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Florida International University School of Hospitality & Tourism Management The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University, located at the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges. The University was chartered in 1965 and opened in 1972.Each year, over 1,000... School of Journalism and Mass Communication Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work Florida International University Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work The Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges, composed of the Robert Stempel School of Public health and the School of Social Work. The dean of the... School of Social Work University College

Enrollment and admissions

Ethnic enrollment, 2009	Percentage	Total number
Asian Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...	4%	1,423
Black (non-Hispanic)	12%	4,910
Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...  (of any race)	59%	24,093
Native American	<1%	86
White (non-Hispanic) White American White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...	17%	6,299
International International student According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national... , other	8%	3,644
Total	100%	40,455

Enrollment for Fall 2010 consisted of 44,010 students, 32,901 undergraduates

Undergraduate education

Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...

 and 11,109 graduate students

Graduate school

A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...

, including students enrolled in professional programs. Women accounted for 56% of student enrollment and minorities made up 75% of total enrollment. Enrollment included students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 119 countries. The most popular College by enrollment is the College of Arts and Sciences

Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences

The Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts college at Florida International University. Founded in 1965, it is the largest of FIU's 26 schools and colleges, and offers bachelor's degrees, master degree's, doctorates, and first professional degrees...

. The freshman retention rate for 2009 was 83%. The fall 2010 incoming freshman class had an average 3.69 GPA and 1140 SAT score.

In 2008, 7% of FIU students were international students. Of those, the most popular countries of origin were: China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 (20%), India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 (13%), Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 (10%), Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 (6%), Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 (5%), and Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

 (4%).

Students from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 make up the largest states for out-of-state students. Floridians make up 90% of the student population. Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

, Broward

Broward County, Florida

-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

, Palm Beach

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...

, Hillsborough

Hillsborough County, Florida

As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...

, and Orange County

Orange County, Florida

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....

 make up the largest Florida counties for in-state students.

University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

 accounted for 87% of the student population and 94% of housing students. The Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 accounted for about 13% of the student population, mostly of lower division undergraduates and students of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Fall 2009, the average age for undergraduates was 23 and 31 for graduate students.

Undergraduate admissions

In 2010 FIU had an admission rate of 39.5% for first-time-in-college freshmen, the lowest in the State University System. As Miami's public research university, competition to enroll at FIU has heightened as more students apply each year. The preliminary Fall 2010 FIU freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

 class had an average SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 score of 1700, a 25 ACT

ACT (examination)

The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...

 score and a 3.69 high school GPA. The freshmen 2010 acceptance rate was 39%. FIU received 15,061 freshmen applications and admitted 5,949, of which 2,338 enrolled.

Graduate admissions

For Fall 2010, 13,619 students applied for graduate admissions throughout the university. Of those, 31% were accepted. The Wertheim College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

 admitted 3.8% of its applicants, and the College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 admitted 19%. Admission to the Wertheim College of Medicine is competitive, and the college has one of the highest number of applicants in the state, greater than the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

. For Fall 2010, 3,606 students applied for 43 spots.

The FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 is the most competitive in Florida, with the lowest admission rate in the state at 14% (2011). For Fall 2009, the School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 received over 1,000 applications for the first-year Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

The Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...

 program, with 60 being accepted, giving the School of Architecture a 6% admissions rate. The average high school GPA for the freshman class in the School of Architecture was 3.98, also making it one of the most selective schools at FIU.

Rankings

Other FIU Rankings
USNWR International Business	16
USNWR Law	132
USNWR Part-time Law	40
USNWR Public Affairs	57
USNWR Social Work	71

In 2011, FIU was ranked in the top 16 nationally amongst universities with the toughest grading system.

FIU is working on a new vision called "FIU in the year 2015: FIU at FIFTY" as part of their 50th anniversary "FIU at Fifty". The goal is to make FIU one of the top ten urban-serving public research universities in the country.

In 2000, FIU became the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the country's oldest and most distinguished academic honor society. FIU is one of only 78 universities nationwide to hold both designations.

US News and World Report reported that FIU students are among the least indebted college students in the nation, and recognized the university as a "best buy" in higher education.

FIU ranked among the best values in public higher education in the country, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s 2011 survey, "100 Best Values in Public Colleges." FIU is ranked among the top 100 nationally for in-state students and out-of-state students.

FIU is ranked 1st in the U.S. for granting bachelor's degrees to minorities, and 9th in granting master's degrees to minorities (among the top 100 universities), according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, (2010). FIU is also 1st in the nation in awarding science, technology, engineering, and math degrees to minorities. FIU produces over 1,500 minority graduates in those fields annually (2010).

From 2007 to 2010, FIU has ranked 1st in Florida's State University System

State University System of Florida

The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...

 in energy conservation and sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

.

College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

 is among the top 7% of elite business schools worldwide accredited by the AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" (2010) ranks the undergraduate international business program 12th best in the nation and ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 11th in the nation. FIU has been ranked in the top 10 every year since 2005. FIU is also the only university in Florida to be ranked in the top 15.

BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek

Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

 (2008) ranks the College of Business among the top 15% of graduate business schools in the U.S., 1st in South Florida, and in the top 25 among public business schools in the U.S. The Landon Undergraduate School of Business was ranked in the top 5% in the U.S., ranked 8th in the country in the area of "Operations Management", and in the top 20 for "Accounting".

América Economía

América Economía

América Economía is a Latin American magazine founded in 1986 by Chilean Elías Selman and Swedish Nils Strandberg.The 1980s was considered the lost decade in Latin America but Selman and Strandberg decided to take risk and create the first Latin American business magazine.Since 1986 AméricaEconomía...

 ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 22nd in the nation.

The Financial Times (2008) ranks the Executive MBA in the top 85 MBA programs in the world, and in the top 35 among U.S. Executive MBAs.

Hispanic Business

Hispanic Business

Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...

 (since 1998) and Hispanic Trends (since 2003) have placed the College of Business among the top 25 business schools for Hispanics. In 2008, it was ranked #8.

Fortune Small Business recognized the college as among the best in the United States for entrepreneurship in its listing of “America’s Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs,” (August, 2007), in the “Cross-Disciplinary/Cross Pollination” category.

Hispanic Trends ranks the Executive MBA program 8th in its list of the best Executive MBA programs for Hispanics.

College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 has consistently ranked 1st in the state of Florida with the state's highest bar-passing rates (2005, 2007, and 2009), and 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96% in 2007.

In 2006, 2007, and 2009, the College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 was ranked 1st in bar passing rates in Florida and in 2007, the College of Law was also ranked 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96%. In July 2008, the College of Law achieved a 90.6% passing rate, which placed it 2nd among Florida's ten law schools.
In February 2009, the College of Law achieved a 81.5% passing rate, which placed it 1st among Florida's ten law schools.

In 2010, the FIU College of Law was ranked among the Top 10 Best Value schools by The National Jurist. The Best Value rating was based on three criteria: bar passage rate, average indebtedness after graduation, and employment nine months after graduation.

FIU College of Law also ranked 3rd amongst Florida schools for the scholarly impact of its faculties, behind University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 and Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

. According to the Leiter Rankings, the College of Law has already made a scholarly impact that dramatically outpaces its academic reputation.

Other colleges and schools

The Journal of Criminal Justice ranks the Criminal Justice program 10th in the U.S. (November 2007)

The Creative Writing

Creative writing

Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...

 program is ranked among the top ten in the country by "Who Runs American Literature?".

The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is one of the nation’s top programs. The School of Hospitality Management

Hospitality management studies

Hospitality management is the academic study of the hospitality industry. A degree in Hospitality management is often conferred from either a university college dedicated to the studies of hospitality management or a business school with a department in hospitality management studies...

 is recognized by industry leaders as one of the nation's top five hospitality management programs.

Faculty of the Ph.D. program in social welfare rank 4th in the United States in their scholarly accomplishment, according to Academic Analytics. FIU faculty were the only social work faculty in Florida to rank in the Top 10. (December 2007)

Campus

Florida International University has two major campuses in Miami, the main campus, University Park and its regional campus, the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

, as well as several branch campuses and research facilities throughout South Florida, in Tianjin, China, and in Nervi

Nervi

Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...

 and Genoa, Italy.

University Park (Modesto A. Maidique Campus)

The main campus, University Park, renamed Modesto Maidique Campus in 2009, encompasses 344 acres (1.4 km²) in the Miami neighborhood of University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

, (from which the area derives its name).

University Park houses almost all of the university's colleges and schools as well as all the administrative offices and main university facilities. University Park is also home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential House, the home of FIU's president, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

, the International Hurricane Research Center, and the university's athletic facilities such as FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

, U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium is a baseball stadium located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA. It is the home venue of the FIU Panthers college baseball team of the List of NCAA Division I Baseball programs Sun Belt Conference. The facility opened on January 26,...

.

Located five blocks north of University Park, is the 38-acre (145,000 m²) Engineering Center

Engineering Center

The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida...

 which houses a part of the College of Engineering and Computing

Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing

The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

 and is the home of FIU's Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

 Nanofabrication

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 Research Facility. The Engineering Center is serviced by the CATS Shuttle, FIU's student buses, which run throughout the day on weekdays connecting the two parts of campus.

University Park history

Construction on the campus began in 1965 with the complete destruction of Tamiami Airport in 1969. At the time, very little was located around FIU, and the campus was referred to as University Park. As Miami grew west, the area came to be known as University Park after the university's campus name.

Until the early-1990s, aerial pictures of the campus clearly revealed the features of the airport that used to occupy the land until 1969. Construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 has removed all of these features, and only the University Tower remains as a memory of the university's past. University Park is a lush, heavily vegetated campus, with many lakes and nature preserves, as well as an arboretum and has over 90 buildings. As of late 2009, current construction at University Park includes the Nursing and Health Sciences Building, the School of International and Public Affairs Building, and a fifth parking garage.

On June 12, 2009, FIU's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the University Park campus to the Modesto Maidique Campus. However, the change created a large backlash from the FIU community, as many felt it unfitting to name the campus after him. A campaign by FIU students and alumni was created to revert the name change, and to keep the name University Park. A Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 group, "No to Maidique's Campus" with over 2,000 supporters has made national news, in many newspapers, TV news stations, and collegiate magazines, supporting to keep the name "University Park".

Main University Park buildings

Campus Support Complex, 1999 Carlos Finlay Elementary School Chemistry & Physics Building, 1990 College of Business Complex, 2008 College of Health Building, 1989 Deuxième Maison, 1973 Engineering Center Engineering Center The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida... Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, 1990 Everglades Hall, 2002 FIU Stadium FIU Stadium FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for... , 1995 Frost Art Museum Frost Art Museum The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida.... , 1977 (new building: 2007) Graham Center, 1974

Green Library, 1975 Health and Life Sciences I and II, 2000 Labor Center, 1994 Lakeview Hall North and South, 2006 Management and Advanced Research Center, 2002 National Hurricane Center National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th... , 1967 Nursing and Health Sciences Building, 2009 Owa Ehan, 1975 Panther Hall, 1996 Paul Cejas School of Architecture Building, 2003 Primera Casa, 1969 Rafael Diaz-Balart Law Building, 2006

Recreation Center, 2005 Ronald Reagan House, 2001 Ryder Business Building, 1992 School of International and Public Affairs Building, 2010 University Health Services Complex, 1992 University Park Apartments, 1986 University Park Towers, 2000 U.S. Century Bank Arena, 1986 Viertes Haus, 1975 Wertheim Conservatory, 1991 Wertheim Performing Arts Center, 1996 Ziff Education Building, 1995

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 in North Miami is FIU's second-largest campus. It was opened in 1977 by Harold Crosby

Harold Crosby

Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...

 and occupies about 200 acres (809,000 m²), directly on the bay and adjacent to the Oleta River State Park

Oleta River State Park

The Oleta River State Park is a Florida State Park system on Biscayne Bay in the municipal suburb of North Miami in metropolitan Miami, Florida...

, with which FIU has a research partnership. Access to these resources inspired the creation of a marine biology

Marine biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...

 program on the Biscayne Bay Campus, which has become one of the university's most recognized programs. The Biscayne Bay Campus also houses the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, one of the nation's top programs, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Aquatic Center, and the Kovens Conference Center. The Golden Panther Express, FIU's student buses, connect the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus throughout the day on weekdays.

Regional campuses

FIU also has other smaller regional campuses located throughout South Florida in both Miami-Dade County and Broward County, serving the local communities in research, continuing studies, and in culture. In Broward County, there is the FIU Pines Center in Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines, Florida

Pembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city had a population of 154,750 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in Broward County, the tenth most populous in Florida, and the 150th most populous in the United States...

, opened to satisfy the demand from Broward County residents. This center serves mostly night students in programs within the College of Business Administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

. In Miami-Dade County, there are four regional FIU facilities, the Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

 Campus, the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach (Washington Avenue and 10th St), the FIU-Florida Memorial

Florida Memorial University

Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...

 research center in Miami Gardens, and a research site in Homestead

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

.

Downtown Miami Campus

FIU has a campus on Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue is the name given to the stretch of U.S. Route 1 in Miami, Florida just south of the Miami River. North of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, US Route 1 is known as Biscayne Boulevard...

 in Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

 at 1101 Brickell Avenue dubbed "FIU Downtown on Brickell". FIU's College of Business Administration has had classes at the Macy's Building on Flagler Street and the Metropolitan Center had offices at 150 SE 2nd Ave since 2004. Starting in August 2011, FIU is expanding its Downtown campus to 1101 Brickell with the expansion of course offerings for the College of Business Administration and the School of International and Public Affairs, as well as with FIU's research center, the Metropolitan Center. Most programs in Downtown are graduate-level evening courses geared for Downtown professionals and residents. As of Spring 2011, there were approximately 500 students enrolled at the Downtown campus, with plans to grow the campus to over 2,000 students by 2021.

International campuses

FIU also has international campuses in Asia and Europe. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum has a regional facility in Nervi

Nervi

Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...

, Italy, the School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 has facilities in Genoa, Italy for FIU's upper-division and graduate Architecture students, and the Florida International University Tianjin Center

Florida International University Tianjin Center

The Florida International University Tianjin Center is a campus of Miami, Florida-based Florida International University located in Tianjin, in the People's Republic of China, from which a branch of FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates...

 in China, from which a branch of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates. The Tianjin Center was constructed as a cooperative venture with the local municipal government and was opened in the Summer of 2006. FIU has also exchanged agreements with the American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

 in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

 so that FIU students can now take a semester abroad in Dubai.

Student housing

FIU residence halls	Year built	Room capacity	Accommodations
Bay Vista Hall (Biscayne Bay Campus)	1984	300	All students
University Park Apartments	1986	584	All students (inc. graduate and married housing)
Panther Hall	1996	400	Freshmen (inc. Honors College freshmen)
University Park Towers	2000	500	All students (inc. graduate, Law and Medical housing)
Everglades Hall	2002	400	All students (primarily sophomores)
Lakeview Hall North	2006	400	All students
Lakeview Hall South	2006	425	Freshmen (inc. Honors College and Architecture freshmen)
Total	-	3,009 students	-

Florida International University's student housing facilities are managed by the Office of Housing and Residential Life and are available on both the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

. Currently, there are 3,009 beds distributed throughout 10 apartment buildings and 6 residence halls. At University Park, these are the University Park Apartments, Panther Hall, the University Park Towers, Everglades Hall, Lakeview Hall North, and Lakeview Hall South. At the Biscayne Bay Campus, housing is available in Bay Vista Hall. Together, approximately 7% of FIU's student population lives on-campus in student housing (not including Greek housing).

The Office of Housing and Residential Life also offers optional communities in the residence halls. These communities include the Architecture and Arts Community, for students majoring in Architecture or art-related majors, Honors Place for Honors College students, F.Y.R.S.T. (First Year Residents Succeeding Together) for all freshmen in any major, F.Y.R.S.T. Explore, for undecided freshmen, Leader's in Residence for students interested in civic service and leadership opportunities and the Law Community for College of Law students.

As of 2011, plans are underway for two new residence halls for 1,240 students, called "Parkview Housing" to be built on the Panther Hall parking lot, north of FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

. Parkview Housing will be built in two phases in two separate buildings, each housing 620 and 600 students respectively, to be completed by Fall 2013 and Fall 2016.

Libraries

FIU has six libraries, Green Library, FIU's main library; the Glenn Hubert Library (Biscayne Bay Campus), the Wolfsonian Library, the Engineering Library, the Law Library, and the Medical Library.

Green Library

Green Library is FIU's main library, and is the largest building on-campus, and one of the largest libraries in the Southeastern United States. Originally built in the late 1960s, the Green Library was expanded by the architecture firm M. C. Harry & Associates, Inc. in the early 1990s to its current eight floors, with a capacity to expand to a total of 15 floors if expansions are necessary. This eight floor structure was built around the original three-story 1960s library, while it was still in use.

The first floor of the building has numerous offices, classrooms, auditorium spaces, a snack stop, and a Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

. The second floor has the reference section, cartography, circulation, and numerous computer and printing labs. The third and fourth floors are the home of the Medical Library, as well as a resource center for students of the Honors College, special collections section, archives, and study lounges. The fifth floor is the home of the School of Architecture Library, as well as the music and audiovisual sections. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors are strictly quiet floors, and contain the general collection floors, numerous student study lounges, and library administration offices.

Law and Engineering libraries

Other libraries at University Park include the three-story College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 Library in Diaz-Balart Hall, the Engineering Library, and the Medical Library. The Law Library opened in 2002, and has three floors, with all three holding the library's general collection. The third floor has a two-story, quiet reading room, as well as numerous study lounges. Although the Law Library is restricted to Law students, other students may use the library for research purposes. The Engineering Library is located on the second floor of the main building of the Engineering Center.

Medical Library

The FIU Medical Library opened in August 2009 at the same time as the opening of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. The Medical Library offers a rich array of resources, services, and instructional support to advance the teaching and learning, discovery, and healthcare programs of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and is currently located on the third floor of Green Library building. Future construction of buildings for the College of Medicine will include a new space for the Medical Library outside of Green Library.

Wolfsonian and Glenn Hubert libraries

The Wolfsonian Library is located at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

, on the corner of Washington Avenue and 10th Street. The collection focuses exclusively on architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

, and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 of the Western World

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 from 1885 to 1945. The library serves mostly as a research library

Research library

A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects . A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...

 with an extensive collection of primary sources. For students, prior approval from the staff is needed to enter the library. The Glenn Hubert Library, previously named the 'Biscayne Bay Library', is the main, and sole library at the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

.

Together, the entire FIU university-wide Library holdings include over 2,097,207 volumes, 52,511 current serials, 3,587,663 microform units, and 163,715 audio visual units.

International Hurricane Research Center

The International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) is the nation’s only university-based research facility dedicated to mitigating the damage tropical storms inflict on people, the economy, and the environment. The IHRC is home to four institutes: the Laboratory for Coastal Research; the Laboratory for Social Science Research; the Laboratory for Insurance, Financial & Economic Research; and the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, as well as the FIU Wall of Wind. This first-of-its-kind testing system consists of a series of large industrial fans powered by race car engines. It produces a wind field equivalent to a Category Four hurricane. Not to be confused with the National Hurricane Center

National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...

 (also located at University Park), the IHRC is located on the western side of the campus.

Construction and expansion

In the early 2000s, emphasis at FIU was placed on growth in degree programs and student enrollment. Since 2005 however, student enrollment has been capped and emphasis is now being placed on improving the quality of the existing academic programs. With the addition of the College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

, the demand for facilities and classroom space has greatly increased. Future projects and/or buildings under construction include:

Construction: 2009-2010

• FIU Stadium Field House - completed in July 2009
• College of Nursing and Health Sciences Building - completed in December 2009
• School of International and Public Affairs Building - broke ground in December 2008, to be finished by late 2010, designed by Arquitectonica
  Arquitectonica
  Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and urban planning corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, with offices in ten other cities throughout the world...
  
  
• PG5 Market Station- completed in August 2010- includes a new retail/restaurant area with fast food outlets
• Renovations of the Graham Center- completed in August 2010, will include: expanded food, drink and video game outlets, an expanded outdoor seating area, expanded bookstore café, and a renovated bookstore with a larger Panthers merchandise area

Construction: 2011-onward

• Wells Fargo Bank - Located in Gold Garage. Opened July 18th 2011.
• Ambulatory Care Center (Stempel Complex) - broke ground in July 2009, to be completed by 2011
• Expansion of U.S. Century Bank Arena- plans underway for a 2011 construction
• Expansion to FIU Stadium
  FIU Stadium
  FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...
  
   - Expansion to capacitate 45,000 fans to be done in four separate phases (Phase I and II have been completed, Phase III and IV are projected to be completed from around 2011 to 2013)
• Graduate Housing- 400-bed residence hall was to have begun Summer 2011 but postponed indefinitely.
• Alumni Center- funding plans underway

Campus transportation

Miami-Dade Transit

Miami-Dade Transit

Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th-largest transit system in the United States....

 serves University Park with Metrobus lines 8, 11, 24, and 71. Metrobus lines 75 and 135 serve the Biscayne Bay Campus. Bus lines 8, 11 and the 24 directly connect FIU with Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

.

Two distinct FIU-operated bus lines are available. The CATS Shuttle runs between University Park and the Engineering Center, and the Golden Panther Express, from University Park to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

The CATS Shuttle connects University Park from the Graham Center bus stop and the Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, to the Engineering Center

Engineering Center

The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida...

 on Flagler Street and 107th Avenue. The CATS Shuttle is free and runs roughly every 30 minutes between 7am to 10pm Monday through Friday. The Golden Panther Express connects the Biscayne Bay Campus to University Park. It runs from 7am to 11pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to approximately 8pm on Fridays, and costs $2.50 each way. The Golden Panther Express departs from the Graham Center bus stop at the main campus, and the Academic 1 bus stop at the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Greek life

FIU has over 30 fraternities and sororities divided into four governing councils: the Interfraternity Council (IFC)

North-American Interfraternity Conference

The North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...

, the Panhellenic Council (PC)

National Panhellenic Conference

The National Panhellenic Conference , founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities.Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae...

, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

National Pan-Hellenic Council

The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...

, and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC)

National Multicultural Greek Council

The National Multicultural Greek Council is an umbrella council for ten Multicultural Greek Letter Organizations established in 1998. The purpose of NMGC is to provide a forum that allows for the free exchange of ideas, programs, and services between its constituent fraternities and sororities;...

. The Order of Omega

Order of Omega

The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group in se...

, a Greek honor society, has had a chapter at the university since 1991 and represents the academic top 3% of FIU Greeks.

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) comprises 13 fraternities. The Panhellenic Council (PC) is made up of 7 sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) comprises 8 historically black organizations, (4 fraternities and 4 sororities). The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) consists of 7 cultural organizations for Latinos, Asians, and South Asians, (4 fraternities and 3 sororities).

Interfraternity Council	Panhellenic Council	National Pan-Hellenic Council	Multicultural Greek Council
AEΠ Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...	ΑΟΠ Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...	ΑKΑ Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...	∆ΦΩ Delta Phi Omega Delta Phi Omega , is the largest and fastest-growing, nationally based South Asian-interest sorority in the United States, with over 1300 sisters in thirteen chapters and twenty-seven colonies....
ΒΘΠ Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...	ΑΞΔ Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...	ΑΦΑ Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...	ΛΘA Lambda Theta Alpha Lambda Theta Alpha is a Latina sorority in the United States.The idea for Lambda Theta Alpha began in the late 1970s, when colleges and universities experienced an influx of Latino enrollment; the organization came into being at Kean University in 1975 with Lambda Theta Alpha's seventeen founding...
ΔΛΦ Delta Lambda Phi Delta Lambda Phi is a national social fraternity for gay, bisexual, and progressive men. It offers a social environment and structure similar to other Greek-model college fraternities. Delta Lambda Phi was founded on October 15, 1986 by Vernon L. Strickland III in Washington, D.C. and incorporated...	ΔΦΕ Delta Phi Epsilon (social) Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in New York City...	ΔΣΘ Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...	ΛΘΦ Lambda Theta Phi Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit social fraternity in the United States. It was founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean College in Union, New Jersey. It emphasizes Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture. In 1992 Lambda Theta Phi was accepted into the North-American Interfraternity...
KAΨ Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...	ΦΜ Phi Mu Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...	ΛΥΛ Lambda Upsilon Lambda La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity was established on February 19, 1982 in order to address the shortcomings of academic institutions in meeting and addressing the needs of Latino students in higher education...
ΛΧΑ Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...	ΦΣΣ Phi Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma , colloquially known as "Phi Sig," was the first collegiate nonsectarian fraternity, welcoming women of all faiths and backgrounds...	ΦΒΣ Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...	ΣBP
FIJI Phi Gamma Delta The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...	ΣΣΣ Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma , also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women’s sorority with membership of more than 100,000 members. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and hosts chapters on more than 110 college campuses and 89 alumnae chapters in communities all...	ΣΓΡ Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...	ΣΛΒ Sigma Lambda Beta Sigma Lambda Beta is the largest Latino-based social fraternity established on cultural understanding and wisdom. Founded on April 4, 1986 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, the organization is committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, advance...
ΦΣK Phi Sigma Kappa -Phi Sigma Kappa's Creed and Cardinal Principles:The 1934 Convention in Ann Arbor brought more changes for the fraternity. Brother Stewart W. Herman of Gettysburg wrote and presented the Creed, and Brother Ralph Watts of Massachusetts drafted and presented the Cardinal Principles.-World War II:The...	ΣΚ Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...	ΖΦΒ Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...	ΣΛΓ Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Lambda Gamma ' is a historically Latina-based national sorority with multicultural membership founded on April 9, 1990, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.-History:...
ΠΚΑ Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...		ΙΦΘ
ΠΚΦ Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
ΣΑΜ Sigma Alpha Mu Sigma Alpha Mu , also known as "Sammy", is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Originally only for Jewish men, Sigma Alpha Mu remained so until 1953, when members from all backgrounds were accepted. Originally headquartered in New York, Sigma Alpha Mu has...
ΣΦΕ Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
ΣX Sigma Chi Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
ΘX Theta Chi Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
ΤΚΕ Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

Student media

Student Media is the umbrella organization for The Beacon, the student-run newspaper; FIUSM.com, the student-run news and media website; and Radiate FM, the student-run radio station. Each organization's directors are selected by the Student Media board on a yearly basis.

The Beacon is the FIU student newspaper

Student newspaper

A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....

 since 1965. The Beacon is published thrice weekly in a compact format

Compact (newspaper)

A compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term is used also for this size came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier...

 during the Fall and Spring semesters (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and once a week on Wednesday during the Summer. It is split into five unique sections, News, reporting a mix of university, local and national events, At the Bay for news on the Biscayne Bay Campus, Sports, Opinion and Life! The Beacon is available free campus-wide in the residence halls, the Graham Center and all campus buildings.

FIUSM.com is the FIU student-run media website since 2008. FIUSM.com publishes content generated by the Student Media team, including text, audio, and video.

Radiate FM

WRGP

WRGP Radiate FM is the student run radio station of Florida International University in Miami, FL. WRGP broadcasts on 88.1 MHz from a transmitter site in rural Miami-Dade County at 17107 SW 248 St and rebroadcasts in the Miami metropolitan area on translator stations W237CP, 95.3 MHz in Miami...

 is FIU's student-run radio station since 1984. It broadcasts on 95.3 MHz at the University Park Campus and on 96.9 MHz at the Biscayne Bay Campus. The signal originates in Homestead

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

 on 88.1 MHz and a broadcast translator rebroadcasts Radiate FM's signal to the University Park Campus and later again translated to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Arts and culture

FIU has two museums, the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

 and the historic Wolfsonian-FIU Museum. The Frost Art Museum is located on campus and was opened in 1977 as The Art Museum at Florida International University as a student gallery. Today, the Frost Art Museum features collections of both Latin American and 20th century American art. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum is located in Miami Beach and promotes the collection, preservation and understanding of decorative art and design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

 from the period from 1885 to 1945. FIU also has the country's largest university sculpture collection, named the Martin Z. Margulies Family Collection, with over 80 such sculptures around campus. Many different art structures, statues, paintings and mosaics can be seen throughout campus in gardens, buildings, walkways, and on walls.

The School of Theatre and Dance produces a wide variety of live student performances, and the School of Music presents an annual fall series of concerts that showcase talent in a variety of genres. The festival features FIU musicians as well as distinguished visiting performers. Many plays, musicals, concerts, operas, and dance shows are produced each year, through the School of Theatre, Dance, & Speech Communication at FIU's Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

FIU annually hosts the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

 through the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. The festival is one of the major culinary events in the nation and an event that showcases the talents of the world's most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.

Student Government Association

The Student Government Association presides over and funds the over 300 student clubs and organizations and honor societies at the university and has an operating budget of over $11 million. The Student Government Association is split into three branches, with the Executive, a Legislative Student Senate, and Judicial Supreme Court. Due to the unique nature of a multi-campus university, the President of Modesto Maidique Campus (University Park) serves as the Student Representative on the University's Board of Trustees, the current President and Trustee is Patrick O'Keefe, while the current president for the Biscayne Bay Campus is Denise Halpin who also serves as a member of the Foundation Board.

The Student Government contains five separate governing councils- the Student Programming Council, the Council for Student Organizations, which represents the over 300 student clubs and organizations, the Homecoming Council, Black Student Union, and Panther Power, the student spirit group. The Panther Power group can be seen in all Golden Panthers athletic events along with the Golden Panthers Band, the Golden Dazzlers dance team and the Golden Panthers cheerleaders. In 2004, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's Campus Invasion Tour

MtvU

mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...

 was held at FIU, bringing numerous bands such as Hoobastank

Hoobastank

Hoobastank is an American rock band, best known for their 2004 hit "The Reason" and other hits "Crawling in the Dark" and "Running Away". They formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They...

 to FIU.

Order of the Torch

The Order of the Torch is a semi-secret honorary leadership society akin to other secret societies in the state such as Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key is a student honor and service society at the University of Florida. It is often written and referred to by the initialism "FBK."This organization was started at the University of Florida in 1923 under the presidency of Albert Murphree...

 at the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, and the Iron Arrow Honor Society

Iron Arrow Honor Society

The Iron Arrow Honor Society is a highly selective secret society and honor society at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for students, faculty, staff and alumni...

 at the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

. The organization is rumored to have been founded in 2003 as a way of organizing student leadership to restructure student life to mirror that of a traditional university. Members now include students, faculty, staff and community members, including FIU alumni Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez

Carlos Alvarez (mayor)

Carlos Alvarez is a Cuban American politician, and the former mayor of Miami-Dade County. He was first elected mayor in 2004, and re-elected in 2008. His mayoralty ended in March 2011 after a recall election...

 (class of 1974). Top leadership in Student Government, Homecoming, and the most elite campus fraternal organizations, rank among its members.

Spirit traditions

FIU has many traditions from student spirit groups, alumni association events and student spirit events. Panther Rage, one of FIU's largest student spirit groups are seen at all the athletics events.

FIU also holds many Golden Panther spirit events throughout the year. Some of these include, Panther Camp held in the Summer prior to the Fall term for incoming freshmen, where students spend a weekend in a retreat center learning all the traditional Golden Panther cheers, chants, traditions meeting other incoming students. Started in 2006, Panther Camp has grown quickly in popularity from only 25 participants in 2006 to over 120 participants in 2007. In 2008, Panther Camp expanded to two camps with a combined total of 240 freshman participants. Panther Camp is expected to grow in size for Summer 2010, as the waiting list has continued to double from year to year. Freshmen who participate are more likely to get involved in Student Life than other students.

Week of Welcome, usually held the first or second week of the Fall semester holds many spirit events, such as Trail of the Torch. Trail of the Torch is another university tradition that has continued to grow annually, where a pep rally

Pep rally

Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...

 is held in the Housing Quad with music, food, giveaways and dancing. After the pep rally, the torch of knowledge is lit and blue and gold candles are distributed to the crowd for the procession around the campus, trailing the torch from the Housing Quad to the torch in front of the Primera Casa building. Rage Week and Homecoming

Homecoming

Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...

 Week are other major back-to-back spirit weeks held in the Fall semester. They include the Homecoming Parade, Greek Row parties, Homecoming football game, Blue/Gold Party, pep rallies and other Panther Rage events.

Alma Mater

Florida International University (commonly referred to as FIU) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 public

Public university

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...

 research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, with its main campus in University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

. Florida International University is classified as a top-tier Research University with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center, whose primary activities of research and writing have resulted in published reports on every level...

, and is a first-tier research university as designated by the Florida Legislature

Florida Legislature

The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...

. Founded in 1965, FIU is the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa Society

Phi Beta Kappa Society

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...

, the country's oldest academic honor society

Honor society

In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...

.

FIU offers 191 programs of study with more than 280 majors

Academic major

In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....

 in 26 colleges and schools. FIU offers many graduate programs, including architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

, business administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

, engineering

Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing

The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

, law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

, and medicine, offering 82 master's degrees, 29 doctoral degrees

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

, and 3 professional degrees. FIU is one of Florida's primary graduate research universities, and awards close to 3,000 graduate and professional degrees annually.

FIU is the 15th-largest university in the United States, the 4th-largest university in Florida, and the largest in South Florida. For Fall 2010, total enrollment was 44,010 students, including 11,109 graduate students, and 2,974 full-time faculty with over 161,000 alumni around the world. In 2007, FIU's research expenditure was $89.1 million, with an endowment of $140 million.

Since 2007, more valedictorian

Valedictorian

Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...

s from South Florida choose to attend FIU than any other university in the country. For Fall 2009, the average incoming freshmen had an average SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 score of 1126, a 26 ACT

ACT (examination)

The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...

 score and a 3.24 high school GPA.

Founding: 1943 to 1969

The story of Florida International University's founding began in 1943, when state Senator Ernest 'Cap' Graham

Ernest R. Graham (politician)

Ernest R. "Cap" Graham was a political figure in Florida, having served as a member of the Florida Senate from 1937 to 1944, when he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in 1943-44. As a senator, Graham lobbied in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. to bring...

 (father of future Florida governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham

Bob Graham

Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...

) presented the state legislature with the initial proposal for the establishment of a public university in South Florida. While his bill did not pass, Graham persisted in presenting his proposal to colleagues, advising them of Miami's need for a state university. He felt the establishment of a public university was necessary to serve the city's growing population.

In 1964, Senate Bill 711 was introduced by Florida Senator Robert M. Haverfield. It instructed the state Board of Education and the Board of Regents

Board of Regents

In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...

 (BOR), to begin planning for the development of a state university in Miami. The bill was signed into law by then-governor W. Haydon Burns

W. Haydon Burns

William Haydon Burns was the 35th Governor of Florida from 1965 to 1967. He was also Mayor of the city of Jacksonville, Florida from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...

 in June 1965, marking FIU's official founding.

FIU's founding president Charles "Chuck" Perry

Chuck Perry

Charles Perry or Chuck Perry , was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami, having pushed for the university's founding from 1943 until 1965. Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried at FIU across the lake from the Ryder Business...

 was appointed by the Board of Regents in July 1969 after a nationwide search. At 32 years old, the new president was the youngest in the history of the State University System and, at the time, the youngest university president in the country. Perry recruited three co-founders, Butler Waugh, Donald McDowell and Nick Sileo. Alvah Chapman, Jr.

Alvah Chapman, Jr.

Alvah Herman Chapman, Jr. was an American newspaper publisher who served at the helm of The Miami Herald and as chairman of the Knight Ridder newspaper division.-Biography:...

, former Miami Herald publisher and Knight Ridder

Knight Ridder

Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...

 chairman, used his civic standing and media power to assist the effort. In the 1980s, Chapman became chair of the FIU Foundation Board of Trustees.

The founders located the campus on the site of the original Tamiami Airport

Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport

Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport is a public airport located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, 13 miles southwest of Downtown Miami....

 on the Tamiami Trail

Tamiami Trail

The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....

 (U.S. Route 41

U.S. Route 41

U.S. Route 41 is a north–south United States Highway that runs from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was U.S...

) between Southwest 107th and 117th Avenues, just east of where the West Dade Expressway (now the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike

Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike

Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the West Dade Expressway is a north–south free-flow toll road southern extension of the tolled Florida's Turnpike...

) was being planned. The abandoned airport’s air traffic control tower became FIU’s first building. It originally had no telephones, no drinking water, and no furniture. Perry decided that the tower should never be destroyed, and it remains on campus, where it is now known variously as the "Ivory Tower," the "Tower Building," or the "Public Safety Tower," and is the former location of the FIU Police Department.

Opening of the doors: 1969 to 1975

In September 1972, 5,667 students entered the new state university, the largest opening day enrollment at the time. Previously, Miami had been the largest city in the country lacking a public baccalaureate-granting institution. Eighty percent of the student body had just graduated from Dade County Junior College (now Miami-Dade College). A typical student entering FIU was 25 years old and attending school full-time while holding down a full-time job. Forty-three percent were married. Negotiations with the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

 and Dade County Junior College led FIU to open as an upper-division only school. It would be 9 years before lower-division classes were added.

The first commencement, held in June 1973, took place in the reading room of the ground floor of Primera Casa - the only place large enough on campus for the ceremony. More than 1,500 family members and friends watched FIU's first class of 191 graduates receive their diplomas.

By late 1975, after seven years at the helm, Charles Perry

Chuck Perry

Charles Perry or Chuck Perry , was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami, having pushed for the university's founding from 1943 until 1965. Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried at FIU across the lake from the Ryder Business...

 felt he had accomplished his goal and left the University to become president and publisher of the Sunday newspaper magazine Family Weekly (now USA Weekend

USA Weekend

USA Weekend is a national publication distributed through more than 800+ newspapers in the United States. It reaches 47 million readers in 22.6 million households every weekend. Awarded for its journalism and design, USA WEEKEND focuses on social issues, entertainment, health, food and travel....

), one of the country's largest magazines. When he left, there were more than 10,000 students attending classes and a campus with five major buildings and a sixth being planned.

Crosby and Wolfe: 1976 to 1986

Harold Crosby

Harold Crosby

Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...

, the University's second president and the founding president of the University of West Florida

University of West Florida

The University of West Florida, also known as West Florida and UWF, is a mid-sized public university located in Pensacola, Florida, United States. UWF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. The University of West Florida is a Research University, which specializes in...

 in Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

, agreed in 1976 to serve a three-year "interim" term. Under his leadership, FIU's North Miami Campus (which was officially renamed the Bay Vista Campus in 1980, the North Miami Campus in 1987, the North Campus in 1994, and the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 in 2000) - located on the former Interama site on Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...

 - was opened in 1977. State Senator Jack Gordon was instrumental in securing funding for the development of the campus. President Crosby emphasized the university's international character, prompting the launching of new programs with an international focus and the recruitment of faculty from the Caribbean and Latin America. President Crosby's resignation in January 1979 triggered the search for a "permanent" president.

Gregory Baker Wolfe

Gregory Baker Wolfe

Gregory Baker Wolfe is a former United States diplomat during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and later President of two urban institutions of higher education, Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and Florida International University in Miami, Florida...

, a former United States diplomat and then-president of Portland State University

Portland State University

Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...

 became FIU's third president, from 1979 to 1986. After stepping down as president, Wolfe taught in the university's International Relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

 department. The student union

Student activity center

A student activity center is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center...

 on the Biscayne Bay Campus is named in his honor.

Maidique: 1986 to 2009

Cuban born Modesto A. Maidique assumed the presidency at FIU in 1986, becoming the fourth in the university's history. Maidique graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), before joining the private sector. He held academic appointments from MIT, Harvard and Stanford Universities, and has been named to several US Presidential boards and committees.

Under his leadership, FIU heralded in an era of unprecedented growth and prestige with all facets of university undergoing major transformations. Physically, the university tripled in size and its enrollment grew to nearly 40,000. During his 23 years as president, the school established the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the FIU College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

, the FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 and the Robert Stempel School of Public Health. Also during his tenure, endowment grew from less than $2 million to over $100 million.

During Maidique’s tenure, the university added 22 new doctoral programs. Research expenditures grew from about $6 million to nearly $110 million as defined by the National Science Foundation. In 2000, FIU attained the highest ranking in the Carnegie Foundation classification system, that of “Doctoral/Research University-Extensive.” FIU’s faculty has engaged in research and holds far-reaching expertise in reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, diabetes and other diseases, and change the approaches to the delivery of health care by medical, public health, nursing and other healthcare professionals, hurricane mitigation, climate change, nano-technologies, forensic sciences, and the development of biomedical devices.

The arts also flourished while Maidique was at the helm, with the university acquiring The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum

Wolfsonian-FIU

The Wolfsonian–Florida International University or The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in the heart of the Art Deco District, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For over one decade, The Wolfsonian has been a division...

 on Miami Beach and building the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

 on its main campus. In athletics, FIU made inroads in becoming a powerhouse athletic university during Maidique's time as president and he championed the eventual establishment of a NCAA football program. Finally, the school earned membership into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest honor society.

Maidique was the second longest-serving research university president in the nation. Now President Emeritus, he currently serves as the Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Eminent Scholar Chair in Leadership and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Professor of Management at FIU.

Worlds Ahead: FIU today

On August 29, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg

Mark B. Rosenberg

Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg is the president of Florida International University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. He was first appointed as chancellor in November 2005, following the passage of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida that mandated the...

 became FIU's fifth president. FIU's student enrollment of 44,010 (Fall 2010) makes FIU one of the 15-largest universities in the United States.

Having started as a two-year upper division university serving the Miami area, FIU has grown into a traditional university serving students from all over the world. To strengthen this growth, more than $600 million have been invested in construction, with the addition of new residence halls, the on-campus FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

, recreation center, student center, and Greek Life mansions, as well as the fielding of the Division I-A Golden Panthers football

FIU Golden Panthers football

The FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...

 team in 2002. FIU has also increased its academic prestige with the founding of the FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

, FIU College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 and the FIU College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

, as well as the acquisition of the historic Wolfsonian-FIU Museum

Wolfsonian-FIU

The Wolfsonian–Florida International University or The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in the heart of the Art Deco District, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For over one decade, The Wolfsonian has been a division...

 in Miami Beach.

Florida International University also emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and sponsored research funding (grants and contracts) from external sources for the year 2007-2008 totaled $110 million. FIU has a budget of over $649 million FIU is ranked as a Research University in the High Research Activity category of the Carnegie Foundation’s prestigious classification system. FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management collaborated with China's Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Education, Central People's Government from 1949 to 1954, State Education Commission from 1985 to 1998, is headquartered in Beijing. It is the agency of the State Council which regulates all aspects of the...

 to work on preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

. FIU was the only university in the United States invited to do so.

On November 14, 2008, Maidique announced that he would be stepping down and asked FIU's Board of Trustees to begin the search of a new president. He said he would remain president until a new one was found. On April 25, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg

Mark B. Rosenberg

Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg is the president of Florida International University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. He was first appointed as chancellor in November 2005, following the passage of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida that mandated the...

 was selected to become FIU's fifth president. He signed a five-year contract with the Board of Trustees. On June 12, 2009, the FIU College of Medicine received the largest donation in the university's history. Herbert Wertheim

Herbert Wertheim

Dr. Herbert A. Wertheim is an inventor, scientist, educator, clinician, optometric physician,visual neurologist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and community leader...

 donated $20 million to the College of Medicine, to be matched by state funds to create a total donation to the College of Medicine of $40 million. As such, the College of Medicine changed its name to the "Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine".

University presidents

President	Tenure
Charles Perry Chuck Perry Charles Perry or Chuck Perry , was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami, having pushed for the university's founding from 1943 until 1965. Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried at FIU across the lake from the Ryder Business...	1965–1976
Harold Crosby Harold Crosby Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...	1976–1979
Gregory Baker Wolfe Gregory Baker Wolfe Gregory Baker Wolfe is a former United States diplomat during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and later President of two urban institutions of higher education, Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and Florida International University in Miami, Florida...	1979–1986
Modesto A. Maidique	1986–2009
Mark B. Rosenberg Mark B. Rosenberg Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg is the president of Florida International University and former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. He was first appointed as chancellor in November 2005, following the passage of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida that mandated the...	since 2009

Academics

FIU offers 191 academic programs, 74 baccalaureate

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 programs, 82 master's programs, 3 specialist

Specialist degree

-The Specialist degree in the Commonwealth of Independent States:The specialist degree was the only first degree in the former Soviet Union and currently is being phased out by the bakalvr's - magister's degrees....

 programs, 30 doctoral programs, and 2 professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 program in 26 colleges and schools. In addition, 97% of the faculty have terminal degrees, and 50% currently have tenure at the university with a student/teacher ratio of 27:1.

Colleges and schools

College of Architecture and the Arts School of Architecture Florida International University School of Architecture The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the... School of Art and Art History School of Music School of Theatre, Dance and Speech Communication College of Arts and Sciences Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences The Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts college at Florida International University. Founded in 1965, it is the largest of FIU's 26 schools and colleges, and offers bachelor's degrees, master degree's, doctorates, and first professional degrees... School of Environment and Society School of Integrated Life Sciences School of International and Public Affairs College of Business Administration Florida International University College of Business Administration The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965... Alvah H. Chapman Graduate School of Business R. Kirk Landon Undergraduate School of Business School of Accounting College of Education Florida International University College of Education The College of Education at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965... College of Engineering and Computing Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965... School of Computing and Information Sciences Honors College Florida International University Honors College The Florida International University Honors College is an academic college located on-campus at Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Honors program opened in 1990 and the Honors College in 1997... College of Law Florida International University College of Law The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States... Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine College of Nursing and Health Sciences Florida International University College of Nursing and Health Sciences The College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1982. The Interim Dean of the college is Dr... School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Florida International University School of Hospitality & Tourism Management The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University, located at the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges. The University was chartered in 1965 and opened in 1972.Each year, over 1,000... School of Journalism and Mass Communication Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work Florida International University Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work The Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges, composed of the Robert Stempel School of Public health and the School of Social Work. The dean of the... School of Social Work University College

Enrollment and admissions

Ethnic enrollment, 2009	Percentage	Total number
Asian Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...	4%	1,423
Black (non-Hispanic)	12%	4,910
Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...  (of any race)	59%	24,093
Native American	<1%	86
White (non-Hispanic) White American White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...	17%	6,299
International International student According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national... , other	8%	3,644
Total	100%	40,455

Enrollment for Fall 2010 consisted of 44,010 students, 32,901 undergraduates

Undergraduate education

Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...

 and 11,109 graduate students

Graduate school

A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...

, including students enrolled in professional programs. Women accounted for 56% of student enrollment and minorities made up 75% of total enrollment. Enrollment included students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 119 countries. The most popular College by enrollment is the College of Arts and Sciences

Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences

The Florida International University College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts college at Florida International University. Founded in 1965, it is the largest of FIU's 26 schools and colleges, and offers bachelor's degrees, master degree's, doctorates, and first professional degrees...

. The freshman retention rate for 2009 was 83%. The fall 2010 incoming freshman class had an average 3.69 GPA and 1140 SAT score.

In 2008, 7% of FIU students were international students. Of those, the most popular countries of origin were: China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 (20%), India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 (13%), Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 (10%), Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 (6%), Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 (5%), and Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

 (4%).

Students from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 make up the largest states for out-of-state students. Floridians make up 90% of the student population. Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

, Broward

Broward County, Florida

-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

, Palm Beach

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...

, Hillsborough

Hillsborough County, Florida

As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...

, and Orange County

Orange County, Florida

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....

 make up the largest Florida counties for in-state students.

University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

 accounted for 87% of the student population and 94% of housing students. The Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 accounted for about 13% of the student population, mostly of lower division undergraduates and students of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Fall 2009, the average age for undergraduates was 23 and 31 for graduate students.

Undergraduate admissions

In 2010 FIU had an admission rate of 39.5% for first-time-in-college freshmen, the lowest in the State University System. As Miami's public research university, competition to enroll at FIU has heightened as more students apply each year. The preliminary Fall 2010 FIU freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

 class had an average SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 score of 1700, a 25 ACT

ACT (examination)

The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...

 score and a 3.69 high school GPA. The freshmen 2010 acceptance rate was 39%. FIU received 15,061 freshmen applications and admitted 5,949, of which 2,338 enrolled.

Graduate admissions

For Fall 2010, 13,619 students applied for graduate admissions throughout the university. Of those, 31% were accepted. The Wertheim College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

 admitted 3.8% of its applicants, and the College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 admitted 19%. Admission to the Wertheim College of Medicine is competitive, and the college has one of the highest number of applicants in the state, greater than the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

. For Fall 2010, 3,606 students applied for 43 spots.

The FIU School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 is the most competitive in Florida, with the lowest admission rate in the state at 14% (2011). For Fall 2009, the School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 received over 1,000 applications for the first-year Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

The Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...

 program, with 60 being accepted, giving the School of Architecture a 6% admissions rate. The average high school GPA for the freshman class in the School of Architecture was 3.98, also making it one of the most selective schools at FIU.

Rankings

Other FIU Rankings
USNWR International Business	16
USNWR Law	132
USNWR Part-time Law	40
USNWR Public Affairs	57
USNWR Social Work	71

In 2011, FIU was ranked in the top 16 nationally amongst universities with the toughest grading system.

FIU is working on a new vision called "FIU in the year 2015: FIU at FIFTY" as part of their 50th anniversary "FIU at Fifty". The goal is to make FIU one of the top ten urban-serving public research universities in the country.

In 2000, FIU became the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the country's oldest and most distinguished academic honor society. FIU is one of only 78 universities nationwide to hold both designations.

US News and World Report reported that FIU students are among the least indebted college students in the nation, and recognized the university as a "best buy" in higher education.

FIU ranked among the best values in public higher education in the country, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s 2011 survey, "100 Best Values in Public Colleges." FIU is ranked among the top 100 nationally for in-state students and out-of-state students.

FIU is ranked 1st in the U.S. for granting bachelor's degrees to minorities, and 9th in granting master's degrees to minorities (among the top 100 universities), according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, (2010). FIU is also 1st in the nation in awarding science, technology, engineering, and math degrees to minorities. FIU produces over 1,500 minority graduates in those fields annually (2010).

From 2007 to 2010, FIU has ranked 1st in Florida's State University System

State University System of Florida

The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...

 in energy conservation and sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

.

College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

 is among the top 7% of elite business schools worldwide accredited by the AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" (2010) ranks the undergraduate international business program 12th best in the nation and ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 11th in the nation. FIU has been ranked in the top 10 every year since 2005. FIU is also the only university in Florida to be ranked in the top 15.

BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek

Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

 (2008) ranks the College of Business among the top 15% of graduate business schools in the U.S., 1st in South Florida, and in the top 25 among public business schools in the U.S. The Landon Undergraduate School of Business was ranked in the top 5% in the U.S., ranked 8th in the country in the area of "Operations Management", and in the top 20 for "Accounting".

América Economía

América Economía

América Economía is a Latin American magazine founded in 1986 by Chilean Elías Selman and Swedish Nils Strandberg.The 1980s was considered the lost decade in Latin America but Selman and Strandberg decided to take risk and create the first Latin American business magazine.Since 1986 AméricaEconomía...

 ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 22nd in the nation.

The Financial Times (2008) ranks the Executive MBA in the top 85 MBA programs in the world, and in the top 35 among U.S. Executive MBAs.

Hispanic Business

Hispanic Business

Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...

 (since 1998) and Hispanic Trends (since 2003) have placed the College of Business among the top 25 business schools for Hispanics. In 2008, it was ranked #8.

Fortune Small Business recognized the college as among the best in the United States for entrepreneurship in its listing of “America’s Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs,” (August, 2007), in the “Cross-Disciplinary/Cross Pollination” category.

Hispanic Trends ranks the Executive MBA program 8th in its list of the best Executive MBA programs for Hispanics.

College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 has consistently ranked 1st in the state of Florida with the state's highest bar-passing rates (2005, 2007, and 2009), and 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96% in 2007.

In 2006, 2007, and 2009, the College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 was ranked 1st in bar passing rates in Florida and in 2007, the College of Law was also ranked 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96%. In July 2008, the College of Law achieved a 90.6% passing rate, which placed it 2nd among Florida's ten law schools.
In February 2009, the College of Law achieved a 81.5% passing rate, which placed it 1st among Florida's ten law schools.

In 2010, the FIU College of Law was ranked among the Top 10 Best Value schools by The National Jurist. The Best Value rating was based on three criteria: bar passage rate, average indebtedness after graduation, and employment nine months after graduation.

FIU College of Law also ranked 3rd amongst Florida schools for the scholarly impact of its faculties, behind University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 and Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

. According to the Leiter Rankings, the College of Law has already made a scholarly impact that dramatically outpaces its academic reputation.

Other colleges and schools

The Journal of Criminal Justice ranks the Criminal Justice program 10th in the U.S. (November 2007)

The Creative Writing

Creative writing

Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...

 program is ranked among the top ten in the country by "Who Runs American Literature?".

The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is one of the nation’s top programs. The School of Hospitality Management

Hospitality management studies

Hospitality management is the academic study of the hospitality industry. A degree in Hospitality management is often conferred from either a university college dedicated to the studies of hospitality management or a business school with a department in hospitality management studies...

 is recognized by industry leaders as one of the nation's top five hospitality management programs.

Faculty of the Ph.D. program in social welfare rank 4th in the United States in their scholarly accomplishment, according to Academic Analytics. FIU faculty were the only social work faculty in Florida to rank in the Top 10. (December 2007)

Campus

Florida International University has two major campuses in Miami, the main campus, University Park and its regional campus, the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

, as well as several branch campuses and research facilities throughout South Florida, in Tianjin, China, and in Nervi

Nervi

Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...

 and Genoa, Italy.

University Park (Modesto A. Maidique Campus)

The main campus, University Park, renamed Modesto Maidique Campus in 2009, encompasses 344 acres (1.4 km²) in the Miami neighborhood of University Park

University Park, Florida

According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

, (from which the area derives its name).

University Park houses almost all of the university's colleges and schools as well as all the administrative offices and main university facilities. University Park is also home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential House, the home of FIU's president, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

, the International Hurricane Research Center, and the university's athletic facilities such as FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

, U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium is a baseball stadium located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA. It is the home venue of the FIU Panthers college baseball team of the List of NCAA Division I Baseball programs Sun Belt Conference. The facility opened on January 26,...

.

Located five blocks north of University Park, is the 38-acre (145,000 m²) Engineering Center

Engineering Center

The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida...

 which houses a part of the College of Engineering and Computing

Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing

The College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

 and is the home of FIU's Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

 Nanofabrication

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 Research Facility. The Engineering Center is serviced by the CATS Shuttle, FIU's student buses, which run throughout the day on weekdays connecting the two parts of campus.

University Park history

Construction on the campus began in 1965 with the complete destruction of Tamiami Airport in 1969. At the time, very little was located around FIU, and the campus was referred to as University Park. As Miami grew west, the area came to be known as University Park after the university's campus name.

Until the early-1990s, aerial pictures of the campus clearly revealed the features of the airport that used to occupy the land until 1969. Construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 has removed all of these features, and only the University Tower remains as a memory of the university's past. University Park is a lush, heavily vegetated campus, with many lakes and nature preserves, as well as an arboretum and has over 90 buildings. As of late 2009, current construction at University Park includes the Nursing and Health Sciences Building, the School of International and Public Affairs Building, and a fifth parking garage.

On June 12, 2009, FIU's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the University Park campus to the Modesto Maidique Campus. However, the change created a large backlash from the FIU community, as many felt it unfitting to name the campus after him. A campaign by FIU students and alumni was created to revert the name change, and to keep the name University Park. A Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 group, "No to Maidique's Campus" with over 2,000 supporters has made national news, in many newspapers, TV news stations, and collegiate magazines, supporting to keep the name "University Park".

Main University Park buildings

Campus Support Complex, 1999 Carlos Finlay Elementary School Chemistry & Physics Building, 1990 College of Business Complex, 2008 College of Health Building, 1989 Deuxième Maison, 1973 Engineering Center Engineering Center The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida... Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, 1990 Everglades Hall, 2002 FIU Stadium FIU Stadium FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for... , 1995 Frost Art Museum Frost Art Museum The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida.... , 1977 (new building: 2007) Graham Center, 1974

Green Library, 1975 Health and Life Sciences I and II, 2000 Labor Center, 1994 Lakeview Hall North and South, 2006 Management and Advanced Research Center, 2002 National Hurricane Center National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th... , 1967 Nursing and Health Sciences Building, 2009 Owa Ehan, 1975 Panther Hall, 1996 Paul Cejas School of Architecture Building, 2003 Primera Casa, 1969 Rafael Diaz-Balart Law Building, 2006

Recreation Center, 2005 Ronald Reagan House, 2001 Ryder Business Building, 1992 School of International and Public Affairs Building, 2010 University Health Services Complex, 1992 University Park Apartments, 1986 University Park Towers, 2000 U.S. Century Bank Arena, 1986 Viertes Haus, 1975 Wertheim Conservatory, 1991 Wertheim Performing Arts Center, 1996 Ziff Education Building, 1995

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

 in North Miami is FIU's second-largest campus. It was opened in 1977 by Harold Crosby

Harold Crosby

Harold B. Crosby was the founding president of the University of West Florida and the second president of Florida International University. He received his Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, and his Law Degree from the University of Florida.-External links:***...

 and occupies about 200 acres (809,000 m²), directly on the bay and adjacent to the Oleta River State Park

Oleta River State Park

The Oleta River State Park is a Florida State Park system on Biscayne Bay in the municipal suburb of North Miami in metropolitan Miami, Florida...

, with which FIU has a research partnership. Access to these resources inspired the creation of a marine biology

Marine biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...

 program on the Biscayne Bay Campus, which has become one of the university's most recognized programs. The Biscayne Bay Campus also houses the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, one of the nation's top programs, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Aquatic Center, and the Kovens Conference Center. The Golden Panther Express, FIU's student buses, connect the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus throughout the day on weekdays.

Regional campuses

FIU also has other smaller regional campuses located throughout South Florida in both Miami-Dade County and Broward County, serving the local communities in research, continuing studies, and in culture. In Broward County, there is the FIU Pines Center in Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines, Florida

Pembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city had a population of 154,750 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in Broward County, the tenth most populous in Florida, and the 150th most populous in the United States...

, opened to satisfy the demand from Broward County residents. This center serves mostly night students in programs within the College of Business Administration

Florida International University College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965...

. In Miami-Dade County, there are four regional FIU facilities, the Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

 Campus, the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach (Washington Avenue and 10th St), the FIU-Florida Memorial

Florida Memorial University

Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...

 research center in Miami Gardens, and a research site in Homestead

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

.

Downtown Miami Campus

FIU has a campus on Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue is the name given to the stretch of U.S. Route 1 in Miami, Florida just south of the Miami River. North of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, US Route 1 is known as Biscayne Boulevard...

 in Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

 at 1101 Brickell Avenue dubbed "FIU Downtown on Brickell". FIU's College of Business Administration has had classes at the Macy's Building on Flagler Street and the Metropolitan Center had offices at 150 SE 2nd Ave since 2004. Starting in August 2011, FIU is expanding its Downtown campus to 1101 Brickell with the expansion of course offerings for the College of Business Administration and the School of International and Public Affairs, as well as with FIU's research center, the Metropolitan Center. Most programs in Downtown are graduate-level evening courses geared for Downtown professionals and residents. As of Spring 2011, there were approximately 500 students enrolled at the Downtown campus, with plans to grow the campus to over 2,000 students by 2021.

International campuses

FIU also has international campuses in Asia and Europe. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum has a regional facility in Nervi

Nervi

Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...

, Italy, the School of Architecture

Florida International University School of Architecture

The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the...

 has facilities in Genoa, Italy for FIU's upper-division and graduate Architecture students, and the Florida International University Tianjin Center

Florida International University Tianjin Center

The Florida International University Tianjin Center is a campus of Miami, Florida-based Florida International University located in Tianjin, in the People's Republic of China, from which a branch of FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates...

 in China, from which a branch of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates. The Tianjin Center was constructed as a cooperative venture with the local municipal government and was opened in the Summer of 2006. FIU has also exchanged agreements with the American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

 in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

 so that FIU students can now take a semester abroad in Dubai.

Student housing

FIU residence halls	Year built	Room capacity	Accommodations
Bay Vista Hall (Biscayne Bay Campus)	1984	300	All students
University Park Apartments	1986	584	All students (inc. graduate and married housing)
Panther Hall	1996	400	Freshmen (inc. Honors College freshmen)
University Park Towers	2000	500	All students (inc. graduate, Law and Medical housing)
Everglades Hall	2002	400	All students (primarily sophomores)
Lakeview Hall North	2006	400	All students
Lakeview Hall South	2006	425	Freshmen (inc. Honors College and Architecture freshmen)
Total	-	3,009 students	-

Florida International University's student housing facilities are managed by the Office of Housing and Residential Life and are available on both the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

. Currently, there are 3,009 beds distributed throughout 10 apartment buildings and 6 residence halls. At University Park, these are the University Park Apartments, Panther Hall, the University Park Towers, Everglades Hall, Lakeview Hall North, and Lakeview Hall South. At the Biscayne Bay Campus, housing is available in Bay Vista Hall. Together, approximately 7% of FIU's student population lives on-campus in student housing (not including Greek housing).

The Office of Housing and Residential Life also offers optional communities in the residence halls. These communities include the Architecture and Arts Community, for students majoring in Architecture or art-related majors, Honors Place for Honors College students, F.Y.R.S.T. (First Year Residents Succeeding Together) for all freshmen in any major, F.Y.R.S.T. Explore, for undecided freshmen, Leader's in Residence for students interested in civic service and leadership opportunities and the Law Community for College of Law students.

As of 2011, plans are underway for two new residence halls for 1,240 students, called "Parkview Housing" to be built on the Panther Hall parking lot, north of FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

. Parkview Housing will be built in two phases in two separate buildings, each housing 620 and 600 students respectively, to be completed by Fall 2013 and Fall 2016.

Libraries

FIU has six libraries, Green Library, FIU's main library; the Glenn Hubert Library (Biscayne Bay Campus), the Wolfsonian Library, the Engineering Library, the Law Library, and the Medical Library.

Green Library

Green Library is FIU's main library, and is the largest building on-campus, and one of the largest libraries in the Southeastern United States. Originally built in the late 1960s, the Green Library was expanded by the architecture firm M. C. Harry & Associates, Inc. in the early 1990s to its current eight floors, with a capacity to expand to a total of 15 floors if expansions are necessary. This eight floor structure was built around the original three-story 1960s library, while it was still in use.

The first floor of the building has numerous offices, classrooms, auditorium spaces, a snack stop, and a Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

. The second floor has the reference section, cartography, circulation, and numerous computer and printing labs. The third and fourth floors are the home of the Medical Library, as well as a resource center for students of the Honors College, special collections section, archives, and study lounges. The fifth floor is the home of the School of Architecture Library, as well as the music and audiovisual sections. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors are strictly quiet floors, and contain the general collection floors, numerous student study lounges, and library administration offices.

Law and Engineering libraries

Other libraries at University Park include the three-story College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States...

 Library in Diaz-Balart Hall, the Engineering Library, and the Medical Library. The Law Library opened in 2002, and has three floors, with all three holding the library's general collection. The third floor has a two-story, quiet reading room, as well as numerous study lounges. Although the Law Library is restricted to Law students, other students may use the library for research purposes. The Engineering Library is located on the second floor of the main building of the Engineering Center.

Medical Library

The FIU Medical Library opened in August 2009 at the same time as the opening of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. The Medical Library offers a rich array of resources, services, and instructional support to advance the teaching and learning, discovery, and healthcare programs of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and is currently located on the third floor of Green Library building. Future construction of buildings for the College of Medicine will include a new space for the Medical Library outside of Green Library.

Wolfsonian and Glenn Hubert libraries

The Wolfsonian Library is located at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

, on the corner of Washington Avenue and 10th Street. The collection focuses exclusively on architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

, and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 of the Western World

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 from 1885 to 1945. The library serves mostly as a research library

Research library

A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects . A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...

 with an extensive collection of primary sources. For students, prior approval from the staff is needed to enter the library. The Glenn Hubert Library, previously named the 'Biscayne Bay Library', is the main, and sole library at the Biscayne Bay Campus

Biscayne Bay Campus

The Biscayne Bay Campus is a campus of Florida International University located in North Miami, Florida. It is 40 minutes away from the Modesto Madique campus...

.

Together, the entire FIU university-wide Library holdings include over 2,097,207 volumes, 52,511 current serials, 3,587,663 microform units, and 163,715 audio visual units.

International Hurricane Research Center

The International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) is the nation’s only university-based research facility dedicated to mitigating the damage tropical storms inflict on people, the economy, and the environment. The IHRC is home to four institutes: the Laboratory for Coastal Research; the Laboratory for Social Science Research; the Laboratory for Insurance, Financial & Economic Research; and the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, as well as the FIU Wall of Wind. This first-of-its-kind testing system consists of a series of large industrial fans powered by race car engines. It produces a wind field equivalent to a Category Four hurricane. Not to be confused with the National Hurricane Center

National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...

 (also located at University Park), the IHRC is located on the western side of the campus.

Construction and expansion

In the early 2000s, emphasis at FIU was placed on growth in degree programs and student enrollment. Since 2005 however, student enrollment has been capped and emphasis is now being placed on improving the quality of the existing academic programs. With the addition of the College of Medicine

Florida International University College of Medicine

The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The Wertheim College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges...

, the demand for facilities and classroom space has greatly increased. Future projects and/or buildings under construction include:

Construction: 2009-2010

• FIU Stadium Field House - completed in July 2009
• College of Nursing and Health Sciences Building - completed in December 2009
• School of International and Public Affairs Building - broke ground in December 2008, to be finished by late 2010, designed by Arquitectonica
  Arquitectonica
  Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and urban planning corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, with offices in ten other cities throughout the world...
  
  
• PG5 Market Station- completed in August 2010- includes a new retail/restaurant area with fast food outlets
• Renovations of the Graham Center- completed in August 2010, will include: expanded food, drink and video game outlets, an expanded outdoor seating area, expanded bookstore café, and a renovated bookstore with a larger Panthers merchandise area

Construction: 2011-onward

• Wells Fargo Bank - Located in Gold Garage. Opened July 18th 2011.
• Ambulatory Care Center (Stempel Complex) - broke ground in July 2009, to be completed by 2011
• Expansion of U.S. Century Bank Arena- plans underway for a 2011 construction
• Expansion to FIU Stadium
  FIU Stadium
  FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...
  
   - Expansion to capacitate 45,000 fans to be done in four separate phases (Phase I and II have been completed, Phase III and IV are projected to be completed from around 2011 to 2013)
• Graduate Housing- 400-bed residence hall was to have begun Summer 2011 but postponed indefinitely.
• Alumni Center- funding plans underway

Campus transportation

Miami-Dade Transit

Miami-Dade Transit

Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th-largest transit system in the United States....

 serves University Park with Metrobus lines 8, 11, 24, and 71. Metrobus lines 75 and 135 serve the Biscayne Bay Campus. Bus lines 8, 11 and the 24 directly connect FIU with Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

.

Two distinct FIU-operated bus lines are available. The CATS Shuttle runs between University Park and the Engineering Center, and the Golden Panther Express, from University Park to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

The CATS Shuttle connects University Park from the Graham Center bus stop and the Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, to the Engineering Center

Engineering Center

The Engineering Center is a research and educational centerpoint of Florida International University's main campus in Miami, Florida. It is home to the College of Engineering and Computing and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in Florida...

 on Flagler Street and 107th Avenue. The CATS Shuttle is free and runs roughly every 30 minutes between 7am to 10pm Monday through Friday. The Golden Panther Express connects the Biscayne Bay Campus to University Park. It runs from 7am to 11pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to approximately 8pm on Fridays, and costs $2.50 each way. The Golden Panther Express departs from the Graham Center bus stop at the main campus, and the Academic 1 bus stop at the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Greek life

FIU has over 30 fraternities and sororities divided into four governing councils: the Interfraternity Council (IFC)

North-American Interfraternity Conference

The North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...

, the Panhellenic Council (PC)

National Panhellenic Conference

The National Panhellenic Conference , founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities.Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae...

, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

National Pan-Hellenic Council

The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...

, and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC)

National Multicultural Greek Council

The National Multicultural Greek Council is an umbrella council for ten Multicultural Greek Letter Organizations established in 1998. The purpose of NMGC is to provide a forum that allows for the free exchange of ideas, programs, and services between its constituent fraternities and sororities;...

. The Order of Omega

Order of Omega

The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group in se...

, a Greek honor society, has had a chapter at the university since 1991 and represents the academic top 3% of FIU Greeks.

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) comprises 13 fraternities. The Panhellenic Council (PC) is made up of 7 sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) comprises 8 historically black organizations, (4 fraternities and 4 sororities). The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) consists of 7 cultural organizations for Latinos, Asians, and South Asians, (4 fraternities and 3 sororities).

Interfraternity Council	Panhellenic Council	National Pan-Hellenic Council	Multicultural Greek Council
AEΠ Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...	ΑΟΠ Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...	ΑKΑ Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...	∆ΦΩ Delta Phi Omega Delta Phi Omega , is the largest and fastest-growing, nationally based South Asian-interest sorority in the United States, with over 1300 sisters in thirteen chapters and twenty-seven colonies....
ΒΘΠ Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...	ΑΞΔ Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...	ΑΦΑ Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...	ΛΘA Lambda Theta Alpha Lambda Theta Alpha is a Latina sorority in the United States.The idea for Lambda Theta Alpha began in the late 1970s, when colleges and universities experienced an influx of Latino enrollment; the organization came into being at Kean University in 1975 with Lambda Theta Alpha's seventeen founding...
ΔΛΦ Delta Lambda Phi Delta Lambda Phi is a national social fraternity for gay, bisexual, and progressive men. It offers a social environment and structure similar to other Greek-model college fraternities. Delta Lambda Phi was founded on October 15, 1986 by Vernon L. Strickland III in Washington, D.C. and incorporated...	ΔΦΕ Delta Phi Epsilon (social) Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in New York City...	ΔΣΘ Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...	ΛΘΦ Lambda Theta Phi Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit social fraternity in the United States. It was founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean College in Union, New Jersey. It emphasizes Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture. In 1992 Lambda Theta Phi was accepted into the North-American Interfraternity...
KAΨ Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...	ΦΜ Phi Mu Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...	ΛΥΛ Lambda Upsilon Lambda La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity was established on February 19, 1982 in order to address the shortcomings of academic institutions in meeting and addressing the needs of Latino students in higher education...
ΛΧΑ Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...	ΦΣΣ Phi Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma , colloquially known as "Phi Sig," was the first collegiate nonsectarian fraternity, welcoming women of all faiths and backgrounds...	ΦΒΣ Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...	ΣBP
FIJI Phi Gamma Delta The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...	ΣΣΣ Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma , also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women’s sorority with membership of more than 100,000 members. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and hosts chapters on more than 110 college campuses and 89 alumnae chapters in communities all...	ΣΓΡ Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...	ΣΛΒ Sigma Lambda Beta Sigma Lambda Beta is the largest Latino-based social fraternity established on cultural understanding and wisdom. Founded on April 4, 1986 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, the organization is committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, advance...
ΦΣK Phi Sigma Kappa -Phi Sigma Kappa's Creed and Cardinal Principles:The 1934 Convention in Ann Arbor brought more changes for the fraternity. Brother Stewart W. Herman of Gettysburg wrote and presented the Creed, and Brother Ralph Watts of Massachusetts drafted and presented the Cardinal Principles.-World War II:The...	ΣΚ Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...	ΖΦΒ Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...	ΣΛΓ Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Lambda Gamma ' is a historically Latina-based national sorority with multicultural membership founded on April 9, 1990, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.-History:...
ΠΚΑ Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...		ΙΦΘ
ΠΚΦ Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
ΣΑΜ Sigma Alpha Mu Sigma Alpha Mu , also known as "Sammy", is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Originally only for Jewish men, Sigma Alpha Mu remained so until 1953, when members from all backgrounds were accepted. Originally headquartered in New York, Sigma Alpha Mu has...
ΣΦΕ Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
ΣX Sigma Chi Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
ΘX Theta Chi Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
ΤΚΕ Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

Student media

Student Media is the umbrella organization for The Beacon, the student-run newspaper; FIUSM.com, the student-run news and media website; and Radiate FM, the student-run radio station. Each organization's directors are selected by the Student Media board on a yearly basis.

The Beacon is the FIU student newspaper

Student newspaper

A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....

 since 1965. The Beacon is published thrice weekly in a compact format

Compact (newspaper)

A compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term is used also for this size came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier...

 during the Fall and Spring semesters (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and once a week on Wednesday during the Summer. It is split into five unique sections, News, reporting a mix of university, local and national events, At the Bay for news on the Biscayne Bay Campus, Sports, Opinion and Life! The Beacon is available free campus-wide in the residence halls, the Graham Center and all campus buildings.

FIUSM.com is the FIU student-run media website since 2008. FIUSM.com publishes content generated by the Student Media team, including text, audio, and video.

Radiate FM

WRGP

WRGP Radiate FM is the student run radio station of Florida International University in Miami, FL. WRGP broadcasts on 88.1 MHz from a transmitter site in rural Miami-Dade County at 17107 SW 248 St and rebroadcasts in the Miami metropolitan area on translator stations W237CP, 95.3 MHz in Miami...

 is FIU's student-run radio station since 1984. It broadcasts on 95.3 MHz at the University Park Campus and on 96.9 MHz at the Biscayne Bay Campus. The signal originates in Homestead

Homestead, Florida

Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

 on 88.1 MHz and a broadcast translator rebroadcasts Radiate FM's signal to the University Park Campus and later again translated to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Arts and culture

FIU has two museums, the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

 and the historic Wolfsonian-FIU Museum. The Frost Art Museum is located on campus and was opened in 1977 as The Art Museum at Florida International University as a student gallery. Today, the Frost Art Museum features collections of both Latin American and 20th century American art. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum is located in Miami Beach and promotes the collection, preservation and understanding of decorative art and design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

 from the period from 1885 to 1945. FIU also has the country's largest university sculpture collection, named the Martin Z. Margulies Family Collection, with over 80 such sculptures around campus. Many different art structures, statues, paintings and mosaics can be seen throughout campus in gardens, buildings, walkways, and on walls.

The School of Theatre and Dance produces a wide variety of live student performances, and the School of Music presents an annual fall series of concerts that showcase talent in a variety of genres. The festival features FIU musicians as well as distinguished visiting performers. Many plays, musicals, concerts, operas, and dance shows are produced each year, through the School of Theatre, Dance, & Speech Communication at FIU's Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

FIU annually hosts the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

 through the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. The festival is one of the major culinary events in the nation and an event that showcases the talents of the world's most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.

Student Government Association

The Student Government Association presides over and funds the over 300 student clubs and organizations and honor societies at the university and has an operating budget of over $11 million. The Student Government Association is split into three branches, with the Executive, a Legislative Student Senate, and Judicial Supreme Court. Due to the unique nature of a multi-campus university, the President of Modesto Maidique Campus (University Park) serves as the Student Representative on the University's Board of Trustees, the current President and Trustee is Patrick O'Keefe, while the current president for the Biscayne Bay Campus is Denise Halpin who also serves as a member of the Foundation Board.

The Student Government contains five separate governing councils- the Student Programming Council, the Council for Student Organizations, which represents the over 300 student clubs and organizations, the Homecoming Council, Black Student Union, and Panther Power, the student spirit group. The Panther Power group can be seen in all Golden Panthers athletic events along with the Golden Panthers Band, the Golden Dazzlers dance team and the Golden Panthers cheerleaders. In 2004, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's Campus Invasion Tour

MtvU

mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...

 was held at FIU, bringing numerous bands such as Hoobastank

Hoobastank

Hoobastank is an American rock band, best known for their 2004 hit "The Reason" and other hits "Crawling in the Dark" and "Running Away". They formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They...

 to FIU.

Order of the Torch

The Order of the Torch is a semi-secret honorary leadership society akin to other secret societies in the state such as Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key is a student honor and service society at the University of Florida. It is often written and referred to by the initialism "FBK."This organization was started at the University of Florida in 1923 under the presidency of Albert Murphree...

 at the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, and the Iron Arrow Honor Society

Iron Arrow Honor Society

The Iron Arrow Honor Society is a highly selective secret society and honor society at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for students, faculty, staff and alumni...

 at the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

. The organization is rumored to have been founded in 2003 as a way of organizing student leadership to restructure student life to mirror that of a traditional university. Members now include students, faculty, staff and community members, including FIU alumni Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez

Carlos Alvarez (mayor)

Carlos Alvarez is a Cuban American politician, and the former mayor of Miami-Dade County. He was first elected mayor in 2004, and re-elected in 2008. His mayoralty ended in March 2011 after a recall election...

 (class of 1974). Top leadership in Student Government, Homecoming, and the most elite campus fraternal organizations, rank among its members.

Spirit traditions

FIU has many traditions from student spirit groups, alumni association events and student spirit events. Panther Rage, one of FIU's largest student spirit groups are seen at all the athletics events.

FIU also holds many Golden Panther spirit events throughout the year. Some of these include, Panther Camp held in the Summer prior to the Fall term for incoming freshmen, where students spend a weekend in a retreat center learning all the traditional Golden Panther cheers, chants, traditions meeting other incoming students. Started in 2006, Panther Camp has grown quickly in popularity from only 25 participants in 2006 to over 120 participants in 2007. In 2008, Panther Camp expanded to two camps with a combined total of 240 freshman participants. Panther Camp is expected to grow in size for Summer 2010, as the waiting list has continued to double from year to year. Freshmen who participate are more likely to get involved in Student Life than other students.

Week of Welcome, usually held the first or second week of the Fall semester holds many spirit events, such as Trail of the Torch. Trail of the Torch is another university tradition that has continued to grow annually, where a pep rally

Pep rally

Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...

 is held in the Housing Quad with music, food, giveaways and dancing. After the pep rally, the torch of knowledge is lit and blue and gold candles are distributed to the crowd for the procession around the campus, trailing the torch from the Housing Quad to the torch in front of the Primera Casa building. Rage Week and Homecoming

Homecoming

Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...

 Week are other major back-to-back spirit weeks held in the Fall semester. They include the Homecoming Parade, Greek Row parties, Homecoming football game, Blue/Gold Party, pep rallies and other Panther Rage events.

Alma Mater

Superstitions and legends

There are many other traditions at FIU that are not spirit-related. The large cube in front of Deuxième Maison is said to give good luck in exams and tests and thus is spun by hundreds of students every semester. During final exams, a line forms around the cube with people waiting to be able to spin the cube for good luck on their exams. The "Kissing Bridge" tradition in Turtle Pond in between the Ryder Business Building and Green Library. The tradition is that if you kiss someone on the bridge you will stay with them forever. The top floor of Green Library is said to be haunted; students have reported a friendly ghost that wanders the halls minutes before the library closes at night. Another superstition

Superstition

Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....

 is that if a student steps on the seal engraved in front of the Graham Center and in the WUC at the Biscayne Bay Campus, the university's student union, it is said that they will delay their graduation for many years, or never graduate at all, and thus even on crowded days, students go around the seal to avoid stepping on it.

Athletics

Florida International University has seventeen varsity sports teams, named the Golden Panthers. The Golden Panthers' athletic colors are blue and gold, and compete in the NCAA Division I as part of the Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...

 in all sports except for men's soccer (which competes in Conference USA

Conference USA

Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...

 as an affiliate member). Three main sports facilities serve as home venues for Golden Panther athletics. The Golden Panthers football team

FIU Golden Panthers football

The FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...

 plays at FIU Stadium ("The Cage"), the men and women's basketball and volleyball teams play at the U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the men's baseball team plays at University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium

University Park Stadium is a baseball stadium located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA. It is the home venue of the FIU Panthers college baseball team of the List of NCAA Division I Baseball programs Sun Belt Conference. The facility opened on January 26,...

. Other athletics venues include the Aquatic Center, Tennis Complex, softball fields, and various other recreational fields. U.S Century Bank Arena will undergo an expansion that will include more seating and a more modern entrance. Plans for the expansion are underway.

Traditional rivals of the FIU Golden Panthers include Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...

 and the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

. The Golden Panthers football team competes in the annual Shula Bowl

Shula Bowl

The Shula Bowl is an annual college football rivalry game between the Florida Atlantic University Owls and the Florida International University Golden Panthers. The game's winner receives a traveling trophy, the "Don Shula Award" for one year. The current winner is FIU, winning 41-7 on 12 November...

, a yearly football game played for the Don Shula Award against in-state rival Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...

. Due to this competition in the Shula Bowl, the rivalry between the two schools has grown, with the rivalry extending into the men's baseball and basketball teams as well.

The Golden Panthers football team

FIU Golden Panthers football

The FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...

 plays home games at FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium

FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...

 nicknamed "The Cage" and are currently coached by Mario Cristobal

Mario Cristobal

-External links:*...

. In 2005, the Golden Panthers moved to the Sun Belt Conference, making their transition from Division I-FCS to Division I-FBS complete. In their first season in the conference, the Golden Panthers began by going 5-6. FIU's athletics department has produced many professional and Olympic athletes, including current players in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

, Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

, National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

, National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 and the Women's National Basketball Association

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

. Notable alumni include Mike Lowell

Mike Lowell

Michael Averett Lowell is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball third baseman. During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees , Florida Marlins , and the Boston Red Sox...

 (Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

), Raja Bell

Raja Bell

Raja Bell is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Utah Jazz of the NBA. Bell is known for his three-point shooting and intense defense.- Biography :Bell was born in Saint Croix, in the U.S...

 (Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

), and Carlos Arroyo

Carlos Arroyo

Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez is a Puerto Rican professional basketball point guard who last played for the Boston Celtics. Arroyo is the fifth player from Puerto Rico to play in the NBA...

 (Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

).

In 2009, FIU hired NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas

Isiah Lord Thomas III , nicknamed "Zeke",is the men's basketball coach for the FIU Golden Panthers, and a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association from 1981 until 1994. He led the "Bad Boys" to the NBA...

 as head coach of the men's basketball team. In 2010, the Panthers football team finished the season #1 as Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...

 champions, and went on to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against Toledo

University of Toledo

The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...

 on December 26, 2010. The game was won 34-32 in a fourth quarter play that became known as the "Motor City Miracle."

Notable alumni

With 160,595 alumni around the world, the FIU Golden Panthers

FIU Golden Panthers

The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams of Florida International University , a public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers compete in NCAA Division I athletics, and are currently members of the Sun Belt Conference...

 constitute one of the fastest-growing university alumni groups in the state of Florida. FIU graduates more than 8,000 students a year and confers more than half of all degrees awarded by universities in Miami. Alumni services is run by the FIU Alumni Association, which sponsors numerous alumni events, galas, and ceremonies annually.

In conjunction with the Office of Alumni Relations, the Division of External Affairs publishes a quarterly news and alumni magazine, "FIU Magazine". FIU Magazine is distributed free of charge to all FIU alumni, faculty and donors.

FIU in television and entertainment

FIU's campus has been the set for many films, television shows, and music videos. One of the earliest television shows to have filmed at FIU was Miami Vice

Miami Vice

Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...

in 1985. In the episode, "The Fix", the U.S. Century Bank Arena was used as one of the scenes. The TV show Burn Notice

Burn notice

A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...

has also filmed various episodes at FIU, with scenes at the College of Business Buildings and the Diaz-Balart College of Law Building. In 2007, Chris Brown filmed the music video for his song "Kiss Kiss

Kiss Kiss (Chris Brown song)

"Kiss Kiss" is a song by Chris Brown, released as the second single from his second studio album Exclusive. The track features R&B Singer-Songwriter/rapper T-Pain and is also produced by him. Both Brown and T-Pain use Auto-Tune in the song...

" at FIU, with scenes near the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

 and around the Graham Center. Various telenovelas for Telemundo

Telemundo

Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....

 and Univision

Univision

Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...

 have filmed television episodes at FIU as well. In 2007, Univision's Pecados Ajenos

Pecados Ajenos

Pecados Ajenos is a Spanish-language telenovela produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo. This limited-run series was shot in Florida by Telemundo Studios, Miami. It is also known as A Chance to Love This telenovela was sold to 16 countries around the world.Pecados Ajenos...

was filmed in the Graham Center.

In 2009, TLC

TLC (TV channel)

TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...

's What Not to Wear filmed an episode on campus at the Management and Advanced Research Center. In October 2009, former CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

 news anchor Rick Sanchez broadcast his CNN show from the Graham Center at FIU. The new A&E show The Glades

The Glades (TV series)

The Glades is an A&E Network drama television series created by Clifton Campbell. The one-hour drama premiered on Sunday, July 11, 2010. The series stars Matt Passmore as Det...

 shot an episode at University Park, using the Frost Art Museum

Frost Art Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....

as a background and the Health and Life Sciences building as the façade for a NASA Administrative Building.

External links

• Florida International University
• Official FIU News
• Official FIU Athletics
• Official FIU Alumni