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University of Virginia (Main campus)

166th
World University Rankings 2024
=55th
US College Rankings 2022
176-200th
World Reputation Rankings 2023
400 Ray C. Hunt Drive, P.O. Box 400229, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22904-4229, United States

About University of Virginia (Main campus)

The University of Virginia is a public institution founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, who also served on the university’s original board alongside two other former US presidents (Madison and Monroe).

It’s located in Charlottesville, Virginia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and bustling tourist centre just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 2014, Charlottesville was named by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research as the ‘happiest city in America.’

The university is known for its student-run honours system, introduced in 1842 after a professor was shot and killed on campus. The honours system holds that students must not lie, cheat, or steal. Breaking any of these three rules may result in a trial before students, without any faculty present, and, if proved guilty, expulsion.

It is also renowned for its secret societies and many of the university’s 20,000-plus students are reputed to be members of societies that go by the names of ‘Seven’, ‘IMP’ and ‘Z’.

The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, dating back to 1825, is the oldest continuously debating student society in the US and continues to meet at 7.29pm every Friday in Jefferson Hall, as it always has.

When Jefferson was designing the university, he placed a library, not a chapel (as was customary), at the centre of the institution to indicate a commitment to the pursuit of knowledge. In 1815, the newly-formed Library of Congress acquired Jefferson’s personal collection of 6,487 books on philosophy, science and literature.

The library still plays a central role in the life of the university, offering five million print volumes of books, 16 million manuscripts and home to a vast digital archive that works to preserve physical works, such as the Jefferson Papers, as well as rare video from the Civil Rights Era.

The University of Virginia has produced eight NASA astronauts, eight Pulitzer Prize winners and 51 Rhodes Scholars – the most from any state-supported university and the most in America’s South. Its alumni includes polar explorer Richard Byrd, author Edgar Allen Poe, artist Georgia O’Keefe, and Tina Fey, writer, actress and TV producer.

Explore rankings data for University of Virginia (Main campus)

All ranked institutions have an overall score and 4 pillar scores. However for each pillar, only institutions ranked in the top 500 overall or the top 500 in this pillar have a publicly visible score

Compare universities on their key stats

Key statistics

  • 8.9
    No. of students per staff
    (1)
  • 11%
    Percentage of International Students
    (1)
  • 54 : 46
    Student Ratio of Females to Males
    (1)
  • 22%
    Proportion of ISR Publication
    (1)
  • 25,953
    Number of FTE Students
    (1)
  • $11,950
    On-campus Room and Board
    (2)
  • $60,667
    Salary after 10 years
    (2)
  • $51,482
    Out-of-state Tuition and Fees
    (2)
Based on data collected for the (1) 2024 World University Rankings and (2) 2022 US Rankings

Subjects taught at University of Virginia (Main campus)

  • Computer science

    • Computer Science
  • Physical sciences

    • Geology, Environmental, Earth & Marine Sciences
    • Chemistry
    • Physics & Astronomy
    • Mathematics & Statistics
  • Business & economics

    • Economics & Econometrics
    • Accounting & Finance
    • Business & Management
  • Arts & humanities

    • Art, Performing Arts & Design
    • History, Philosophy & Theology
    • Architecture
    • Languages, Literature & Linguistics
    • Archaeology
  • Engineering & technology

    • Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
    • General Engineering
    • Electrical & Electronic Engineering
    • Chemical Engineering
    • Civil Engineering
  • Social sciences

    • Sociology
    • Geography
    • Communication & Media Studies
    • Politics & International Studies (incl Development Studies)
  • Life sciences

    • Sport Science
    • Biological Sciences
  • Education

    • Education
  • Clinical, pre-clinical & health

    • Other Health
    • Medicine & Dentistry
  • Psychology

    • Psychology
  • Law

    • Law