The University of Miami was founded on April 18, 1925. The school’s founding is tied to the city’s early history.
Miami was founded in 1896 by members of the Chapman family, who had purchased much of what is now Miami-Dade County. The university was named after Henry Marshall Miami, who was a major contributor to the university’s endowment fund and served as its first president from 1926 until his death in 1930. The university has more than 400,000 alumni worldwide and is ranked among the top 20 universities for research expenditures by the National Science Foundation.
The university’s first classes were held at night at Florida Baptist Institute (now Florida Baptist College) while construction on its permanent campus was underway. The first building on campus was completed in 1926 and named Burdine Hall after George Burdine, chairman of the board of trustees of Florida Baptist College.
In addition, The University of Miami has three campuses: Coral Gables, which houses most undergraduate students; Biscayne Bay Campus, which features graduate programs as well as health science and professional education programs; and North Campus, which houses research facilities such as laboratories for marine biology and oceanography studies. The university also offers online degrees through its Center for Online Education.
Over time, UM has grown into one of the largest universities in Florida with more than 50 undergraduate majors and 70 graduate programs offered across nine colleges and schools.
