Vanderbilt University

Founded in 1873, Vanderbilt has a long history of academic excellence, a strong tradition of community, a dedication to research, and a commitment to diversity.

Known both for excellent academic programs and an outstanding quality of student life, Vanderbilt is consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report and as an internationally recognized teaching and research university with strong partnerships among its four undergraduate schools and six graduate schools, neighboring institutions, and the community. Vanderbilt’s undergraduate international population is rising steadily, comprising 7.6% of the most recently enrolled class.

Vanderbilt students take full advantage of student life by immersing themselves in over 420 student organizations, a full range of study abroad programs, Division I athletics, and a variety of research and internship opportunities.

Academics
Vanderbilt students and faculty believe that great ideas require more than one school of thought. One of Vanderbilt’s hallmarks is an impressive repertoire of interdisciplinary major programs, including Human and Organizational Development and Medicine, Health, and Society. Vanderbilt affords students flexibility in designing their curriculum, allowing them to explore subject areas across all four undergraduate schools while making sure they delve deeply into at least one major area of study.

Vanderbilt faculty are committed to the undergraduate experience, earning Vanderbilt a top 10 ranking for Best Undergraduate Teaching Among National Universities for three consecutive years (U.S. News & World Report, 2014, 2015, and 2016). Our 8:1 student-faculty ratio gives students access to faculty members of prominence across academic disciplines. In addition to teaching, faculty work with undergraduates as academic advisors and research mentors. More than 50% of undergraduates participate in research, working alongside faculty in nearly every discipline.

Through Immersion Vanderbilt, students go beyond the classroom to integrate knowledge with experience. By pursuing their passions, students learn how to transform ideas into action, hone skills, and make a difference. Immersion experiences might involve a senior thesis, an internship, an experience abroad, a creative performance, a design project, or a research project.

Study abroad
Vanderbilt students desire to experience the world and spend time in distant countries studying abroad, participating in internships, and engaging in community service. More than 40% of the undergraduate population studies abroad in over 120 direct-credit programs in more than 35 countries on six continents. Students choose year-long, semester, or summer study abroad experiences.
 
Our global tradition
At Vanderbilt you are among a very select group of international students who represent 90 countries in our combined undergraduate and graduate student populations. Vanderbilt has long valued having an international presence on campus, enrolling students from China, Mexico, and Germany in its inaugural class.

Since then, international students have set standards and broken barriers in almost every facet of the University community. Several international students have received honors for highest achievement in their class, including a student from Taiwan who was the first woman to receive a PhD in the School of Engineering.

Today the Vanderbilt International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) office serves as an important resource for international students by providing one point of contact for information and assistance with visas, human resource questions, and other issues. In addition, a wide variety of international student organizations help make Vanderbilt a home away from home.

The Vanderbilt community
Life at Vanderbilt includes rigorous academics combined with a noticeable sense of balance and respect. We are committed to fostering inquiry, dialogue, and a greater appreciation of the racial, cultural, geographic, and political perspectives that make up the Vanderbilt mosaic.

Your first year at Vanderbilt will be a chance to experience life on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. This living/learning community, based on the Oxford-Cambridge model, consists of 10 residence halls, or “houses,” surrounding a main dining and student center. Faculty, including the Dean of The Ingram Commons and her family, live on The Ingram Commons, facilitating easy and meaningful interactions between students and professors. Frequent educational and social programming at The Ingram Commons invites students and faculty to explore current events and social issues.

Vanderbilt attracts students from across the country and around the world and sits on a 330-acre campus designated an arboretum. Our active campus life, renowned academics, and urban setting work to maintain a high retention rate, as 97% of first-year students return for sophomore year.

Vanderbilt offers students unique and meaningful opportunities within the structure of an academically rigorous institution to discover who they are, who they may become, and how they might contribute to their communities in the future.