Florida Atlantic University, a member of the Florida State University System, was established by a legislative act in 1961.

FAU has 10 academically distinguished colleges: the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the Graduate College, and the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. In addition to its original 850-acre campus in Boca Raton, FAU has sites throughout its six-county service region of southeast Florida. With an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, FAU is currently serving more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

The University has joint research and education agreements with three of the premier scientific research organizations in the world: the Scripps Research Institute, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. Active partnerships with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Research Institute—a National Cancer Institute–designated comprehensive cancer center—and the Smithsonian Marine Station enhance FAU's mission. A member of Conference USA, FAU has 19 men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams, including an NCAA Division I football team that has won two bowl games.