University of Miami, USA

A top-ranked private research university, UM offers 116 bachelors, 105 Masters and 63 doctoral programmes to 16,000 students  SUMMIYA YASMEEN

Established in 1925, the University of Miami (UM) is a top-ranked private research university with an aggregate enrolment of 16,000 students instructed by 3,040 faculty. In its America’s Best Colleges 2016 Rankings, the U.S. News & World Report ranks UM #51 of 277 higher education institutions nationwide, while Times Higher Education ranks it among the Top 200 in its World University Rankings 2016. Moreover, UM has established a reputation as a major research university with its sponsored research programmes receiving $309 million (Rs.2,076 crore) in 2015.

Currently, UM’s 11 schools and colleges offer 116 bachelors, 105 Masters, and 63 doctoral programmes. In particular, its Miller School of Medicine is highly-reputed and ranked among the Top 45 medical schools (U.S. News and World Report) in the US. A partnership with the neighbouring Florida International University allows students from both institutions to attend postgraduate classes at either university.

Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and 23 additional professional and educational accrediting agencies, UM boasts an endowment of $887.3 million (Rs.5,960 crore). Notable alumni include Hollywood stars Dwayne (‘The Rock’) Johnson, Sylvester Stallone and singer Gloria Estefan.

Miami. Sited in South Florida, the seaport city of Miami (pop. 5.5 million) is a major centre of finance, commerce, international trade, culture, media, entertainment, and the arts. America’s second largest financial hub after New York, Miami hosts nearly 1,400 corporations and the international headquarters of several multinationals including Walt Disney, Sony and FedEx. Downtown Miami also has the largest concentration of international banks in the US while its Civic Center is a nationally renowned hub of hospitals, research institutes, medical centres, and biotechnology industries. The city is also home to the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the US.

Miami boasts a thriving international arts community with the world-acclaimed Miami City Ballet, Miami International Film Festival, and varied music venues offering opera, classical and popular music concerts. A range of restaurants, bars and shopping centres provides a plethora of leisure and entertainment options. Moreover, the city offers miles of paths for biking, running and walking, 20-plus beaches and is the only US metropolis with two national parks.

Miami has a globally renowned tropical climate with hot summers and mild winters — temperatures range from 10-19.6 °C in winter and 29-35 °C in summer.

Campus facilities. Sited on a sprawling 239-acre campus in downtown Miami, the university’s main Coral Gables campus comprises two colleges and seven schools and offers thoroughly modern academic, residential, sports and recreational facilities.

The university’s Lake Osceola featuring a spouting fountain serves as its focal point. Other campus landmarks include the Lowe Art Museum, the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, Gusman Concert Hall, Clarke Recital Hall, and the Shalala Student Center.

The university’s other two campuses are the 72-acre Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine sited in the health district of downtown Miami, and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science campus located on an 18-acre waterfront campus on Virginia Key, Biscayne Bay.

UM’s several bibliotheques include the Otto G. Richter and other libraries in the schools of architecture, business, law, medicine, music, and marine and atmospheric science, which provide students access to 3.7 million print volumes, 99,060 current serials titles, 97,102 electronic journals, 877,437 electronic books, over 4 million microforms, and 186,784 audio, film, video, and cartographic materials.

Sports facilities too are extensive and include the A-Rod Park (baseball), BankUnited Center (basketball), New Miami stadium (football), Cobb stadium (soccer, track and field), James Knight complex (volleyball), Norma Whitten Pool, Neil Schiff Tennis Center (16 courts), Shane Watersporst Center (rowing), the Biltmore (an 18-hole championship golf course), Schwartz Center (a 30,000 sq. ft multipurpose athletics facility) and the Herbert Wellness Center comprising a large gymnasium, three basketball courts, jogging track, indoor 25-yard swimming pool, racquetball and squash courts and fitness lab.

Moreover, the university offers membership to over 280 student clubs which conduct a host of social and cultural activities the year round.

Admission. The minimum eligibility requirement for admission into UM’s undergraduate degree programmes is successful completion of Plus Two (class XII). Foreign students need to submit official results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), though UM doesn’t require foreign students to submit SAT or ACT scores. The common application form should be submitted online (http://www.commonapp.org/) together with a non-refundable $70 fee, official transcripts of secondary school exam results, school report completed by guidance counselor and letter of recommendation/teacher evaluation. The application deadline is January 1 for admission into term beginning September.

For further information, contact the University of Miami, Office of Undergraduate Admission, 1204 Dickinson Drive, Rhodes House Suite 37-L, Coral Gables, FL 33146. Ph: +1 305-284-4323; e-mail: admission@miami.edu; website: www.miami.edu.

Accommodation. UM offers undergraduate on-campus housing in five residential colleges and the University Village. All foreign students are required to live on-campus for at least two academic semesters. All residential college rooms and apartment bedrooms are air-conditioned, fully furnished and offer internet access. Off-campus housing options are also available.

Degree programmes. The university’s 11 schools and colleges offer more than 180 majors and programmes (see box).