University of Virginia, USA

Conceptualised and promoted by President Thomas Jefferson in 1819, UVa has always been ranked in the top triumvirate of publicly funded universities in the US

Founded by former US President Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia (UVa) enjoys an excellent reputation for teaching and research with the institution consistently ranked among the top three publicly funded American universities. In the 11 years since U.S. News and World Report began ranking public universities as a separate category, UVa has always been ranked in the top triumvirate. In the latest 2008 edition of the U.S. News and World Report rankings of America’s Best Colleges, this 189-year-old university is ranked second. Moreover UVa has the largest per capita endowment of any public university in the United States — $4.4 billion (Rs.21,120 crore).

Sited in the historically important town of Charlottesville, UVa was conceptualised and established by Jefferson, the only president in American history to have founded an institution of higher learning, with the objective of “developing leaders well prepared to shape the future of the nation”. The university’s campus layout, designed by Jefferson himself, is an architectural landmark and the first varsity campus worldwide to be awarded the distinction of a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

“During the past decade, the University of Virginia has made tangible progress towards fulfilling its founder’s intention of creating a ‘bulwark of the human mind in this hemisphere’. The institution which Thomas Jefferson founded has emerged as one of the foremost public universities in the nation. At the same time we know that excellence in higher education cannot simply be achieved and held. It is a process, a mode of thinking, and requires ongoing exercises in planning and improvement,” says John T. Casteen III, president of UVa.

UVa, which has 20,258 undergrad and graduate students tutored by 2,140 faculty on its muster rolls, was the first educational institution in the US to offer academic programmes in disciplines such as astronomy and philosophy. Its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences was the first engineering school in the country to be associated with a university. Currently UVa’s ten academic schools offer over 200 flexible and innovative bachelors, Masters and Ph D programmes across 171 disciplines.
Apart from its central campus in Charlottesville, UVa has a branch campus in the lush mountains of southwestern Virginia. The university’s College at Wise is a publicly-funded, four-year residential college (estb.1954) with an enrollment of 1,900 students. Ranked among the top public liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, UVa-Wise also hosts Virginia’s only undergraduate degree program in software engineering and offers 29 majors, 27 minors, seven pre-professional programmes and 23 teaching licensures.

Charlottesville. Named in honour of Princess Charlotte, the wife of King George III, Charlottesville (pop.40,000) is sited on a hill overlooking the river Rivanna in Albermale County, Virginia. A picturesque town which combines rolling countryside with aesthetically designed buildings and historical landmarks, Charlottesville is regularly ranked among the best habitations to live in the United States.

A small but historically important town, Charlottesville is best known for contributing America’s three founding presidents — Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. Jefferson’s renowned mountain-top home, Monticello, attracts approximately half a million tourists every year. Downtown Charlottesville is the legal, financial, and social hub of the community. It also hosts the Downtown Mall, one of the longest outdoor pedestrian malls in the US, with numerous stores, restaurants, and civic attractions. Other attractions of the Downtown Mall are the Virginia Discovery Museum and the 3,500 seat outdoor amphitheatre, the Charlottesville Pavilion. Court Square, just a few blocks from the Downtown Mall, is the original centre of Charlottesville and several historic buildings there date back to 1762.

Campus facilities. The University of Virginia, together with Jefferson’s home at Monticello, is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site. The university revolves around the Academical Village, which includes the specific area of The Lawn, a grand, terraced green space surrounded by residential and academic buildings, the gardens and The Range. The Rotunda, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, stands at the north end of the Lawn, and is the most recognisable symbol of the university.

Flanking both sides of the Rotunda and extending down the length of the Lawn are ten Pavilions interspersed with student rooms. Each has its own classical architectural style, as well as its own walled garden separated by ‘Jeffersonian Serpentine’ walls. These walls are ‘serpentine’ because they run a sinusoidal course.

Though over the years to accommodate more students and faculty, the university has extended the Academical Village by building new student residences and classrooms, Jefferson’s architectural landmarks interspersed with neat lawns and gardens remain the showpiece of the campus.

The UVa campus also features 17 school and department libraries which collectively house 5.1 million books; 82,440 current serials titles; 17.4 million pages of manuscripts; and a wide range of electronic databases. A collection of student shops, bookstores, cafes, and nightspots, ‘the Corner’ on University Avenue is the centre of student life. Moreover UVa offers superb facilities for sports and games and a rich menu of student clubs and organisations.

Admission. UVa is highly selective in its admission process. For the Class of 2011, the university received a record 18,013 applications, of whom 6,124 were accepted. The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into its undergrad programmes is first class Plus Two certification. In addition applicants must submit either SAT or ACT (with writing) test scores, and the results of two SAT II subject area tests. Students whose first language is not English are required to provide evidence of their English proficiency by submitting the results of TOEFL or IELTS.

According to a university spokesperson, the UVa admissions committee looks for the following credentials in student applications: excellent performance in a rigorous secondary school programme; results from SAT I or ACT (including writing section) and two SAT subject tests; recommendation from guidance counsellor/school principal; extra-curricular involvement and honours; and writing as demonstrated in the admissions essay.

The admission deadline is January 2, 2009 and students are advised to submit applications online at www.virginia.edu. Submitting documents by mail is not recommended, though it will not negatively impact admission decisions. For further information e-mail uvaapplicationinfo@virginia.edu or undergradadmission@virginia.edu.

Accommodation. The University of Virginia requires all incoming first year undergraduate students to live on-grounds i.e. on campus. All halls of residence are either near the central Grounds or on the university bus loop, eliminating the need for hazardous winter driving and car parking hassles. Housing options for freshmen students include the Alderman Road Residence Area (a collection of 14 houses accommodating 1,600 students); Brown Residential College (an arrangement of inter-connected air-conditioned buildings named the Portals); Hereford House (the three Hereford houses are co-ed, air-conditioned and 80 percent of the rooms are single-occupancy); International Residential College (rooms are single/double occupancy with a shared bathroom); Malone, Weedon House and McCormick Residence Area. All residences offer shared bathrooms, kitchens, lounges, internet access and laundry facilities.

The university also reserves housing for graduate students in three areas. Copeley III is located across from the Law School in North Grounds, and offers apartment living with double-occupancy bedrooms. The Dillard residence hall is across from the stadium at the intersection of Alderman and Stadium Roads, and offers single-occupancy rooms in a suite style arrangement.

Degree programmes. The University of Virginia is made up of ten schools in Charlottesville, plus the College at Wise in southwest Virginia. It offers 51 bachelor’s degrees in 47 fields, 83 master’s degrees in 66 fields, six educational specialist degrees, two first-professional degrees (law and medicine), and 59 doctoral degrees in 58 fields (see box).

Summiya Yasmeen