University of Central Florida

University of Central Florida International Student Insurance

The University of Central Florida, located in Orlando, Florida, was established in 1963 by order of the Florida State Legislature. It opened in 1968 as Florida Technical University with the immediate purpose of supporting the growing U.S. space program at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. It gained its current name in 1978. Today, UCF enrolls more than 68,000 students and counting each year—the largest on-campus enrollment of any university in the United States. The school’s colors are black and gold, and its athletic nickname is the knights.

In addition to its main campus, UCF operates 12 satellite campuses throughout Central Florida, including locations in Cocoa, Daytona Beach, the Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona, and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and the Center for Emerging Media in Orlando. It also runs the Central Florida Research Park, the seventh-largest research park in the nation, immediately adjacent to the main campus.

Programs and Partnerships

Noteworthy programs at UCF include CREOL (Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers), also known as the College of Optics & Photonics. CREOL is one of the largest institutions of its kind in the world and was the first in the U.S. to offer graduate degrees in its field. It’s also formed research partnerships with companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Siemens.

Notable Alumni

Notable University of Central Florida alumni include NASA astronaut Nicole Stott; actors David Blue, Daniel Tosh, and Cheryl Hines; former Prime Minister of Libya Imbarek Shamekh; former director of U.S. Secret Service Julia Pierson; and comic book writer Robert Venditti.