Patrick McMullen

The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States. UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, and it is the second-largest university in the United States by enrollment. The university was founded by the Florida Legislature in 1963, and opened in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the mission of providing personnel to support the growing U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Florida's Space Coast. As the academic scope expanded beyond its original focus on engineering and technology, "Florida Tech" was renamed The University of Central Florida in 1978. Initial enrollment was only 1,948 students, as of 2014 enrollment consists of 59,770 students from over 140 countries, all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The majority of the student population is located on the university's 1,415-acre (5.73 km2) main campus approximately 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of downtown Orlando and 55 miles (89 km) south-southwest of Daytona Beach. The university offers over 200 degree options through twelve colleges and twelve satellite campuses throughout Central Florida. Since its founding, UCF has awarded almost 250,000 degrees, including 45,000 graduate, specialist and professional degrees, to over 230,000 alumni worldwide.