Florida Institute
Founded in 1854 as the Florida Institute, a public all-male college in Tallahassee created by an act of the Florida State Legislature that was then followed by the creation of the West Florida Seminary, Florida State University is the oldest public university in Florida. During the civil war, it became a military college and its cadets successfully defended Tallahassee from Union Forces in 1865. Today, the college has evolved into a massive flagship university that is co-educational and offers a very large number of degrees. Its 400-acre campus is home to a student body of 39,000, mostly undergraduates, and a student to faculty ratio of 25:1.
FSU provides a total of over 300 degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral and professional levels. There are seventeen different schools and colleges offering courses at Florida State, covering the arts and sciences, education, music, social work, public administration, business, nursing, law, the social sciences, engineering, medicine and many other subjects. Notable doctoral programs include anthropology, chemical engineering, classics, economics, history, meteorology and political science, although there are literally dozens more to choose from. Professional degrees are provided for students of law, medicine, business administration, social work and nursing. Some degrees may also be obtained online. Both US Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs are offered to students of FSU.
Florida State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), a regional accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. SACS provides accreditation to institutions within an eleven-state area, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Some accreditation is also extended to parts of Latin America. (SACSCOC, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033 – (404)679-4500 – Fax: (404)679-4558).
