Florida International University

Within the 12-campus State University System of Florida, the Florida International University is a public research institution located in the urban Greater Miami metropolitan area. It is categorized as a research university with a high level of research activity by the prestigious Carnegie Foundation and as a first-tier research university recognized by the Florida Legislature. First established in 1965, FIU is the youngest university to be awarded a chapter of the nation's most distinguished academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. With a total enrollment of more than 50,000 students each year, FIU is noted as the largest university in southern Florida, second largest in Florida, and seventh largest in the nation. As one of the primary graduate universities in the state, FIU awards more than 3,400 graduate and professional degrees on an annual basis.

Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), FIU offers 191 different programs of study across 23 distinct colleges and schools. According to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine in 2011, FIU ranked among the top 100 Best Values in Public Colleges for the least indebted college students in the nation. In 2010, Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranked FIU as first for granting bachelor's degrees to minorities and ninth for granting master's degrees to minorities with over 1,500 minority graduates each year. Florida International University has also been recognized as having the most selective admissions process amongst public universities in Florida, attracting more valedictorians from South Florida than any other institution in the nation.

The FIU College of Business Administration stands out among the top seven percent of elite business schools in the world and is fully accredited by the AACSB International. The U.S. News and World Report survey has ranked the Chapman Graduate School of Business in the top ten consistently since 2005 and names the undergraduate International Business program as the 12th best in the country. Also nationally recognized for excellence, the Florida International University College of Law is ranked first in the state with the highest rates of passing the bar.

Nicknamed the Panthers, FIU hosts seventeen varsity sports teams that are outfitted in the school colors of blue and gold for competition in the NCAA Division I. The Florida International University Panthers football team plays all of its home games in a packed FIU Stadium that is affectionately referred to as "The Cage." During its history of athletics, the university has produced notable alumni NBA player Carlos Arroyo, MLB baseball player Mike Lowell, and NFL Pro football player Anthony Gaitor.