Florida Atlantic University lives up to its name– it is located just minutes from beautiful sunny beaches along the Atlantic coast. FAU has six distinct campuses spread out over 100 miles, but a majority of the institution’s 30,000 students take classes on the Boca Raton campus. Approximately 4,000 students live in suite-style on-campus housing, just a short walk from classroom buildings. Students with a passion for sports and fitness will love the 13,000-square-foot fitness center, outdoor pool, yoga studios, rock climbing wall, outdoor challenge course, and indoor/outdoor courts. Serious about academics? There’s no shortage of student workspaces either, with six libraries, dozens of remodeled study rooms, and a 24-hour study lobby.

If you’re an undergraduate student you can choose from six fully online programs including accounting, marketing, management, criminal justice, nursing, and public safety administration. Ready to study at the graduate level? FAU offers online master’s programs in curriculum and instruction, instructional technology, exercise science and health promotion, nursing, higher education leadership, and business administration. Speaking of business, U.S. News and World Report ranked FAU’s program as one of the top 50 online graduate business programs in 2015. But you don’t have to enroll in a full-fledged degree program to take advantage of everything FAU has to offer. The Lifelong Learning Society, which operates on the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses, sponsors non-credit adult education courses, lectures, and performances throughout the year. It is also one of the largest adult education programs in the country.

The Owls (named for the university’s status as an Audubon Society-recognized burrowing owl sanctuary) compete in NCAA Division I sports as one of 14 teams that belong to Conference USA. The baseball team is perhaps the most successful FAU team. Owls Baseball has snagged three Sun Belt Conference titles and made an appearance in 11 NCAA tournaments. The football team was established in 2001 and has since competed in two NCAA bowl games. What’s even more exciting? In 2011 the football team finally got to play their very first home game in the brand new 30,000-seat FAU Stadium. In addition to baseball and football FAU offers 15 other varsity sports including basketball, soccer, swimming and diving, cross country, tennis, and of course beach volleyball.

Florida Atlantic University is a rapidly growing public research university. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching designated the university as a place with “High Research Activity.” This comes as no surprise with its impressive 38 unique research centers. The university opened its College of Medicine in 2011 and has 11 areas of research focus including breast cancer, osteoarthritis, vaccine optimization, and severe malaria in children. The first Ocean Engineering program in the nation launched at Florida Atlantic University in 1965, a year after the school opened its doors. And in 2009 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded 22.5 million dollars in funding to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (Fort Pierce campus) for faculty and student research on underwater technology, ocean exploration, and coral ecosystems.