Are you all about the beach, wilderness, or city life? USF is central to all three, so you don’t have to choose! The main campus is located in Tampa Bay, which has an average of 360 warm, sunny days per year. You’ll find lots of spots on campus to catch some rays or study under palm trees before class. There’s even a sandy beach outside of Castor Hall that’s complete with hammocks and lounge chairs. You’ll find the inside of the campus buildings are just as warm and inviting. The Marshall Student Center houses a zen chill zone called the Serenity Room. It’s ideal for escaping your busy college schedule. But if you’re craving action instead of quiet reflection, check out their poetry competitions, career fairs, and club gatherings. The Campus Recreation Center is another great place to get active alone or with friends. Along with fitness facilities and gyms it contains an indoor running track, indoor and outdoor pools, and bike rentals. As you can see, there is a little something for everyone at USF.

USF provides over two-dozen online graduate program options. If you work in the field of education, you have the greatest number of online programs from which to choose. You can earn a graduate education degree in specialties like gifted education, special education, reading K-12, career and workforce education, and instructional technology. The College of Public Health also offers several programs online. If you’re passionate about improving health on a local or global scale, you can get a degree in epidemiology, global disaster management and humanitarian relief, public health administration, public health practice, or infection control. Students can choose from other online programs as well, so be sure to explore the complete program list. USF also offers online graduate certificate programs in areas like applied biostatistics, renewable energy, and children’s mental health. Many of the certificate programs require you to complete 12 or 15 credit hours, compared to the 30 or more credits hours required in most traditional master’s degree programs.

Football is one of the most popular varsity sports at USF. You’ll cheer on the Bulls wearing your green and gold at the Raymond James Stadium. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers even play their home NFL games here, hence the 100-foot pirate ship replica right in the stadium. The Bulls made six NCAA Bowl Game appearances and won four of those games. Also, the men’s golf and women’s sailing teams both took conference championships in 2015. Go Bulls! Along with joining or just cheering on USF’s varsity sports teams, students participate in club sports and intramurals. Make new friends and boost your teamwork skills by signing up for rugby, quidditch, roller hockey, fencing, judo, table tennis soccer, or even skateboarding.

Enroll at USF and you’ll have many opportunities to get hands-on research experience. You can spend your summer helping faculty members conduct research on mental health, sustainable energy alternatives, globalization and community health, chemistry, and applied physics. Not only is USF a leading research university, it’s a major producer of new inventions. The university’s Technology Transfer Office helps employees and current students patent their inventions and protect their intellectual property. The university was granted 104 patents in 2014 for everything from a DNA biochip to a reclining chair. Actually, research and patents often go hand in hand at USF. In 2015, two professors and a graduate student patented their discovery of a potential cure for MRSA. If you’re the inventive type, USF can help you turn your ideas into a reality. Maybe someday you’ll be inducted into the Florida Inventor’s Hall of Fame located at the USF Research Park!