About USF St. Petersburg

One Particular Harbor

USF St. Petersburg is a premier graduate urban institution, recognized for its vibrant community of scholars who engage and improve its community and the world.

USF. St. Petersburg offers its students a one-of-a-kind university experience. The university is ideally suited to students who seek a small college atmosphere but also desire an extraordinary academic experience. Students wanting a close-knit community that fosters superior learning and personal growth look to USF St. Petersburg.

Students say that USF St. Petersburg’s rich core of arts and sciences, business, and education programs, combined with stellar faculty, creates a contagious energy and spirit on campus. Professors in USF St. Petersburg’s community of scholars conduct wide-ranging, collaborative research to meet society's needs and engage students in service projects and partnerships to enhance the university and community's social, economic and intellectual life. Diverse co-curricular activities promote individual development and life-long friendships.

Our Tradition

USF St. Petersburg has a history rich with academic excellence, entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity. Its founders opened the doors to students Sept. 5, 1965, and throughout its history this academic cove on Bayboro Harbor has embraced enormous change as Florida’s need for higher education intensified. USF St. Petersburg is the first regional campus established in the state of Florida. USF St. Petersburg is now an academically and fiscally autonomous institution that earned accreditation in 2006 from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Today, USF St. Petersburg faculty and staff are proud of more than 28,000 system and institutional alumni who live in Pinellas County. They are teachers, doctors, judges, business owners and school administrators who provide expertise and leadership to our community. A national study found that nine out of 10 USF alumni remain in Florida after graduation.

USF St. Petersburg’s early administrators were creative and ambitious, building support from the City Council, St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, the State Legislature, the Board of Regents and intellectual leaders such as Nelson Poynter, to lead the institution closer to its ultimate achievement as a graduate urban institution.

USF St. Petersburg has invested $55 million in capital construction that offers students research labs, a residence hall, parking garage, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Coquina Café that features Chick-fil-A on the Bay, and Research Labs. The Science and Technology Building and the Central Lawn are projects under construction in the heart of campus. Both will open fall 2009 and transform the Second Street corridor into a tree-lined pedestrian promenade that symbolizes the institution’s partnership with the community.

Student Life

Students living on campus can have the best of both worlds-- a world-class education and a fulfilling social life. Intramural sports, student organizations, clubs and water activities on the harbor are popular activities. USF St. Petersburg’s beautiful waterfront campus is located just blocks from downtown St. Petersburg featuring parks, shops, restaurants, art galleries, museums and sports venues, including Tropicana Field, home to American League Champions the Tampa Bay Rays.

Student Citizen Scholarship

Citizen scholarship sets USF St. Petersburg apart. Faculty members at USF St. Petersburg offer students both classroom and community learning opportunities within their curricula.

During the last five years, nearly 750 courses have engaged USF St. Petersburg students with community businesses, agencies and schools in focused academic service. That translates to more than 12,000 students giving service to our community. Applying a national valuation for volunteer service, the economic impact of USFSP student civic engagement is nearly $10 million.

In addition, each college partners with a public school in Pinellas County as part of the city’s Mayor’s, Mentors and More program.

Partners in Progress

Nestled along the waterfront, USF St. Petersburg has come of age. Considered one of the loveliest urban campuses in the nation, it is an anchor institution in the St. Petersburg Bayboro District featuring hospitals, research institutions, museums and performing arts centers. A vital partner in progress, the institution and its national and state research partners continue to serve as catalysts for renewal of the Bayboro neighborhoods and as economic spark plugs for energizing downtown St. Petersburg. USF St. Petersburg is an invaluable asset to the City and to Pinellas County, providing educational opportunities, critical research, service and community partnerships that better the quality of life for Floridians.