University of Central Florida

University of Central Florida, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Orlando, Florida, U.S. It is part of the State University System of Florida. It consists of a main campus in Orlando and branch campuses in Cocoa (Brevard campus) and Daytona Beach, as well as two additional Orlando locations. The university offers an undergraduate curriculum in business administration, engineering, education, arts and sciences, health and public affairs, and electrical engineering and computer science. Graduate degree programs are available in most areas of study. Notable programs include the Honors College, which provides a special undergraduate curriculum, and the School of Optics, which offers graduate degrees and is one of the few academic departments of its kind in the country. Total enrollment is more than 31,000.

The university was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University and acquired its present name in 1978. The Cocoa campus includes the Florida Solar Energy Center; the Orlando campus is adjacent to the Central Florida Research Park and is home to the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers, the Institute for Simulation and Training, and the Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies.