Charlottesville, VA
Founded in 1819
University of Virginia (U.Va., UVA, or Virginia) is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, the university was established with the vision of providing "a free, religiously neutral environment to enhance the education of the natural sciences." The campus is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Freshmen are required to live on campus. The university consists of eight undergraduate schools and three professional schools, offering 48 undergraduate programs, 94 master's programs, and 55 doctoral programs. Prominent schools include the Darden School of Business, Curry School of Education, School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Law, and School of Medicine. The university's athletic teams, the Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are members of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Cavaliers have reached peak performance under the guidance of former NBA player Tony Bennett (basketball coach), Brian O'Connor (baseball coach), and Brian Boland (tennis coach). Their mascot is the Cavalier. The university has many notable alumni, including eight NASA astronauts, eight Pulitzer Prize winners, 51 Rhodes Scholars, several state governors, former U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, and former CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric.