Introduction

The University of Rochester (U of R or UR) is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester,New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.

The University of Rochester is particularly noted for its Eastman School of Music. The university is also home to the Institute of Optics, founded in 1929, the first educational program in the US devoted exclusively to optics. Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics is home to the second most energetic fusion laser in the world.

In its history, five university alumni, two faculty, and one senior research associate at Strong Memorial Hospital have been awarded a Nobel Prize; eight alumni and four faculty members have won a Pulitzer Prize, and 19 faculty members have been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. The departments of political science and economics have made a significant and consistent impact on positivist social science since the 1960s; the distinctive, mathematical approach pioneered at Rochester and closely affiliated departments is known as the Rochester school, and Rochester graduates and former affiliates are highly represented at faculties across top economics and political science departments.

The University of Rochester, across all of its schools and campuses, enrolls approximately 5,600 undergraduates and 4,600 graduate students. Its 158 buildings house over 200 academic majors. Additionally, Rochester (along with its affiliated Strong Health System) is the largest employer in the Greater Rochester area and the sixth largest employer in New York.

Academics

The University of Rochester's undergraduate enrollment consists of about 5,800 full-time and about 200 part-time students from across the U.S. and over 115 countries. Graduate enrollment comprises about 3,900 full-time and about 1,100 part-time graduate students. The university has more than 103,000 living alumni and employs nearly 2,300 tenure-track faculty, with more than 20,000 faculty and staff across the university and the Strong Health System. UR's faculty include fellows of all four National Academies of the U.S., Guggenheim Fellows, and recipients of many other awards and recognitions.

The unique, defining feature of the undergraduate program at the University is the Rochester Curriculum. There are no required subjects outside of a prerequisite writing course, which may be petitioned out of. The Curriculum requires that undergraduates study in all of three areas of knowledge: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Aside from the area of study which a student's major falls in, undergraduates must complete 3-4 courses of related materials(called "clusters") within each of the remaining areas. For example, a student with a concentration in mathematics, a natural science field, must complete at least one cluster in the humanities and one in social sciences. A second concentration or a minor also satisfies this requirement. The only exceptions are students concentrating in anaccredited engineering field(biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering or mechanical engineering), who are only required to have one cluster in either humanities or social sciences.

The University of Rochester is known for its several unique 5th year programs. Students may apply for the Take Five Scholars program, a tuition free 5th year of study in a field of interest unrelated to their undergraduate major. The university also offers a Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year(KEY) Scholarship, a tuition-free 5th year of study offered to those with an innovative and unique entrepreneurial project impacting the campus or Rochester community. Both programs are competitive and students may apply during their junior or senior year.

Various other scholar programs exist for UR students, including the highly selective Rochester Early Medical Scholars(REMS) and Rochester Early Business Scholar(REBS) programs. Students must apply for these prior to entering the university.

Notable alumni

Vincent du Vigneaud, Nobel laureate (1955, chemistry)

Arthur Kornberg, Nobel laureate (1959, physiology or medicine)

Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, Nobel laureate (1976, physiology or medicine)

George Abbott, Broadway writer, producer, and director

Ron Carter, jazz double-bassist

William Dooley, operatic baritone

Ruth B. Balser, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1998 - present)

Steven Chu, former United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize winner - Physics

Mark Ferrandino, Colorado House of Representatives 2007ndash;Present

Robert Leslie Conly, author

Richard M. Dolan, historian and author

Gerald Gitner, former CEO of Trans World Airlines

Robert Goergen, CEO of Blyth, Inc.