About Florida Tech

2008–2009 Fact Card

Updated November 13, 2008

Founded

In 1958 to train professionals working in the space program at what is now Kennedy Space Center.

Location

In Melbourne, Fla., on 130 sub-tropical acres, including a picturesque botanical garden. The campus is 5 minutes from the Indian River, 10 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean and 50 minutes from Kennedy Space Center.

Of Special Note

  • The only independent, technological university in the Southeast 
  • A Barron's Guide "Best Buy" in College Education 
  • Listed among America's best colleges in U.S. News & World Report
  • Named one of the nation's top 13 technological institutions in the Fiske Guide to Colleges
  • Doctoral program in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology rates 2nd in nation
  • ROTC program ranked #1 in nation by Washington Monthly College Rankings
  • Among top Southeastern colleges according to Princeton Review Rating 
  • Rated the top private university in Florida by Washington Monthly College Rankings

Finances

Total University Budget: $143,012,000

Unrestricted University Budget: $132,012,000

Sources of Income

  • Tuition and Fees: 80%
  • Gifts, Grants and Contracts: 10%
  • Auxiliary Enterprises: 10%

Undergraduate Student Cost Per Year (As of Fall 2008)

  • Tuition
    • Science and Engineering: $29,940
    • Other Disciplies: $27,280
  • Room and Board: $8,790
  • Books (estimate): $1,200

Academic Programs

Undergraduate programs in science, engineering, aeronautics, business, humanities, mathematics, psychology, communication and education (science and mathematics); master's programs in science, engineering, aviation, business, mathematics, psychology, behavior analysis, communication and education (computer, environmental, mathematics, science and informal science and teaching); and doctoral programs in science, engineering, mathematics, psychology, and science and mathematics education.

University College

University College is a multifaceted hub of higher education, research initiatives, consulting and professional development centers. It consists of four divisions: Distance Learning, Extended Studies, Professional Development and Applied Research.

Extended Studies sites: Redstone Arsenal, Ala.; Orlando, Melbourne, Rockledge and Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Aberdeen Proving Ground and Patuxent River, Md.; Picatinny Arsenal and Lakehurst, N.J.; and Fort Lee, National Capital Region and Hampton Roads, Va.

Distance learning courses are taught through the Virtual Campus.

Evans Library

The library, the heart of Florida Tech information retrieval, offers campuswide and worldwide access through its LINK the Library Information NetworK. The LINK delivers a catalog of library materials, online databases, electronic journals and books, reference and research resources, online instruction and Internet sites organized by discipline. The Evans Library provides a full range of academic information services.

Technology

Residence halls are wired to access campus information services and the various national and international networks and resources, including Internet, Internet 2 and National LambdaRail (NLR). Florida Tech is a member of the Florida LambdaRail, providing the most advanced and high-capacity academic network.  

Public access computer labs, including an Applied Computing Center (ACC) in the library, supplement many specialized academic unit labs. The ACC features a digital media lab where students can develop their digital skills. Sixty-eight fully equipped and laptop-ready multimedia classrooms and laboratories further enhance the student learning experience.

Built into the university’s newest academic buildings, the F.W. Olin Engineering Complex, Physical Sciences Center and Life Sciences Building, is some of the latest electronic and communications technology. Most campus buildings and gathering areas are configured with wireless network access, providing a roaming footprint and enabling students with notebook computers to connect to the network wherever they want to be. 

Students can also take advantage of an online student information system. Self services range from course registration, access to academic records and financial services.

Campus Life

Close to 1,700 Florida Tech undergraduates reside on campus. The new Harris Village opened in the south campus in time for the fall 2008 semester. The three-building complex features 382 beds for sophomores through seniors. Their 111 apartments offer comfortable home-like amenities, which include a full kitchen, living room and compartmentalized bathrooms.

Campus life revolves around the Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation, the Denius Student Center and Panther Plaza. Students participate in a wide range of intramural sports, more than 80 student organizations and 15 NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. From Greek life to the College Players theatrical organization, students are actively involved in the life of the campus community.

Athletics

Florida Tech competes in 15 intercollegiate sports and offers a competitive dance/cheer team. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer and tennis. Panther teams have earned regional titles in baseball, men's soccer, and women's basketball, and Sunshine State Conference championships in men's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, and women's rowing.

During the 2007-‘08 season, the men's basketball team was ranked 11th in the nation, while the baseball team was listed 14th and advanced to the South Region Tournament for the first time since 1992. The men's golf team also advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in the short history of the program, and women's golfer Daniela Iacobelli, who won the school's first individual national title in 2007, advanced to the South Regional Tournament for a second straight year. The Panthers hold national team championships in men's soccer and rowing.

In addition to nationally ranked teams, Florida Tech offers exemplary athletic facilities, including the spacious Charles and Ruth Clemente Center, which houses the athletics department, workout facility and courts for the basketball and volleyball teams. Florida Tech's F.W. Olin Sports Complex includes Rick Stottler Field (soccer), Les Hall/Andy Seminick Field (baseball) and Nancy Bottge Field (softball). The golf teams compete just north at the Baytree National Golf Links in Melbourne and the tennis teams play at Fee Avenue Courts two miles from Florida Tech. The rowing programs participate at the nearby anchorage on the Indian River and Canal 54 in Fellsmere.

Research Institutes and Centers

Research Institutes: Institutes for Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Computing and Information Systems, Energy Systems, Materials Science and Nanotechnology, and Marine Research.

Research Centers: Centers for Applied Business Research, Corrosion and Biofouling Control, Distance Learning, High Resolution Microscopy and Imaging, Remote Sensing, and Software Testing Education and Research; Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory; Florida TechStart; Joint Center for Advanced Therapeutics and Biomedical Research; Laser, Optics and Instrumentation Laboratory; Microelectronics Laboratory; National Center for Hydrogen Research; National Center for Small Business Information; Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory; Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy; Sportfish Research Institute; Institute for Marine Research; Wind and Hurricane Impacts Research Laboratory; and Wireless Center of Excellence.

Research Funding

As of fiscal year end, April 30, 2008, the total of grants and contracts was $34,631,719. Continuing projects include the National Center for Hydrogen Research ($2.2 million) and the National Center for Small Business Information ($2.4 million); a new Office of Naval Research three-year supplement of $931,220 supports the Advanced Nontoxic Anti-Fouling Coatings Research project.

The larger new awards include a one-year award of $999,952 for the Center for Information Assurance; a one-year $500,000 award from the Florida Department of Education for the Governor's School for Space Science and Technology Planning; and a $400,000 award from NASA.

Hands-On Experience

Undergraduates as well as graduate students take part in research activities that support local, state and national agencies. These efforts include beach erosion, lagoon and ocean health and artificial reef monitoring; studies of sea turtles, lightning, energy and alternative fuels, software security and malware; and projects which may involve meteorology, particle physics, rocketry, astronomy, aeronautics and real-world marketing.

Enrollment (As of October 2008)

  • 2,654 undergraduates
  • 2,291 graduates
  • 3,666 main campus
  • 1,279 extended campus
  • 1,031 undergraduates online
  • 424 graduates online
  • Total: 6,400

Enrollment Breakdown

  • College of Engineering 1,879  (29%)
  • College of Science 727  (11%)
  • College of Aeronautics 417  (7%)
  • College of Psychology and Liberal Arts 591 (9%)
  • College of Business 473  (8%)
  • University College 2,131 (33%)
  • No College Designated 182 (3%)

Student Body (As of October 2008)

Male-female 65%-35%; 86% of new full-time freshmen had 3.0 or above high school GPA; SAT I average for freshmen is 1147, compared to national average of 1017. Geographic profile: 81% of all students come from the United States, representing all 50 states; 30% of these are from Florida;19% of all students come from 104 other countries.

Alumni

More than 50,000 alumni, including a National Teacher of the Year recipient, director of a NASA center, five astronauts who have flown on the Space Shuttle, several astronaut candidates, the first female nominated to become a four-star general, two four-star generals and nearly two dozen other generals, a 1992 Olympic medalist and a major league pitcher. Thousands serve as scientists, engineers, pilots, and managers in many high-technology enterprises and major airlines.

Faculty (As of October 2008)

Undergraduate student-faculty ratio 9:1; 214 full-time and 88 part-time faculty on Melbourne campus; 88% of full-time teaching faculty have Ph.D. or terminal degrees appropriate to their fields.

University Calendar 2008-2009

See the Office of the Registrar for the full University Calendar.