The University of Pittsburgh is an internationally respected center of learning and research, offering exceptional educational opportunities in the arts, sciences, and professions. The University of Pittsburgh’s mission is to advance teaching, research, and public service. This three-part commitment enables the University to serve others by

•Educating diverse students from the region, the nation, and the world;

•Expanding boundaries of knowledge, discovery, and technology; and

•Enhancing quality of life in the western Pennsylvania region and beyond.

The University began in the Pennsylvania wilderness as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, the year the U.S. Constitution was adopted. Thirty-two years later, the Pittsburgh Academy became the Western University of Pittsburgh, and in 1908, the school changed its name to the University of Pittsburgh. Graduate degrees have been conferred since 1836, and the first doctoral program was developed in 1884. A private institution for most of its past, the University of Pittsburgh became state-related in 1966, establishing a relationship with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that continues to benefit both partners. Today, as an elected member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, the University of Pittsburgh claims its place among the top public research universities in the nation. All campuses of the University of Pittsburgh are accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Higher Education. Schools, programs, and departments may furthermore be accredited by discipline-specific accrediting bodies. As a state-related, coeducational institution, the University of Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh campus offers a multitude of degree-granting and other programs housed in 16 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. The University system includes the Pittsburgh campus and four regional campuses at Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville. There are more than 100 academic, research, and administrative buildings and residence halls located on the Pittsburgh campus, which covers 132 acres in the culturally rich Oakland neighborhood. At the heart of the campus stands a central landmark—the Cathedral of Learning, a 42-story Gothic tower, which is the tallest school building in the Western Hemisphere. The Cathedral contains the Nationality Rooms, 31 classrooms, each designed to reflect a distinct culture and providing an overall, multidimensional understanding of America’s heritage. At the Pittsburgh campus, 5,200 faculty serve 28,600 students, including 9,300 graduate and 19,300 undergraduate students. Alumni accomplishments range from managing Fortune 500 corporations, to writing best-selling novels, to the discovery of the polio vaccine, to unlocking the secrets of DNA ... and more. In the 21st century, the University of Pittsburgh remains a place of enduring tradition and vitality, true to the work ethic of western Pennsylvania, rich in intellectual rigor, and committed to preparing students for their lives and careers.