Vanderbilt University is a globally renowned center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and society at large. The Vanderbilt community is committed to the highest academic standards, a spirit of intellectual freedom and a pursuit of excellence in all endeavors.
Vanderbilt is among a unique set of independent universities that offers both a high-quality undergraduate program and a full range of top-ranked graduate and professional degree programs. Its world-class faculty consists of more than 2,400 full-time members, and the diverse student body is more than 12,000 strong across 10 schools and colleges.
In addition to its traditional schools and departments, Vanderbilt supports numerous centers and facilities to promote interdisciplinary research and collaboration, such as the ten trans-institutional centers within the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. These centers—including the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery—provide a vibrant research and training environment through academic expertise spanning a wide range of specialization.
University-wide interdisciplinary centers and institutes include the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt's Innovation Center, the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering, the Center for Digital Humanities and the Data Science Institute, among many others.
Undergraduate academics also are deepened and expanded through Immersion Vanderbilt, an experiential program and degree requirement for all first-year students. Guided by a faculty steering committee, Immersion Vanderbilt is designed to provide all undergraduate students with empowering learning opportunities beyond the classroom from study abroad programs and field research to creative projects and professional exposure. For each student, the Immersion Vanderbilt project begins with an exploratory phase and the selection of a faculty adviser, and it ultimately culminates in a final project.
For many Vanderbilt students, study abroad programs provide an enriching counterpoint to their time in Nashville. The Office of Global Education is committed to offering hundreds of accessible and academically rigorous programs, regardless of a student’s financial situation or chosen field of study. From studying ancient civilizations in Athens to researching development and social change in the Himalayas or examining community health systems in South Africa, the opportunities are as diverse as they are transformative.
Vanderbilt is also committed to global research and discovery on a broader scale. In addition to partnering with international programs for undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the university hosts global institutes, including the Center for Latin American Studies, the W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies and the Institute for Global Health through the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Along with faculty research opportunities and other programs sponsored through Global VU, these specific programs reinforce Vanderbilt’s commitment to improving lives around the world—at present and for generations to come.
Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. It offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and a full range of graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, all on a beautiful campus—an accredited arboretum—complete with athletic facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. Vanderbilt is optimized to inspire and nurture cross-disciplinary research that fosters discoveries that have global impact.
