Overview
The University of South Florida is a large, public university located in Tampa, FL. South Florida has around 50,000 students, more than 2,000 of whom are veterans. The Office of Veteran Success, located on the school’s main campus, employs student veterans who assist fellow veterans with anything they may need. The success of the office has resulted in USF being rated the #1 four year college for veterans by Military Times EDGE magazine in their “Best for Vets: Colleges 2017” ranking. One of these successes includes when USF helped to create the first ever VetSuccess program with the VA in May of 2009, helping to recognize their mutual responsibility to helping veterans transition into college life and the civilian workforce.
Academic Offerings
USF has 14 different colleges, which combine to offer more than 180 different undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. There is an honors college for high-achieving students, as well as the Innovation Education program, which encourages continuing education through certificates, distance and online learning, workforce development learning and other supplementary educational programs.
Undergraduates at USF pursue a diverse cross-section of majors, but most commonly students will end up in programs focusing on:
- Biomedical Sciences
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Communications
- Business
- Criminology
Masters degrees are available in a wide range of subjects, as well as professional degrees in areas such as medicine, pharmacy, physician assistance, and physical therapy.
Notables
As part of the VetSuccess program that it helped to create, South Florida is able to staff a full-time Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor on-campus, as well as a part-time VetCenter counselor there to provide counseling services to qualifying veterans and dependents. USF boats an 83% retention rate and 68% graduation rate for its veteran students, which showcases their ability to support students in the tough transition from the military back to school. The Veteran Achievement Center (VAC) is a space located on campus that is intended to help veterans connect with one another socially and to find academic support, and including furnishings ranging from standardized test guides to longue chairs and a 60” plasma TV. USF offers a “Strategy for VetSuccess” class specifically for veterans, which fulfills a dual objective of providing student veterans with knowledge on pertinent university and VA topics, as well as the practical application of that knowledge through unique in-class experiences.