University of South Florida, St Petersburg

Welcome to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where a half-century of tradition meets innovation.

At USF St. Petersburg, students enjoy smaller classes. Professors who know you by name. Students conducting research on the undergraduate and graduate levels – side by side with professors. A setting that encourages creativity.

All the advantages of a large public university, including nationally ranked NCAA football, men’s basketball, women’s softball and women’s sailing.Located on beautiful Bayboro Harbor on the shores of Tampa Bay, students, faculty and staff have access to sailing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking and paddle-boarding.

A bustling downtown is a short walk away, with an array of world-class museums, a performing arts center, restaurants, nightclubs and parks. Some of the finest beaches in the country are just a 15-minute drive away. A growing residential student population totaling more than 600, including 200 at the University Student Center, which also includes a dining facility called The Reef offering full-service meal plans, outdoor basketball courts and spacious meeting rooms. Because of the intimate size of the campus, a walk to class or the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library is a walk with friends — students with spirited energy who like to get things done and make a difference.

Innovation, collaboration and community engagement are not just buzz words at USF St. Petersburg. They are among the core principles and the outgrowth of a creative environment on display in every corner of the community.

Our students and professors are not cloistered in an ivory tower but engaged in the broader community — future journalists writing about real people in Midtown St. Petersburg, psychology majors working with African-American families on co-parenting strategies, education faculty training middle school teachers better ways for kids to learn math, accounting students helping low-income and elderly residents with their income taxes.

The community also comes to campus: business and political leaders offering real-word experiences, lectures by visiting scholars, thousands of book lovers drawn to best-selling authors at the Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading, and thousands more to the annual St. Petersburg Science Festival. No need to imagine: Exciting things like these are happening around every corner at USF St. Petersburg.

Inspire scholars to lead lives of impact. USF St. Petersburg will shine. USF St. Petersburg faculty and administrators will work shoulder-to- shoulder with students and community partners to build a better world. We will challenge ourselves to excel in research, teaching and service.

Continuing Education programs are for adult learners who are interested in furthering their knowledge about topics of interest. There is no college credit received for the coursework therefore there are no credit hours that can be delegated to a degree program.

Most of our bachelor’s programs – and many of our master’s programs – contain online learning opportunities. Online learning means the class has a separation of either space or time between student, instructor and/or the rest of class.

Online learning offered at USF St. Petersburg is Web-based, meaning interaction among a student and his/her instructors and classmates is conducted through sophisticated Web sites. Some classes may have an on-campus (face to face) orientation but the rest of class then occurs online.

Usf st. Petersburg is the place to know and be known. In addition to offering you an excellent education in a small-classroom setting, we also offer great opportunities to get involved beyond the classroom. Take advantage of the many activities and programs we have available. Make connections, make a difference and make the most out of your college experience.

Research is at the heart of the USFSP experience, and it’s not limited to graduate students. Among the most distinctive aspects of our curriculum are the myriad opportunities for undergraduate research. USF St. Petersburg has a history rich with academic excellence, entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity. Its founders opened the doors to students on Sept. 5, 1965, and throughout its history this academic cove on Bayboro Harbor has embraced enormous change as Florida’s need for higher education intensified.

USF St. Petersburg was the first regional higher education institution in Florida. USF St. Petersburg’s early administrators were creative and ambitious, building support from the St. Petersburg City Council, St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Legislature, the Board of Regents and intellectual leaders such as Nelson Poynter of the St. Petersburg Times, to lead the institution toward its current role as a graduate urban institution.

In the late 1990s, lawmakers began the process that would lead to USF St. Petersburg becoming a separately accredited institution within the USF System. That led to a rapid expansion under interim VP/CEO Ralph Wilcox. The Florida Legislature made it official in 2002 with a law creating the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Its first residence hall broke ground in 2005. In 2006, USFSP was awarded separate accreditation by the Southern Association of College and Schools. Under the leadership of Regional Vice Chancellor Margaret Sullivan, the accreditation was reaffirmed in 2011.