General Information

Overview

The University of Rochester was founded in 1850 and drew students from Rochester and around the world. The first PhD degree was awarded in 1925, and one of the first three recipients to earn the degree at the University later became the first of our 13 Nobel laureates. The University has been endowed by many visionaries who recognized and supported the value of education, especially at the graduate level, including George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak; Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull; Joseph C. Wilson (Class of 1931), founder of Xerox; and Charles F. Hutchison.

In 2025–26, the University had over 2,000 tenure-track faculty and roughly 9,073 full-time and 1,704 part-time students. Of the full-time students, 5,625 were undergraduates and 3,006 were graduate students.

The University of Rochester is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), 1007 North Orange Street, 4th Floor, MB #166, Wilmington, DE 19801. In addition, various academic programs are accredited by specialized or professional agencies, signifying that they meet the standards of educational quality for those organizations. The University’s academic programs are registered with the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The full listing can be found on the Office of the Provost’s accreditation page.