Established in 1846, the University at Buffalo (also known as UB) was officially purchased by the New York State in 1962. It started out as a private institution before being acquired by the state. Since then, UB became a flagship school in the State University of New York system.
The University at Buffalo is a research-intensive institution and it takes pride in the resiliency and innovative thinking of its students. More than 100 undergraduate degrees are offered in the school, along with over 200 master’s programs, almost 90 doctorates, and approximately 10 professional certificates.
Additionally, the school provides a wide range of student activities that include Greek life, student organizations and clubs, intramural sports, and an NCAA athletics club. For those who want to expand their horizons, UB also has an expansive study-abroad program that has exchange agreements with almost 80 different educational institutions across the map.
University at Buffalo Acceptance Rate
UB is considered moderately selective with an acceptance rate of 57% and EA acceptance rate of 83.6%, which is considerably higher than the former. Although many EA students apply to the school as their first choice and are more likely to be strong candidates, an early application gives anyone an advantage.
Given that admissions at UB are highly competitive, most of its students are exceptionally talented. Admitted students need to have completed a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Although this coursework is not required, students are highly encouraged to have this as preparation.
Included in the curriculum are four years each of English and social studies and three years each of science, a second language, and college-preparatory mathematics (for example, Algebra I, Algebra II, calculus and trigonometry).
Admitted Students Profile
As of Fall 2018, the university enrolls 31,508 students in 13 colleges–making it the largest public university in New York State. The enrolled student population at University at Buffalo is 47.4% White, 11.7% Asian, 6.27% Black or African American, 5.56% Hispanic or Latino, 1.92% Two or More Races, 0.295% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.0762% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.
This number includes both full-time and part-time students, as well as graduates and undergraduates. Meanwhile, enrollment for all Doctoral Universities is 51.9% White, 12.8% Hispanic or Latino, and 9.36% Black or African American.
Tuition Figures
At the University at Buffalo, tuition and fees are significantly reduced for residents of New York. In-state residents have tuition and fee that amount to $9,828 for the 2018 – 2019 year. 63.7% of the price is charged to students living out-of-state. Tuition amounts to $6,670 and fees $3,158.
During the 2018-2019 school year, University at Buffalo out-of-state students paid $27,068 in fees and tuition. Out of that number, $3,158 was for fees and $23,910 was for tuition.
UB encourages students to fill out their FAFSA before making any other financial aid inquiries. This document will determine a student’s eligibility for Pell Grants, SEOG, Work-Study, Perkins Loans, and Federal Direct Student Loans.
There’s also an Honors Program for top freshman students with renewable awards up to the full cost of attendance, as well as other benefits like special seminars, priority registration, faculty mentorship, research opportunities.
Location
University at Buffalo is a public research university with campuses in Amherst and Buffalo, New York. UB is considered as the largest and most comprehensive public university in the state. It is spread across three campuses: North Campus, South Campus, and Downtown Campus.
Also called “University at Buffalo,” the North Campus is a census-designated area situated in the suburb of Amherst. It is where most academic programs are located, including the entire undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, the University at Buffalo Law School, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Management, the Graduate School of Social Work, and the Graduate School of Education, as well as Lockwood Memorial Library, Oscar A. Silverman Library. It’s also where administration offices are found.
The South Campus is where the School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, Dental School, and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning are found. The Downtown Campus is the newest UB center and it houses the school’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Science.
Academics
Holding an extensive array of 13 colleges and schools, UB offers lots of programs to students. Degrees include Architecture & Planning, Arts & Sciences, Dental Medicine, Education, Engineering & Applied Sciences, Public Health & Health Professions, Law, Management, Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Social Work and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Graduate Division. Thanks to its robust technology plan, the school made it to the “Most Wired Universities” by Yahoo.
UB also offers over a hundred undergraduate degrees covering many standard topics such as anthropology, biology, art, physics, psychology, and literature. It also has degrees in many not-so-standard subjects like computational biology, environmental geosciences, nuclear medicine technology, global gender studies, and bioinformatics.
Motivated students have the option to earn a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree in as short as five years in several areas of study that include aerospace engineering/business administration, civil engineering, economics/business administration, geography and exercise science/nutrition. Most of these programs shorten the time that it would traditionally take to earn both degrees by nine to fifteen credit hours.
For those who want a graduate degree, University at Buffalo has an extensive array of choices. The university offers such professional schools as a law school, a med school, a pharmacology school, a dental school and literally hundreds of individual programs. Students may pursue master’s degrees or doctorates and professional certificates.
Student Life
UB is home to many student-run organizations and clubs that cover different interests and subjects. The school has two periodicals run by students: Generation magazine and The Spectrum. These two publications are distributed on campus. Generation gets funding from Sub-Board, a student services corporation and advertisements. The Spectrum, on the other hand, is an independent publication.
UB also has its own student radio station, WRUB. This station broadcasts all UB home football games and select road games, including most UB men’s and women’s home basketball games.
Following President John B. Simpson’s retirement, a university forum has been established by undergraduate students in an effort to develop a thriving online campus. Now incumbent president Satish K Tripathi supported the move, even dubbing it as a “model of University spirit and entrepreneurship.”
Each year, the UB Student Alumni Association (UBSAA) hosts the largest collegiate mud-volleyball game in the world known as “Oozefest.” 192 teams with at least six student members each compete in a double-elimination volleyball tournament at “The Mud Pit” each Spring before finals. To create the mud, fire trucks are brought in to saturate the dirt courts.
Awards are given not only to the winners but also to the most creatively-dressed. Students previously wore business suits and even dresses to the annual contest.
Athletics
The sports teams of University at Buffalo are called UB Bulls or Buffalo Bulls. Originally, the women’s teams are known as the Buffalo Royals. Presently, the Bulls compete in Division I (Division I FBS of the NCAA in football) and are a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for all sports]. The Bulls have been playing in the Mid-American Conference since 1998.
While there are only nine team sports for both men and women in the official UB website, the UB Bulls actually field 11 men’s and women’s athletic teams in sports. Cheerleading in the school is co-ed. Over the years, the bulls have had many athletes take the professional route in baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and football.
At UB, men’s team sports include basketball, track and field, baseball, wrestling, soccer, swimming, diving, cross country, tennis, and football. The women’s teams feature diving, swimming, basketball, track and field, cross country, volleyball, softball, soccer, rowing, and tennis.
The Bulls have had dozens of athletes turn professional in football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball.
Notable Alums
University at Buffalo has more than 230,000 alumni around the globe. The school’s most notable graduates have excelled in various fields such as music, politics, art, business, science, sports, literature, and so on. Here are some of them:
- NASA astronauts Gregory Jarvis and Ellen S. Baker
- Emmy-winning American journalist Wolf Blitzer
- Acclaimed dancer Roberto Villanueva
- Chairman and former CEO of A+E Networks Abbe Raven
- Founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company Harvey Weinstein
- CEO of Paramount Pictures Brad Grey
- Billionaire, founder, chairman, and CEO of Baidu Robin Li
- CEO of Intel Bob Swan
- Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Toles
- Nobel Prize-winners, Ronald Coase, Herbert A. Hauptman, and Sir John Carew Eccles
- Billionaire and owner of the Boston Bruins, Jeremy Jacobs
- Physicist Mendel Sachs
- Musician and civil rights activist Charles Mingus
- Pianist and composer Richard Aaker Trythall
- Football players Gerry Philbin, Naaman Roosevelt, Branden Oliver, Khalil Mack, and James Starks
- Soccer player Bobby Shuttleworth
Learn more about the other SUNY colleges. Each SUNY has its own unique offerings, campus and academic requirement.
