A Strong Return on Investment

Every dollar invested in UCF delivers a strong return on investment to the State of Florida, producing quality degrees with low administrative costs as 75% of our students graduate within 6 years.

UCF delivers more for Florida with significantly less state funding, at a cost of $24,567 per degree — the lowest in the State University System (SUS). Despite our size and impact, UCF remains one of the leanest administrative structures in the state and produces nationally ranked student outcomes.

State Funding Received per Student

Bar chart comparing 2023-24 academic year costs for six universities: UF ($15,453), FSU ($17,367), USF ($13,585), FIU ($9,318), UCF ($7,469), and FAU ($9,403).

At $7,469 per student, UCF receives the lowest state allocation per student in the state.

Cost to State Per Degree

Bar graph comparing the estimated total cost of attendance for six Florida universities in 2023-24: FSU ($50,802), UF ($42,339), USF ($35,726), FAU ($30,500), FIU ($24,697), and UCF ($24,567).

At $24,567 per graduate, UCF produces degrees at the lowest cost to the state.

Administrators per 1,000 students

Bar graph showing the following values: UF 21.4, FSU 19.3, USF 20.4, FIU 16.3, UCF 10.9, FAU 18.1. Each bar is a different color and labeled with the university abbreviation and value.

UCF has only 10.9 administrators per every 1,000 undergraduate students, the lowest ratio in the state.

Faculty per 1,000 students

Bar chart comparing six Florida universities. UF: 117.7, FSU: 69.8, USF: 79.2, FIU: 60.4, UCF: 39.7, FAU: 55.7. UCF bar is bolded in yellow; other bars have different colors.

UCF has only 39.7 faculty members per every 1,000 undergraduate students, the lowest ratio in the state.

Serving Florida

UCF serves more of Florida’s students than any other university. More than 90% of UCF’s undergraduate students are Florida residents — and most will stay in Florida after they graduate, with 85% of UCF’s new graduates remaining in Florida.

Florida resident enrollment

Bar graph showing undergraduate retention rates for Fall 2023: UF 87%, FSU 88%, USF 84%, FIU 89%, UCF 93%, FAU 86%. UCF has the highest rate; USF has the lowest.

93% of UCF’s undergraduate students are Florida residents — we serve more of Florida’s students than any other university.

Extending UCF’s Impact

Infographic of Florida with UCF area highlighted. Text: 18,000+ degrees awarded annually. 85% of new UCF grads stay in Florida. 68% of new grads accepted a position or are already working locally.

A large majority of UCF graduates are from Florida, and most of them choose to stay in Florida, contributing to our state’s economic growth.

UCF is also the state’s leading producer of high-demand graduates. We award more bachelor’s degrees in engineering and nursing than any other institution in the state — two fields essential to sustaining Florida’s economic and population growth.

Florida’s Engineering Degrees

UCF produces the most engineering graduates in Florida — 26% of all SUS engineering bachelor’s graduates are Knights.

Florida’s nursing degrees

A pie chart showing the percentage of total undergraduate enrollment in 2023-24 for Florida universities: UCF 25%, UF 11%, FIU 11%, USF 13%, FSU 9%, FAU 6%, and all others 25%. Enrollment numbers are listed by school.

UCF produces the most nursing graduates in Florida — 25% of all SUS nursing bachelor’s graduates are Knights.

Exceptional Students

UCF has mastered scale without reducing quality. In fact, as our university has grown, so has our reputation for excellence and impact. U.S. News & World Report ranks UCF among the Top 10 Biggest Movers among public universities since 2020 — jumping 20 spots, from No. 81 to No. 61.

With a record number of applicants for Fall 2024, UCF continues to be a destination of choice for Florida’s brightest students. In addition to being a great investment for the state, we are a great investment for students and their families — ranking in the Top 50 overall for student outcomes and in the Top 25 among public institutions, based on graduation rates, retention, debt, and post-grad earnings.

UCF freshman admissions

Bar chart showing college admissions from 2020-21 to 2024-25: applied (light yellow), accepted (gold), and enrolled (black). Applied numbers rise from 49,635 to 63,473; enrolled numbers are steady, around 8,700.

UCF received a record number of applications for Fall 2024, showing an increasing demand.

Incoming freshman SAT and GPA

A chart compares SAT scores and GPAs for Fall 2023 first-time-in-college entrants at Florida universities: UF, FSU, USF, FIU, UCF, and FAU. UF leads with a 1399 SAT and 4.5 GPA; FAU is lowest with 1140 SAT and 3.89 GPA.

UCF students are exceptional, regularly breaking internal records for their academic achievements.

Graduation Rate

UCF’s nationally ranked student outcomes allow us to educate more highly skilled graduates to fuel Florida’s high-tech workforce.

National Model for Transfer Student Success and Affordability

Almost 20 years ago, UCF launched the DirectConnect to UCF 2+2 program, partnering with institutions in the Florida College System (FCS). More than 8,200 students transfer to UCF from FCS institutions each year, saving an average of 25% off their total tuition costs.

Fcs transfer enrollment

Bar chart showing 2024 FCS AA to SUS transfers by percentage and number: UCF 31% (17,324), FIU 19% (10,706), USF 12% (6,547), UF 10% (5,788), FSU 8% (4,631), FAU 8% (4,442), Others 10% (718).

UCF enrolls 31% of the state’s Florida College System transfer students who have completed their AA degree and continued to pursue their bachelor’s degree.

Cost for Valencia transfers

Bar chart comparing Valencia and UCF tuition over four years; first two years cost $3,092 per year at Valencia, then $3,277 per year at UCF. UCF FTIC tuition totals $25,472; DirectConnect costs $18,918, saving $6,553.

Students who complete their first two years of their bachelor’s degree at a Florida College System institution save an average of 25% off their total four-year tuition costs, or around $6,553.

DirectConnect to UCF has become a national model, spotlighted by organizations like the Aspen Institute and the Chronicle of Higher Education. To date, more than 77,900 degrees have been awarded to DirectConnect students coming to UCF from the program’s six state college partners.

Florida’s Next Preeminent University

The Florida Preeminence Program awards additional funding to institutions that are deemed preeminent and reach 12 of 13 metric goals. UCF has achieved 11 of the 12 metrics required to achieve this designation.

To support our students’ efforts to graduate in four years and begin their careers in high-impact industries that boost Florida’s economy, we are hyper-focused on student success and achieving a 60% 4-year graduation rate. Over the past few years, UCF has made strategic investments in this area, including implementing a new academic success coaching model to better help our students map their academic pathways on the road to timely graduation.

Preeminence Metrics

Infographic listing university achievements with green checkmarks for metrics like GPA, SAT scores, rankings, retention rate, research expenditures, and memberships; red section highlights pending goals for graduation rate and endowment size.

As of 2025, UCF has achieved 11 of the 12 metrics required to achieve Florida’s preeminence designation.

Metrics in Progress

A line graph shows UCF’s four-year graduation rates rising from 43.7% in 2020 to 58.7% in 2025, alongside endowment sizes increasing from $165M to $255M over the same years.

UCF is hyper-focused on meeting the final metric needed to achieve preeminence.

Doing More with Less

UCF continues to demonstrate that we deliver more for Florida with significantly less funding. In addition to receiving the lowest amount of state funding per student, UCF received just 5% of the $1.5 billion in PECO funding awarded to R1 universities over the past five years — while continuing to produce more high-demand degrees than almost any other institution in the state.

Data provided by the Florida Board of Governors.