The University enrolls over 16,000 undergraduates and nearly 3,000 graduate students. As a state-assisted, privately controlled institution, the University seeks to enroll students from diverse backgrounds and a wide variety of geographic regions. Currently, 60 percent of Newark campus undergraduates are nonresidents who represent nearly every state and several foreign countries. The University of Delaware is strongly committed to enrolling and retaining minority students.

Since 1921, the University has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Professional accreditation also is held in Accounting, Agricultural Engineering/ Engineering Technology, Athletic Training, Business Administration, Chemistry, Clinical Psychology, Dietetics, Education, Engineering, Family and Community Services, Medical Technology, Music, Physical Therapy, Public Administration and Nursing.

The state of Delaware sits in the heart of the mid-Atlantic seaboard, halfway between Washington, DC and New York City. It is a state rich in shoreline, farmland, and bustling city life.

The main campus of the University, situated in the northwest corner of the state in the town of Newark (pronounced New Ark, as it was once spelled), offers a traditional small-town college atmosphere in a location that affords easy access to major cultural and entertainment centers in nearby metropolitan areas. The I-95 corridor is minutes from campus. The shore resorts of Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland and the recreational areas and ski slopes of the Pocono Mountains are also about two hours away.

To learn more about visitors' programs at the University, consult our Family & Community Section or the Visit Guide in our online viewbook.

MISSION STATEMENT

The central mission of the University of Delaware is to cultivate both learning and the free exchange of ideas. To this end, the University provides excellent undergraduate and graduate courses of study in a variety of disciplines. Our graduates should know how to reason critically and independently yet collaborate productively. They should understand the cultural and physical world, communicate clearly in writing and speech, and develop into informed citizens and leaders. The University faculty has a strong tradition of distinguished scholarship, research, and teaching, which is grounded in a commitment to increase scientific, humanistic, and social knowledge for the enrichment of the larger society. A state-assisted, privately-governed institution, the University of Delaware was founded as a private academy in 1743, received its collegiate charter from the state in 1833, and was designated one of the nation’s historic land-grant colleges in 1867. The University works cooperatively with the area’s unique cultural and technical institutions; it provides the finest library in the state and offers the region’s people a rich array of public lectures, exhibitions, performances, service programs, and athletic competitions. The University strives for an atmosphere in which all people feel welcome to learn, embracing creativity, critical thinking, and free inquiry, and respecting the views and values of an increasingly diverse population.

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY

The University of Delaware community values both personal and academic freedom. All members of the campus community have the personal responsibility to promote an atmosphere of civility in which the free exchange of ideas and opinions can flourish. We do so by learning from individual and collective differences and by respecting every human being.

A COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

The University is committed to creating an educational community that is intellectually, culturally and socially diverse, enriched by the contributions and full participation of persons from many different backgrounds. As part of that effort, two special commissions have been assembled to promote gender equity and racial diversity: The Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission to Promote Racial and Cultural Diversity. Composed of students, faculty, and professional and salaried staff, these commissions work to create a climate that encourages all members of the University community to respect and appreciate individual and cultural differences, to promote equity for people of different backgrounds in all areas of University life, and to enhance the curriculum by including the perspectives of different races, cultures and genders. The commissions, members of which are appointed by the President, also identify problem areas and make recommendations for positive changes. In addition, the University Council on Student Diversity and Success was created recently as part of a new initiative to enhance diversity among students and to support their academic success, intellectual, cultural, and ethical development as citizens, scholars, and professionals.