Graduate students have access to University dormitory facilities, and a variety of off-campus areas are also available. The University's student population numbers about 25,000 and includes more than 6,800 graduate students. There are approximately 130 M.S. and M.Eng. and 50 Ph.D. students in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Recent Ph.D. graduates have taken academic positions in such institutions as the University of Minnesota, Berkeley, Virginia Tech, Purdue University, Clarkson University, and Vanderbilt University. Graduates with master's degrees have taken a variety of management, research, and engineering positions at midsize and large corporations both locally and nationally and with government agencies.
Buffalo has a renowned philharmonic orchestra and a diversified downtown theater district.
The proximity to Lakes Erie and Ontario ensures moderate temperatures both in summer and winter and provides the facilities for a wide variety of water sports activities. Many downhill and cross-country ski areas are located a short drive south of the city. The University and The Department Formerly named the University of Buffalo, the institution was founded in 1846 as a medical school. In 1962, the University joined the State University of New York System and has become the principal research university in the state system. The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is part of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.