University of Rochester The University of Rochester ( U of R , UR ) is a private , nonsectarian , research university in Rochester , New York , United States . The university grants undergraduate and graduate degree s , including doctoral and professional degree s . The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs . The University of Rochester is noted for its Eastman School of Music . The university is also home to the Institute of Optics , founded in 1929 , the nation ' s first educational program devoted exclusively to optics . Rochester ' s Laboratory for Laser Energetics is home to the second most powerful fusion laser in the world . In its history five university alumni , two faculty , and one senior research associate at Strong Memorial Hospital have been awarded a Nobel Prize ; eight alumni and four faculty members have won a Pulitzer Prize , and 19 faculty members have been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship . Faculty and alumni of Rochester make up nearly one - quarter of the scientists on the board advising NASA in the development of the James Webb Space Telescope , which will replace the Hubble Space Telescope as of 2011 . The University of Rochester , across all of its schools and campuses , enrolls approximately 5 , 600 undergraduates and 4 , 600 graduate students . Its 158 buildings house over 200 academic majors . Additionally , Rochester ( along with its affiliated Strong Health System ) is the largest employer in the Greater Rochester area and the sixth largest employer in New York State . History . The University of Rochester was founded in 1850 as a Baptist - sponsored institution . The impetus to form the university came primarily from the town of Hamilton , New York , which has been home to Colgate University since 1819 . In 1848 , the Baptist Education Society planned to move Colgate University ( then known as Madison University ) to the city of Rochester , but was halted by legal action . Dissenting Colgate trustees , faculty , and students founded the University of Rochester , receiving a charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York on January 31 , 1850 . Classes began that November , with approximately 60 students enrolling , including 28 transfers from Madison . The University of Rochester ' s campus was originally in downtown Rochester at the United States Hotel , which was located on Buffalo Street near Elizabeth Street , which today is West Main Street near the I - 490 overpass . In 1853 , the campus moved east to a then - suburban location on what is now University Avenue . Local businessman and Congressman Azariah Boody donated of land for the new campus , and the University purchased a further from him . UR would remain on this campus until the current River Campus was constructed in 1930 , and the university continues to own a small part of the University Avenue campus ( where the university - owned Memorial Art Gallery is located ) . The first female students were admitted in 1900 , the result of an effort led by Susan B . Anthony and Helen Barrett Montgomery . During the 1890s , a number of women took classes and labs at the university as " visitors " but were not officially enrolled nor were their records included in the college register . President David Jayne Hill allowed the first woman , Helen E . Wilkinson , to enroll as a normal student , although she was not allowed to matriculate or to pursue a degree . Thirty - three women enrolled among the first class in 1900 , and Ella S . Wilcoxen was the first to receive a degree , in 1901 . When the River Campus was completed in 1930 , male students moved there while the female students remained on the University Avenue campus until 1955 . Major growth occurred under the leadership of Rush Rhees , during his 1900 - 1935 tenure . During this time , George Eastman became a major donor , giving more than $ 50 million to the university . The first Ph . D . was awarded in 1925 . In 1955 , the separate colleges for men and women were merged into The College . In 1958 , three new schools were created in engineering , business administration , and education . During World War II , Rochester was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V - 12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission . Between 1946 and 1947 , in infamous uranium experiments researchers at the university injected uranium - 234 and uranium - 235 into six people to study how much uranium their kidneys could tolerate before becoming damaged . In the mid - 1980s , the University commissioned a study to determine if the name of the institution should be changed , most likely to " Eastman University . " The study concluded that a name change could be beneficial because the use of a place name in the title led respondents to incorrectly believe that it was a public university , and because the name " Rochester " connoted a " cold and distant outpost . " Reports of the latter conclusion led to controversy and criticism in the Rochester community . Ultimately , the name " University of Rochester " was retained . In 1995 , university president Thomas H . Jackson announced the launch of a " Renaissance Plan " for The College that , among several changes , reduced enrollment and created a more selective admissions process . The plan also revised the undergraduate curriculum significantly , creating the current system with only one required course and only a few distribution requirements ( known as " clusters " ) . Administration . The university is headed by a board of trustees , with Edmund A . Hajim being the chairman . The board appoints the president of the university , currently Joel Seligman , who replaced Thomas H . Jackson on July 1 , 2005 . Campuses . River Campus . The River Campus is the center of the university ' s academic and administrative activities . It is located in a bend of the Genesee River about south of downtown Rochester and covers around . It is bounded by Bausch & Lomb Riverside Park , an public park along the east bank of the Genesee River , and Mount Hope Cemetery , where the grave sites of Susan B . Anthony and Frederick Douglass can be found . The original buildings of the campus were dedicated in 1930 . The main academic buildings , designed in the Greek revival style , are centered around the Eastman Quadrangle ( generally referred to as the academic quad ) which is formed by Rush Rhees Library and Dewey , Bausch & Lomb , Morey , and Lattimore Halls . The Eastman Quad is widely considered the best landscaped area of the university . Rush Rhees Library , the unofficial symbol of the university , is also home to the Hopeman Memorial Carillon , the largest carillon in New York State , featuring 50 bells that chime on the quarter hour . During the summer , the carillon features a recital series in which various artists perform on the instrument . Over the course of the last several decades , other academic buildings have been built south of the Eastman Quad , including Meliora Hall ( 1972 ) , Hoyt Hall ( 1962 ) , Harkness Hall ( 1946 ) , Gavett Hall ( dedicated with the Eastman Quad in 1930 ) , and the Hopeman Engineering Building ( 1963 ) . The southernmost part of the River Campus contains the new Science and Engineering Quadrangle : Hutchison Hall ( 1972 ) , Hylan Building ( 1971 ) , the Computer Studies Building and Carlson Library ( 1987 ) , Wilmot Building ( 1961 ) , and the Robert B . Goergen Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Optics ( completed in March 2007 ) . Students often congregate outdoors during the warmer months on the various quads . Other centers of student life include Todd Union , Frederick Douglass Dining Center , various locations inside Rush Rhees Library , and Wilson Commons , a student union designed by the architectural firm of I . M . Pei . Many academic buildings , including Rush Rhees Library , are connected by a series of tunnels , which are used extensively , especially during unfavorable weather . Most academic buildings and common areas , as well as residence halls , have authenticated Wi - Fi internet access . Other campuses . The University of Rochester Medical Center ( URMC ) is the primary campus for the university ' s medical education and research as well as the main patient care facility . The Medical Center is located adjacent to the River Campus and is dominated by Strong Memorial Hospital , the School of Medicine and Dentistry building and the Arthur Kornberg Medical Research Building . URMC also houses the School of Nursing and a variety of research centers , including the Wilmot Cancer Center , the Aab Institute of Biomedical Sciences , and the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute . The Eastman School of Music is situated on its own campus in downtown Rochester , which includes a residence for students , classroom and performance facilities , and the Eastman Theatre , a 3 , 094 - seat concert hall which also serves as the primary venue of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra . The campus also features the Sibley Music Library , which is the largest academic music library in North America , as well as the largest privately owned collection of sheet music . Students are housed at 100 Gibbs Street , a dormitory building constructed in 1991 . The South Campus is located in Brighton , immediately south of Rochester proper . The campus includes the Laboratory for Laser Energetics , the Center for Optics Manufacturing , the Center for Optoelectronics and Imaging , and the now defunct Nuclear Structure Research Laboratory ( NSRL ) . Graduate student housing is also provided at the Whipple Park complex . Academics . University of Rochester ' s undergraduate enrollment consists of about 4 , 500 full - time and about 100 part - time students from across the U . S . and over 90 countries . Graduate enrollment comprises about 3 , 300 full - time and about 550 part - time graduate student s . The university has more than 103 , 000 living alumni and employs nearly 2 , 300 tenure - track faculty , with more than 20 , 000 faculty and staff across the university and the Strong Health System . UR ' s faculty include fellows of all four National Academies of the U . S . , Guggenheim Fellows , and recipients of many other awards and recognitions . The unique , defining feature of the undergraduate program at the University is the Rochester Curriculum . There are no required subjects outside of a prerequisite writing course , which may be petitioned out of . The Curriculum requires that undergraduates study in all of three areas of knowledge : humanities , social sciences , and natural sciences . Aside from the area of study which a student ' s major falls in , undergraduates must complete 3 - 4 courses of related materials ( called " clusters " ) within each of the remaining areas . For example , a student with a concentration in mathematics , a natural science field , must complete at least one cluster in the humanities and one in social sciences . A second concentration or a minor also satisfies this requirement . The only exceptions are students concentrating in an accredited engineering field ( biomedical engineering , chemical engineering , electrical and computer engineering or mechanical engineering ) , who are only required to have one cluster in either humanities or social sciences . The University of Rochester is known for its several unique 5th year programs . Students may apply for the Take Five Scholars program , a tuition free 5th year of study in a field of interest unrelated to their undergraduate major . The university also offers a Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year ( KEY ) Scholarship , a tuition - free 5th year of study offered to those with an innovative and unique entrepreneurial project impacting the campus or Rochester community . Both programs are competitive and students may apply during their junior or senior year . Various other scholar programs exist for UR students , including the highly selective Rochester Early Medical Scholars ( REMS ) and Rochester Early Business Scholar ( REBS ) programs . Students must apply for these prior to entering the university . Rankings . UR was one of the 25 New Ivies in the 2007 Kaplan / Newsweek " How to Get into College Guide . " The list names institutions whose caliber of students is considered to rival traditional Ivy League schools . The rankings are based on admissions statistics as well as interviews with administrators , students , faculty , and alumni . Admission into UR has become increasingly competitive , with an average acceptance rate of 33 % ( 20 % for transfer students ) and average SAT scores falling in the 95th percentile , for the fall of 2011 . " U . S . News & World Report " , in their popular National University Rankings , placed the University of Rochester 33rd in the nation for their 2013 ranking . In 2007 , " The Times " rated the University of Rochester 48th among the best universities in the world and 21st among American educational institutions . The University of Rochester also placed 21st on The Washington Monthly College Rankings list . University of Rochester places within the top 10 for the staff - to - student ratio . The University has also been ranked as 34th worldwide according to Global University Ranking and 21st in the United States among research universities . Additionally its graduate programs are consistently ranked within the top 20 in the United States . The Eastman School of Music ranks first among graduate music programs in the U . S . Other schools in the university also rank highly , with the School of Medicine and Dentistry at 30th overall among medical schools and its primary - care program ranked 15th among primary - care medical schools , and the Simon School ranked 23rd among graduate business schools . " U . S . News & World Report " also ranked the Hajim School of Engineering ' s graduate program 38th nationally . Additionally , the graduate programs of political science , economics , and medical research were ranked 15th , 22nd , and 31st in the nation , respectively . Internationally , in 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the University of Rochester 81st in the world . Rush Rhees Library at The University of Rochester was featured on the cover of the " Princeton Review 373 Best Colleges 2011 Edition " . The High Impact Universities Initiative which measures research performance ranked the University of Rochester 28th in the world . Simon Graduate School of Business is ranked among the top 5 Finance , Accounting and Economics business schools in the world by Financial Times MBA ranks . Research . UR is a leading private university and a major center for diverse fields of research . The university has eight Nobel Prize winners among its faculty and alumni . UR consistently ranks among the top 40 colleges and universities nationwide in federally financed science , engineering , medical , and other research , with a total research budget of around $ 350 million spread across many departments and research centers , including the Laboratory for Laser Energetics , a laser - based nuclear fusion facility , and the extensive research facilities at the University of Rochester Medical Center . Recently , the university has also engaged in a series of new initiatives to expand its programs in biomedical engineering and optics , including the construction of the new $ 37 million Robert B . Goergen Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Optics on the River Campus . Other new research initiatives include a cancer stem cell program and a Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute . UR also has the ninth highest technology revenue among U . S . higher education institutions , with $ 30 million being paid for commercial rights to university technology and research in 2005 . Notable patents include Zoloft and Gardasil . WeBWorK , a web - based system for checking homework and providing immediate feedback for students , was developed by University of Rochester professors Gage and Pizer . The system is now in use at over 100 universities and colleges . Student life . UR ' s official symbol is the seal of the university , which features a book , representing arts and sciences , a lyre symbolizing music , and a modified symbol of medicine . The official flower of the university is the dandelion , purportedly prolific on the cow pasture that became the university ' s second campus . The official mascot of the university is a predatory wasp found throughout Rochester , the Yellowjacket . From 1983 to 2008 , the yellowjacket mascot was named " URBee . " However , when the university re - designed the mascot during the 2007 - 2008 academic year , a new name was chosen and as of February 1 , 2008 , the school ' s mascot is now known as " Rocky " . The university uses Dandelion Yellow and Rochester Blue as its official colors , which are the prominent colors on the official regalia . The motto of UR is Meliora , which loosely translates to " better " with the connotation of " ever better , " the meaning adopted by the university . The image of Rush Rhees Library ' s main dome serves as an additional icon for the University of Rochester . UR also has official logos for the university as a whole as well as individual units , including the College of Arts , Sciences , and Engineering , the University of Rochester Medical Center , and the Eastman School of Music . President Seligman , as part of his efforts to improve UR ' s external appearance , commissioned Bill Murphy , the Vice President of Communications , to start an initiative to develop a new graphic identity , including a new logo , in hopes of improving uniformity and overall usage of official standards . During March 2007 , the communications office was soliciting opinions and comments on finalist designs for the new logo , which was unveiled later that fall . The song most often sung at college events , led often by the school ' s many a cappella groups , is " The Genesee " . Although less frequently used , the university also has an official Alma Mater , " The Dandelion Yellow " . Student organizations . The student body at the University of Rochester is both ethnically and socioeconomically diverse . There are over 200 active Students ' Association recognized groups on campus , which range from cultural dance groups to U of R ' s comedy improv troupe In Between the Lines . Since 1893 , the University has regularly printed its student newspaper , the " Campus Times " . Several a cappella groups play a prominent role in campus life . The YellowJackets competed on Season 3 of NBC ' s " The Sing - Off " during the fall 2011 season , finishing 7th nationwide . The Midnight Ramblers are the centerpiece of the university ' s new admissions video , Remember oUR Name . The campus also hosts a volunteer EMT squad ( The University of Rochester MERT ) which provides free New York State certified Basic Life Support services to the River Campus community . The University of Rochester is also home to its own radio station , WRUR . Residences . The majority of undergraduate students at the university live and take classes on the River Campus . Underclassmen are generally required to live on campus while upperclassmen have the option to live off campus . Some graduate housing is provided by the university , but a significant number also live off campus . Housing is provided at multiple locations spread across the several campuses . River Campus River Campus residences house primarily undergraduates , with some graduate students serving as Graduate Head Residents ( GHRs ) . Residences include : Special Interest floors and Fraternity floors also exist within the residence halls . Special Interest Housing groups include the International Living Center ( ILC ) , Inter - Class Living Community ( ICLC - Crosby 1 ) , Music Interest Floor ( MIF - Wilder 9 ) , Computer Interest Floor ( CIF - Anderson 3 ) , Tiernan Project ( Burton 2 ) , Film Interest Floor ( FIF - Kendrick 1 ) , Anime Interest Floor ( AIF - Anderson 7 ) and Greenspace ( Burton 1 ) . Eastman School of Music Campus Housing is provided at the Eastman School of Music campus at the Eastman Student Living Center at 100 Gibbs Street in downtown Rochester . The new building was opened in 1991 at the northeast corner of Main and Gibbs Streets , replacing the University Avenue dormitories built nearly 70 years earlier . It is a four - story quadrangle and 16 - story tower surrounding a landscaped inner courtyard . URMC and Mount Hope Campuses Graduate student housing is provided at 4 locations near the URMC and Mount Hope . It should be noted that these facilities also house some select River campus , non - traditional students who have been deemed too old for traditional housing . South Campus The South Campus has graduate student housing at the Whipple Park ( WPK ) complex , which features 250 garden apartments and townhouses with ample storage space . WPK also features a park - like setting with large wooded and lawn areas , playgrounds , areas for gardens and low street noise . Some housing is also provided at the River Road complex , which tends to serve as overflow housing for both undergraduate and graduate students . Students ' Association . The Students ' Association ( SA ) is the primary student governing body and includes most of the student groups at UR . The SA is governed by the SA Senate , President and Vice President , all of whom are elected by the student body . The SA President is advised by a cabinet , which is a volunteer group of students . There is also a judicial branch , composed of the All Campus Judicial Council ( ACJC ) , the members of whom are nominated by an interview committee and approved by the SA Senate . The SA Senate meets weekly and the longest meeting on record lasted longer than 8 hours . The offices of the SA are located in the Wilson Commons student union . All student groups are required to have a constitution , elected officers , and approval from senate in order to be recognized by the SA and have access to university funds . These funds are given yearly based on budgets submitted to the Students ' Association Appropriation Committee ( SAAC ) with supplemental funds available through special forms . All funds are derived from the mandatory Student Activities Fee . Athletics . UR ' s athletics teams are called the Yellowjacket s . They participate in the Division III of the NCAA and in the University Athletic Association and Liberty League . One exception to this is the men ' s squash team , which is consistently ranked top 5 in Division I . The University fields men ' s teams in baseball , basketball , cross country , football , golf , soccer , swimming and diving , tennis , and track and field . On the women ' s side , UR sponsors teams in basketball , cross country , field hockey , lacrosse , soccer , rowing , softball , swimming and diving , tennis , track and field , and volleyball . Popular club sports include the University of Rochester Thestrals ( Quidditch ) and the Piggies ( Ultimate Frisbee ) . The Men ' s Rugby team has also enjoyed recent success , with a New York State Conference Championship in 2011 . The team is currently ranked 9th in the nation out of 151 Division III teams . In 2009 women ' s soccer coach Terry Gurnett set records with over 400 lifetime wins . In March 2010 the women ' s basketball team made it to the NCAA ' s Final Four . There are also numerous club and intramural athletics groups . The main athletics facilities of the university are in the Robert B . Goergen Athletic Center and Fauver Stadium on the River Campus , with other facilities located in the Spurrier building ( River Campus ) and the URMC . Campus and area transportation . The UR campuses have their own University - sponsored system of buses , or shuttles , which provide free transportation from the River Campus to the Medical Center , South Campus , Eastman Campus , and Riverview . There are also lines that run between the River Campus and local shopping and entertainment in Henrietta and Pittsford . On the weekends , a shuttle loops to the Rochester Public Market , a student favorite . Most of the University - sponsored buses are named using a color system ( i . e . Red Line ) that indicates their respective route and allows for easy identification . Several bus lines of the Rochester - Genesee Regional Transportation Authority ( RTS ) also make stops at the University . The university participates in the Zipcar program , which allows students to rent cars on an hourly or daily basis . The Greater Rochester International Airport is a ten - minute drive to the west of the River Campus . In addition , Amtrak train and Greyhound bus have stations in downtown Rochester to the north of the campus . Traditions . UR features several traditional events throughout the year with diverse history .