About Florida Tech

2009–2010 Fact Card

Florida Institute of Technology

College of Engineering

College of Science

College of Aeronautics

College of Psychology and Liberal Arts

College of Business and Extended Studies Sites

Office of Strategic Initiatives

 

FOUNDED

In 1958 to provide advanced education for professionals working in the space program at what is now Kennedy Space Center.

 

LOCATION

In Melbourne, Fla., on 130 subtropical acres, including the picturesque Botanical Garden.

The campus is located very close to the Indian River, the Atlantic Ocean and is less than an hour from Kennedy Space Center.

 

OF SPECIAL NOTE

• The only independent, technological university in the Southeast

• A Barron's Guide “Best Buy” in College Education

• Listed among America's best colleges in U.S. News & World Report

• Named one of the nation’s top technological institutions in the Fiske Guide to Colleges

• Doctoral program in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology rates 2nd in nation

• ROTC program ranked #1 in nation by Washington Monthly College Rankings

• Rated the top private university in Florida by Washington Monthly College Rankings

• Among top Southeastern colleges according to Princeton Review Rating

• The university’s Ortega 0.8-m Telescope is the largest research telescope in Florida

• The Funk Center for Textile Arts, the only textile exhibition center in Florida, opened in August 2009

• The Scott Center for Autism Treatment will open in September 2009

• The Harris Center for Science and Engineering will open in October 2009

• Listed among “The 25 ‘Boatiest’ Schools in America” by BoatU.S. Magazine

• Named by “Surfline” as one of the 10 best surf schools in America

• Ranked by Forbes as among the top 15% of America’s colleges in 2010

• Cited by G.I. Jobs as among the top 15% of colleges, universities and trade schools

FINANCES

Total University Budget $155,806,000

Unrestricted University Budget $143,806,000

Sources of Income

Tuition and Fees 80%

Gifts, Grants and Contracts 10%

Auxiliary Enterprises 10%

 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT COSTS PER YEAR

Tuition

Science and Engineering $31,020

Other Disciplines $28,260

Room and Board $9,110

Books (estimate) $1,200

 

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Undergraduate programs in science, engineering, aeronautics, business, humanities, mathematics, psychology, communication and education (science and mathematics); master's programs in science, engineering, aviation, business, mathematics, psychology, behavior analysis, communication and education (computer, environmental, mathematics, science and informal science and teaching); and doctoral programs in science, engineering, mathematics, psychology, and science and mathematics education.

 

OFFICE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

This office encompasses organizational behavior, professional enrichment and center and institute programs; Florida Tech Consulting; the Global Center for Preparedness; and Intellectual Property Development.

 

EXTENDED STUDIES SITES

(College of Business)

Redstone Arsenal, Ala.; Orlando, Melbourne, Rockledge and Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Aberdeen Proving Ground and Patuxent River, Md.; Picatinny Arsenal and Lakehurst, N.J.; and Fort Lee, National Capital Region and Hampton Roads, Va. and The Virtual Campus.

 

ONLINE LEARNING

The university gives full-time working professionals the opportunity to earn degrees through 100 percent online programs. Online students complete the same application process as the on-campus students and receive the same Florida Tech diploma upon graduation. Florida Tech has been committed to the educational needs of working professionals since our founding 50 years ago and has offered 100% online degree programs since 2000.

 

EVANS LIBRARY

The library, the heart of Florida Tech information retrieval, offers campus-wide and worldwide access through its LINK—the Library Information NetworK. The LINK (http://www.lib.fit.edu) delivers a catalog of library materials, online databases, electronic journals and books, reference and research resources, online instruction and Internet sites organized by discipline. The Evans Library provides a full range of academic information services.

 

TECHNOLOGY

Residence halls are wired to access campus information services and the various national and international networks and resources, including Internet, Internet 2 and National LambdaRail (NLR). Florida Tech is a member of the Florida LambdaRail, providing the most advanced and high-capacity academic network.

Public access computer labs, including an Applied Computing Center (ACC) in the library, supplement many specialized academic unit labs. The ACC features a digital media lab where students can develop their digital skills. Sixty-eight fully equipped and laptop-ready multimedia classrooms and laboratories further enhance the student learning experience.

Built into the university’s newest academic buildings are some of the latest electronic and communications technology. Most campus buildings and gathering areas are configured with wireless network access, providing a roaming footprint and enabling students with notebook computers to connect to the network wherever they are.

Students may also take advantage of an online student information system. Self services range from course registration, access to academic records and financial services.

 

CAMPUS LIFE

Close to 1,700 Florida Tech undergraduates reside on campus. The newest residence halls, Harris Village, opened on the south campus in 2008. The three-building complex features 382 beds for sophomores through seniors. Their 111 apartments offer comfortable home-like amenities, which include a full kitchen, living room and compartmentalized bathrooms.

Campus life revolves around the Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation, the Denius Student Center and Panther Plaza. Students participate in a wide range of intramural sports, more than 100 student organizations and 15 NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. From Greek life to the College Players theatrical organization, students are actively involved in the life of the campus community.

 

ATHLETICS

Florida Tech competes in 15 intercollegiate sports and offers a competitive dance/cheer team and the Panther Pep Band. Women’s sports include basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer and tennis. Panther teams have earned regional titles in baseball, men’s soccer, and women’s basketball, and Sunshine State Conference championships in men’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s rowing.

During the 2008-2009 season, three teams appeared in their respective NCAA postseason tournaments for the first time, including the men’s and women’s tennis teams and the women’s soccer team, which advanced to the second round of the Women’s Soccer South Regional. Also playing beyond its regular season was the men’s golf team, which qualified for the NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional for a second straight year. Women’s golfer Daniela Iacobelli additionally played her way into the NCAA Division II championships for the second time in three years, finishing off an amazing career sixth in the country. The Panthers have held national team championships in men’s soccer and rowing with Iacobelli garnering an individual national title in women’s golf in 2007.

In addition to nationally ranked teams, Florida Tech offers exemplary athletic facilities, including the spacious Charles and Ruth Clemente Center, which houses the athletics department, workout facility and courts for the basketball and volleyball teams. Florida Tech’s F.W. Olin Sports Complex includes Rick Stottler Field (soccer), Les Hall/Andy Seminick Field (baseball) and Nancy Bottge Field (softball). With the addition of a new swimming pool and diving well in 2010, the university will also field teams in these sports.

 

THE ARTS

The Funk Center for Textile Arts, with 3,000 square feet of exhibition space, became the centerpiece for fine arts on campus when it opened in August 2009. The center director schedules changing exhibits and lectures on textile arts throughout the academic year. Additionally, the College Players present a fall and spring play; the university jazz band and president’s faculty band perform frequently at the Panthereum and Gleason Performing Arts Center; and the university music director presents seasonal musical showcases. The spring International Festival gives international students an opportunity to display their talents in music and dance at the Panthereum.

 

RESEARCH

INSTITUTES AND CENTERS

 

RESEARCH INSTITUTES: Institutes for Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Computing and Information Systems, Energy Systems, Materials Science and Nanotechnology, and Marine Research. RESEARCH CENTERS: Centers for Applied Business Research, Corrosion and Biofouling Control, Distance Learning, High Resolution Microscopy and Imaging, Remote Sensing, and Software Testing Education and Research; Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory; Florida TechStart; Joint Center for Advanced Therapeutics and Biomedical Research; Laser, Optics and Instrumentation Laboratory; Microelectronics Laboratory; National Center for Hydrogen Research; National Center for Small Business Information; Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory; Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy; Sportfish Research Institute; Institute for Marine Research; Wind and Hurricane Impacts Research Laboratory; and Wireless Center of Excellence.

 

RESEARCH FUNDING

As of fiscal year end, April 30, 2009, the total of grants and contracts was $34,814,077.

Continuing projects listed by agency include:

 

National Science Foundation
InStep Program $3,409,910

Office of Naval Research
Advanced Nontoxic Anti-Fouling Coatings Research $1,844,322

National Institutes for Health
Biochemical Pathways $1,250,451

NASA KSC
Space Life Sciences $1,207,676

Department of Homeland Security
Detection of Heavily Shielded Nuclear Contraband $1,029,553

Office of Naval Research
Phased Antenna-coupled Detector Arrays for THz and IR Imaging $999,974

Department of Health and Human Services
Scott Center for Autism Treatment $2,370,481

Army Research Laboratory
Biologically Inspired Security Infrastructure for Tactical Environments $ 1,835,000

Florida Department of Education
Activity Based Total Accountability Institute $752,000

State of Florida
Florida Sub-orbital Commercial Research & Training Center $ 500,000

 

HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

Undergraduates as well as graduate students take part in research activities that support local, state and national agencies. These efforts include beach erosion, lagoon and ocean health and artificial reef monitoring; lightning, energy and alternative fuels, alternative vehicles, software security and malware; and projects which may involve meteorology, particle physics, rocketry, astronomy, aeronautics and real-world marketing.

Engineering and science undergraduates, with students from other disciplines, participate in a required culminating research project. Most of these projects are displayed at the annual Northrop Grumman Engineering and Science Student Design Showcase, held each spring in the Clemente Center. All students earning bachelor’s degrees in the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems exhibit their required projects prior to graduation in the summer field projects symposium.

 

ENROLLMENT

3,719 main campus

1,218 extended campus

3,290 online

 

Total: 8,227

 

Enrollment Breakdown

College of Engineering 23.5%

College of Science 9.1%

College of Aeronautics 4.5%

College of Business 48.7%

College of Psychology and Liberal Arts 11.2%

No College Designated 3%

 

STUDENT BODY

Male-female 55%-45%;

86% of new full-time freshmen had 3.0 or above high school GPA;

SAT I average for freshmen is 1151, compared to national average of 1016.

 

Geographic profile:

87% of all students come from the United States, representing all 50 states;

27% of these are from Florida;

13% of all students come from 104 other countries.

 

FACULTY

Undergraduate student-faculty ratio 9:1;

224 full-time and 66 part-time faculty on Melbourne campus;

88% of full-time teaching faculty have Ph.D. or terminal degrees appropriate to their fields

 

ALUMNI

More than 50,000 alumni, including a National Teacher of the Year recipient, director of a NASA center, five astronauts who have flown on the Space Shuttle, several astronaut candidates, the first female four-star general, two other four-star generals and nearly two dozen other generals, a 1992 Olympic medalist and a major league pitcher.

Thousands serve as scientists, engineers, pilots, and managers in many high-technology enterprises and major airlines.