alphabetical / by state
129 Traditional Schools in Florida
Florida has seen a lot of starts and stops in its history, as Europeans and Americans tried again and again to make something of that stubborn peninsula. Named “La Florida” by Ponce de Leon - “The Land of Flowers” in Spanish - no one quite knew what to do with Florida for its first three centuries. The oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine, was founded in 1565, but the land was difficult to settle and explore. (There was also never a Fountain of Youth, and Ponce de Leon never searched for one - that myth was one of the first bits of shrewd marketing in a state that would one day be built on incredible stories.) It was not until Spain turned Florida over to Great Britain in exchange for Havana, Cuba, that Florida began to develop, but when Florida refused to take part in the American Revolution or join the US, it reverted back to Spain, only to return to the US when Spain (tapped out by the Napoleonic Wars) could no longer afford to keep it. Florida would remain sparsely populated, with just some cotton and sugar plantations, until well into the 20th century, with the swamps, malaria mosquitos, and heat keeping all but the toughest settlers away.
It wasn’t agriculture or natural resources that made Florida what it is today, though - it was good old-fashioned tourism. Much of this growth was owed to railroad and oil baron Henry Morrison Flagler, whose enthusiasm for Florida led him to build the Florida East Coast Railway all the way down to Miami, building a string of hotels along the way which would establish Florida as a tourist haven. When the Roaring 20s ran out of room for resorts and amusement parks, Florida was ripe for development, and an intensive period of growth looked extremely promising, until the one-two punch of the Great Depression and a series of devastating hurricanes slowed things down. After WWII, the invention of air conditioning renewed interest - and livability - in Florida, and the state hasn’t looked back since, establishing an economy dominated by beaches, amusement parks, and retirement communities, and all of the attendant industries; only California beats Florida for the sheer number of visitors each year, and California is nearly three times Florida’s size.
Reflecting Florida’s unique character, the higher education system of the state is recognized for achievements in business, medicine, and scientific research. Major public research universities include the University of Florida, Florida State University, and Florida International University, while Florida is also home to world-class private research institutions including the University of Miami and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. With its tourism and real estate-based economy, Florida has some of the finest business and law schools in the nation, while a large population of elderly retirees has made medicine and nursing major educational endeavours. Florida is also one of the most important states for environmental research, especially for ocean and tropical studies. A number of top-ranked liberal arts colleges Rollins College, the New College of Florida, and Flagler College, help keep each generation of Florida’s leaders and scholars in the state and dedicated to keeping the Florida boom going for good this time.

AI Miami International University of Art and Design
Miami, FL

Academy for Five Element Acupuncture
Gainesville, FL

Acupuncture and Massage College
Miami, FL

AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL

American College for Medical Careers
Orlando, FL

Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Atlantis University
Miami, FL

Ave Maria School of Law
Naples, FL

Ave Maria University
Ave Maria, FL

The Baptist College of Florida
Graceville, FL

Barry University
Miami, FL

Beacon College
Leesburg, FL

Bethune-Cookman University
Daytona Beach, FL

Broward College
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Carlos Albizu University-Miami
Miami, FL

University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
61.4
College Consensus
75.1
Student Consensus

Chamberlain University-Florida
Jacksonville, FL

Chipola College
Marianna, FL

City College-Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, FL

City College-Gainesville
Gainesville, FL

City College-Miami
Miami, FL

College of Business and Technology-Miami Campus
Miami, FL

College of Central Florida
Ocala, FL

Daytona College
Ormond Beach, FL

Daytona State College
Daytona Beach, FL

DeVry University-Florida
Miramar, FL

Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine
Gainesville, FL

East West College of Natural Medicine
Sarasota, FL

Eastern Florida State College
Cocoa, FL

Eckerd College
Saint Petersburg, FL

Edward Waters College
Jacksonville, FL

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, FL
65.2
College Consensus
61.8
Student Consensus

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide
Daytona Beach, FL

Everglades University
Boca Raton, FL

Flagler College-St Augustine
Saint Augustine, FL

Flagler College-Tallahassee
Tallahassee, FL

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Tallahassee, FL
52.3
College Consensus
72.8
Student Consensus

Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL

Florida Coastal School of Law
Jacksonville, FL

Florida College of Integrative Medicine
Orlando, FL

Florida College
Temple Terrace, FL

Florida Gateway College
Lake City, FL

Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL

Florida Institute of Technology-Online
Melbourne, FL

Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne, FL

Florida International University
Miami, FL
62.7
College Consensus
71.5
Student Consensus

Florida Keys Community College
Key West, FL

Florida Memorial University
Miami Gardens, FL

Florida National University-Main Campus
Hialeah, FL

Florida Polytechnic University
Lakeland, FL

Florida SouthWestern State College
Fort Myers, FL

Florida Southern College
Lakeland, FL

Florida State College at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL

Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
71.7
College Consensus
78.1
Student Consensus

Florida Technical College
Orlando, FL

University of Florida-Online
Gainesville, FL

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
82
College Consensus
76.5
Student Consensus

University of Fort Lauderdale
Lauderhill, FL

Full Sail University
Winter Park, FL

Galen College of Nursing-Tampa Bay
Saint Petersburg, FL

Gulf Coast State College
Panama City, FL

Health Career Institute
West Palm Beach, FL

Herzing University-Winter Park
Winter Park, FL

Hobe Sound Bible College
Hobe Sound, FL

Hodges University
Naples, FL

Indian River State College
Fort Pierce, FL

Jacksonville University
Jacksonville, FL

Johnson & Wales University-North Miami
North Miami, FL

Johnson University Florida
Kissimmee, FL

Jose Maria Vargas University
Pembroke Pines, FL

Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Lake-Sumter State College
Leesburg, FL

Lynn University
Boca Raton, FL

Medical Prep Institute of Tampa Bay
Tampa, FL

Miami Dade College
Miami, FL

Miami Regional College
Miami Springs, FL

University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
68.8
College Consensus
75.7
Student Consensus

Millennia Atlantic University
Doral, FL

New College of Florida
Sarasota, FL
63.1
College Consensus
73.1
Student Consensus

North Florida Community College
Madison, FL

University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL

Northwest Florida State College
Niceville, FL

Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Palm Beach Atlantic University
West Palm Beach, FL

Palm Beach State College
Lake Worth, FL

Pasco-Hernando State College
New Port Richey, FL

Pensacola State College
Pensacola, FL

University of Phoenix-Florida
Orlando, FL

Polk State College
Winter Haven, FL

Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico-Miami
Miami, FL

Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico-Orlando
Orlando, FL

Rasmussen College-Florida
Ocala, FL

Remington College-Heathrow Campus
Lake Mary, FL

Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota, FL

Rollins College
Winter Park, FL
63.2
College Consensus
73.9
Student Consensus

Saint John Vianney College Seminary
Miami, FL

Saint Johns River State College
Palatka, FL

Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FL

Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
Boynton Beach, FL

San Ignacio University
Doral, FL

Santa Fe College
Gainesville, FL

Schiller International University
Largo, FL

Seminole State College of Florida
Sanford, FL

South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary
Deerfield Beach, FL

South Florida State College
Avon Park, FL

University of South Florida-Main Campus
Tampa, FL
59.1
College Consensus
72.5
Student Consensus

University of South Florida-Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL

University of South Florida-St Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL

South University-Tampa
Tampa, FL

Southeastern University
Lakeland, FL

Southern Technical College (Fort Myers)
Fort Myers, FL

St Petersburg College
Clearwater, FL

St. Thomas University
Miami Gardens, FL

State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota
Bradenton, FL

Stetson University
DeLand, FL

Strayer University-Florida
Tampa, FL

Tallahassee Community College
Tallahassee, FL

Talmudic College of Florida
Miami Beach, FL

The University of Tampa
Tampa, FL

Trinity Baptist College
Jacksonville, FL

Trinity College of Florida
Trinity, FL

Trinity International University-Florida
Miami, FL

Unilatina International College
Miramar, FL

Valencia College
Orlando, FL

Warner University
Lake Wales, FL

Webber International University
Babson Park, FL

West Coast University-Miami
Doral, FL

The University of West Florida
Pensacola, FL
64.9
College Consensus
75.2
Student Consensus
