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College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Why CALS?

DISTINCTIONS

RANKINGS

POPULATION

FACULTY

LAND-GRANT HERITAGE

UF - Florida's land grant university: Results beyond education A land-grant college or university is an institution designated to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The original mission of these institutions was to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanical arts in addition to classical studies so members of the working classes could obtain an education. 

  • UF is one of only 17 U.S. universities to share the distinction of land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant status.  
  • UF is one of only six universities in the country with colleges of law, medicine, engineering, agriculture, and veterinary medicine on one central campus.
  • UF joins Florida A&M University in fulfilling the land-grant mission for the state of Florida.  
  • The Florida Agricultural College in Lake City was established in 1884 under the Morrill Act, becoming the first land-grant institution in the state. In 1906, the University of Florida opened its doors in Gainesville.