University of Delaware

The University of Delaware (UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a privately governed, state-assisted land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers 4 associate programs, 163 bachelor's programs, 136 master's programs, and 64 doctoral programs across its ten colleges and schools. The main campus is in Newark, with satellite campuses in Dover, Wilmington, Lewes, and Georgetown. With 24,221 students as of fall 2023, UD is the largest university in Delaware by enrollment.

UD is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, UD spent $186 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 119th in the nation.

UD students, alumni, and sports teams are known as the "Fightin' Blue Hens", commonly shortened to "Blue Hens", and the school colors are Delaware blue and gold. UD sponsors 21 men's and women's NCAA Division I sports teams and have competed in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) since 2001 except for the men's hockey team which competes in the ESCHL. The university has left the CAA and subsequently joined Conference USA for the 2025–2026 academic year.

History

Early years: Newark Academy

The University of Delaware traces its origins to 1743, when Presbyterian minister Francis Alison opened a "Free School" in his home in New London, Pennsylvania. During its early years, the school was run under the auspices of the Philadelphia Synod of the Presbyterian Church. The school changed its name and location several times. It moved to Newark by 1765 and received a charter from the colonial Penn government as the Academy of Newark in 1769. In 1781, the academy trustees petitioned the Delaware General Assembly to grant the academy the powers of a college but no action was taken on this request.

Transformation to Delaware College

In 1818, the Delaware legislature authorized the trustees of the Newark Academy to operate a lottery in order to raise funds with which to establish a college. Commencement of the lottery, however, was delayed until 1825, in large part because some trustees, several of whom were Presbyterian ministers, objected to involvement with a lottery on moral grounds.

In 1832, the academy trustees selected the site for the college and entered into a contract for the erection of the college building. Construction of that building (now called Old College) began in late 1832 or in 1833. In January 1833, the academy trustees petitioned the Delaware legislature to incorporate the college and on February 5, 1833, the legislature incorporated Newark College, which was charged with instruction in languages, arts, and sciences, and granted the power to confer degrees. All of the academy trustees became trustees of the college, and the college absorbed the academy, with Newark Academy becoming the preparatory department of Newark College.

Newark College commenced operations on May 8, 1834, with a collegiate department and an academic department, both of which were housed in Old College. In January 1835, the Delaware legislature passed legislation specifically authorizing the Newark Academy trustees to suspend operations and to allow the educational responsibilities of the academy to be performed by the academic department of Newark College. If, however, the college ever ceased to have an academic department, the trustees of the academy were required to revive the academy.

In 1843, the name of the college was changed to Delaware College.

The college was supported by a state authorized lottery until 1845. By the late 1840s, with the loss of lottery proceeds, the college faced serious financial problems. Although enrollment did increase to levels that would not be surpassed until the 1900s (there were 118 college students in 1854), the financial condition of the school deteriorated further. After a student fracas in 1858 resulted in the death of a student, the college suspended operations in 1859. The academy continued to operate.

Campus

The campus itself is divided into four areas: Main, Laird, and South campuses, as well as the Delaware Technology Park.

Main Campus, which has most of the academic and residential buildings, is centered on a roughly north–south axis between South College Avenue and Academy Street. At the center of the campus is Memorial Hall, which once divided the Women's College from Delaware College. North and south of Memorial Hall is a large, roughly rectangular green space known either as "The Green" or "The Mall," around which are many of the oldest buildings on campus. Though the buildings were constructed at various times over the course of more than a century, they follow a cohesive Georgian design aesthetic. The Green area is further subdivided into three areas. "North Central," which is north of Delaware Avenue, contains the original men's dormitories (now co-educational) of what was then Delaware College, as well as several classroom buildings north of Main Street in what had been the original Engineering departments. "Central," which lies between Delaware Avenue and Memorial Hall, contains many large classroom buildings and laboratories. "South Central," which extends from Memorial Hall to Park Place, houses the original women's dormitories, as well as some classroom buildings and the Morris Library.

Laird Campus, which has several dormitories as well as a conference center, hotel, and the Christiana Towers apartment complex (currently closed), lies north of Cleveland Avenue between New London Road and North College Avenue. It is primarily residential. It is the former home to the Pencader Complex, which was demolished and replaced by three new residence halls. A total of four residence hall buildings have been built, three of which are named after the alumni who signed the Declaration of Independence, George Read, Thomas McKean, and James Smith, each of whom signed for Pennsylvania; the fourth residence hall is named Independence Hall. In addition, the construction of a Marriott Courtyard run by the Hospitality Business Management department expanded the campus.

South Campus has the agricultural school, all of the sports stadiums (including Delaware Stadium and the Bob Carpenter Center), and the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus, which is built on the site of a former Chrysler vehicle assembly plant. It lies south of the Northeast rail corridor and north of Christina Parkway (Delaware Route 4).

The Delaware Technology Park, which lies to the far east of Main Campus, is located north of the train tracks, south of Wyoming Road, east of Library Avenue (Delaware Route 72) and west of Marrows Road and has several research laboratories, classroom buildings, and offices. The Children's Campus, located across the Library Avenue from the Delaware Technology Park, is a 15-acre site home to the Early Learning Center (ages 6 weeks to third grade), the Lab School (ages 6 months to kindergarten) and The College School (first to eighth grades). Also located on-site are UD's Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Program and the Center for Disabilities Studies.

Organization and administration

On December 9th, 2025, the UD board of trustees elected Laura Carlson as the 29th president of the University of Delaware. She was previously selected as interim president following the resignation of former president, Dennis Assanis, in June 2025. Assanis succeeded Nancy Targett, former dean of the university's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, who served as interim president in 2015–16. She was named 27th president of the university near the end of her service; she was the institution's first female president. Targett served after the departure of President Patrick Harker in 2015 to serve as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Tuition and funding

For the 2022–23 academic year, undergraduate tuition per semester was $14,822 for Delaware residents and $36,082 for non-residents. The total cost of attendance for the 2022–23 academic year (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board) was $32,444 for Delawareans and $54,964 for non-residents.

The university receives funding from a variety of sources as a consequence of its historical origins. Among those sources is the State of Delaware budget. In fiscal year 2020, 10% of the university's revenue came from government grants. Tuition, room, board, and fees were 57% of the university's total revenue.

The Delaware First fundraising and engagement campaign was the largest philanthropic campaign in UD history. Launched in November 2017, the campaign exceeded the goal of $750 million ahead of schedule and the university's administrators extended the goal to $1 billion in October 2021. The campaign concluded in June 2023 with a record-breaking 113,402 university supporters contributing more than $1.05 billion.

University services

The University of Delaware Emergency Care Unit (UDECU) is a registered student organization at the university, which provides emergency medical services to the campus and surrounding community. UDECU has approximately 50 members, all of which are volunteers and students at the University of Delaware. UDECU operates one basic life support ambulance (UD-1), one first response vehicle (UD-2), and a bike team. Advanced life support is provided by New Castle County Emergency Medical Services.

The University of Delaware Police Department is responsible for law enforcement on UD's three campuses. The police represent one branch of the University of Delaware Department of Public Safety, whose employees also include security officers, as well as dispatchers, EMTs, and Police Cadets.

Academics

The university offers more than 150 undergraduate degree programs and, due to the number of academic options, many students complete dual degrees as well as double majors and minors. UD students have access to work and internship opportunities, worldwide study abroad programs, research and service learning programs.

Undergraduate admissions

The student body at the University of Delaware is primarily an undergraduate population. For the Class of 2028 (enrolled fall 2024), Delaware received 37,472 applications and accepted 23,818 (63.5%). The university is need-blind for domestic applicants. Of those accepted, 4,617 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 18.7%. Delaware's freshman retention rate is 91.5%, with 83.6% going on to graduate within six years.

Of the 60% of the incoming freshman class who submitted SAT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1170–1350. Of the 11% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 26 and 31. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 2 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.

Rankings

The university was ranked 352nd (tie) globally according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023 rankings. The university was ranked between 401st and 500th globally according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2024.

The U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Delaware's engineering graduate program as #47 for 2022 and the undergraduate program as #53 for 2021. U.S. News & World Report ranked the undergraduate chemical engineering program #7 in the country for 2021 and the graduate chemical engineering programs as #8 in the country for 2022.

Colleges and schools

The university is organized into ten colleges:

• College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• College of Arts and Sciences
• School of Music
• Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
• College of Earth, Ocean and Environment
• College of Education and Human Development
• College of Engineering
• College of Health Sciences
• School of Nursing
• Graduate College
• Honors College
• Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration

The Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs across seven departments: accounting and MIS, business administration, economics, finance, hospitality business management, sport management, and enterprise. As the second largest of UD's eight colleges, Lerner includes 3,368 undergraduate students, 872 graduate students, 209 faculty and staff (2019 statistics), and more than 34,000 alumni across the globe.

Student life

Music

The University of Delaware has a variety of musical performance opportunities available to students, including a wind ensemble, orchestra, and jazz and symphonic band. There are also a number of jazz groups available, including two large ensembles, and a smaller group that focus on improvisation. All ensembles are open by audition to all students at the university, and can be taken either for credit or for no credit. The school also has a steel drum ensemble, and an early music ensemble. There are also a variety of choral ensembles, including the University of Delaware Chorale, an all-women's choir, and three choirs, also open to community members, that constitute the Schola Cantorum. The music department's home is the Amy E. du Pont Music Building, named for Amy Elizabeth du Pont, a prominent benefactor of the university during the 20th century.

In addition, the University of Delaware has a marching band, the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hen Marching Band. The band ranges from 300 to 350 members every year and can be seen performing at every home football game as well as at various festivals and competitions, including the Collegiate Marching Band Festival in Allentown. Additionally, the marching band was selected to perform in the 56th presidential inaugural parade in 2009.

In 2006, the new Center for the Arts building opened. This building has a number of recital halls and a large number of practice rooms, most with upright pianos. The practice rooms are locked and cannot be used by students who are not music majors or in an official UD ensemble. The university employs a tiered access system, with larger rooms and rooms with grand pianos being reserved for certain groups of students. In addition the music department also uses their old building, with offices, classrooms, practice rooms, and recital halls. This building has public-access practice rooms with pianos.

In 2005, the University of Delaware Chorale, under the direction of Paul D. Head and accompanied by Betsy Kent, were invited to perform at the American Choral Directors Association's International Convention in Los Angeles. In April 2007, the Chorale won the Grand Prix at the Tallinn International Choral Festival in Estonia, having scored higher than 40 other choirs from around the world. In 2010 the Chorale competed in two categories of the 42nd Annual Tolosa Choral Competition in Tolosa, Spain; they received a Bronze and a Silver award. UD-16, a chamber ensemble of Chorale, also competed in Tolosa in two categories and won two Silver awards. In the Summer of 2012 the Chorale was the only American College Choir to be invited to the International Society for Music Education Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece; the UD Steele Ensemble was also invited. On that same tour, the chorale placed in a close second at the Grand Prix of the 25th Bela Bartok International Choral Competition. In 2000, the music department purchased an 18th-century Ceruti violin for professor and violinist Xiang Gao.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)