The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany or SUNY Albany, is a research institution with campuses in Albany, Guilderland, and Rensselaer, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it carries out undergraduate and graduate education, research, and service. It is a part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The University has three campuses: the Uptown Campus in Albany and Guilderland’s McKownville neighborhood, the Downtown Campus in Albany, and the East Campus in the City of Rensselaer, just across the Hudson River from Albany. The University enrolls more than 17,300 students in nine schools and colleges, which offer 50 undergraduate majors and 138 graduate degree programs. The University’s academic choices include new and emerging fields in public policy, globalization, documentary studies, biotechnology and informatics. Through the UAlbany and SUNY-wide exchange programs, students have more than 600 study-abroad programs to choose from, as well as government and business internship opportunities in New York’s capital and surrounding region.
The University was ranked 64th nationally among the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges by Kiplinger’s magazine in 2012 for in-state students, and 51st for out-of-state students. According to the publication, listed institutions are “noteworthy for their combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs.” The most recent US News&World Report ranking ranked the University 128th of universities which award doctoral degrees. UAlbany is also placed in the grouping of 91st-114th for US universities and in the grouping 201st-302nd for universities worldwide by the annual Academic Ranking of World Universities conducted by the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. The University is ranked 15th nationally in research expenditures among universities without a medical school faculty. It attracted a record $391.7 million in research awards in 2007-08. The Chronicle of Higher Education has ranked six UAlbany doctoral programs—criminal justice, educational administration, curriculum instruction, educational leadership, “teacher education in specific study areas,” and social welfare—in its “Top 10” nationally in the publication’s last two surveys.
UAlbany now has 19 varsity sports (8 men, 11 women) competing at the Division I level. All athletic programs are run by the University’s Department of Athletics and Recreation. Other than the sport of football, the school’s teams have been members of the America East Conference since 2001.