Address: 2201 West End Avenue, 37235 Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Medicine, Education (Peabody College), Law
Vanderbilt began in 1872, when the Methodist Episcopal Church, South chartered Central University in Nashville. A $1 million gift from Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1873 led to the renaming, and classes began in 1875, with 307 students enrolled that fall. For its first 40 years the university stood under the auspices of the church, and its Board of Trust severed the ties in June 1914 after a dispute with the bishops over who would appoint trustees.
The campus in Nashville covers 340.7 acres and is an accredited arboretum, and enrolment was 13,575 students in fall 2024, of whom 7,221 were undergraduates and 6,354 postgraduates, according to federal IPEDS data. The university reports 12 schools and colleges. Peabody College joined in 1979, the Blair School of Music in 1981, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center was separated from the university in 2016.
Vanderbilt is an R1 institution, reports more than $1 billion in annual research and development expenditure, and the National Science Foundation ranked it 24th among US universities in fiscal year 2023 when counting the university together with its medical center, at about $1.25 billion. Max Delbrück taught physics at Vanderbilt during the war years and shared the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and Muhammad Yunus earned his PhD in economics there before winning the Nobel Peace Prize. After the First World War the university became the home of the Fugitives, a literary circle that included John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate and Robert Penn Warren. The Commodores are a founding member of the Southeastern Conference, and the baseball team won the College World Series in 2014 and 2019.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Bioengineering, Data Analytics, Life Sciences, Software Engineering
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master, MBA
Status:
Private
Partnerships:
Located in Nashville, a vibrant city for music and healthcare. Strong medical center (VUMC) and highly ranked Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Member of AAU.
Research:
A leading research university with strengths in medical research, education policy, special education, law, and engineering (biomedical, mechanical).
Famous Alumnis:
Al Gore, James Patterson, Lamar Alexander, Molly Sims, Jay Cutler
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
8000
Current students***:
14000
Foreign students***:
10%
Cumulative former students***:
150000
Pros
Excellent medical school and education college, strong research university, located in dynamic Nashville.
Cons
Highly competitive admissions, private university cost, some parts of campus are older.
Best For
Students interested in medicine, education, law, or research in these fields, often valuing a collaborative environment in a lively Southern city.
Emory University in Atlanta is private and combines medicine, public health, nursing, law, business and theology, the closest private match to Vanderbilt's set of professional schools.
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university whose fields include medicine, social work and biomedical engineering.
University of Notre Dame, private and based in Indiana, places theology and philosophy beside business (Mendoza College) and law, a combination that also reflects Vanderbilt's church-founded past.
University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, offers arts and sciences, engineering, business, law and medicine along with marine and atmospheric science.
Yonsei University in South Korea is a private university with medicine, engineering, business, social sciences and humanities as main fields.
Also in South Korea, Korea University is private and covers law, business and medicine alongside engineering and liberal arts.
University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom is public and lists arts, divinity, medicine and science, which parallels Vanderbilt's divinity and medical schools.
Karolinska Institute, a public medical university in Sweden, centres on medicine, public health, dentistry and nursing and matches the medical side of Vanderbilt.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Why is Vanderbilt no longer a Methodist university?
Methodist leaders chartered it in 1872, and it remained under church auspices for its first 40 years. The Board of Trust severed the ties in June 1914 after a dispute with the bishops over the appointment of trustees.
What is Peabody College within the university?
Vanderbilt acquired George Peabody College for Teachers in 1979, and it now forms one of the university's schools. Chancellor Alexander Heard, in office from 1963 to 1982, brought Peabody College, the Blair School of Music and the Owen Graduate School of Management into the university.
Where is the campus and what is it known for?
The campus lies in Nashville, Tennessee, about 1.5 miles from downtown, and covers 340.7 acres. It is an accredited arboretum.
How many students attend Vanderbilt?
Enrolment in fall 2024 was 13,575, comprising 7,221 undergraduates and 6,354 postgraduates, according to federal IPEDS data. The university reports 12 schools and colleges.
How is the university related to its medical centre?
Vanderbilt University Medical Center was separated from the university in 2016. The university describes itself as an independent, privately supported institution, and the two share a name and collaborate in education and research.
Which Nobel laureates have worked or studied at Vanderbilt?
Max Delbrück taught physics there during the war years and shared the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Muhammad Yunus earned his PhD in economics at Vanderbilt before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
Which athletic conference does Vanderbilt belong to, and where are admission details?
The Commodores are a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and field 17 varsity teams. Admission requirements, costs and financial aid are explained on the official website at vanderbilt.edu.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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