The University of Vermont is the fifth oldest university in New England, having been founded in 1791. It was notably the first institution of higher education that declared its public support of freedom of religion.

Currently located at the foot of the Green Mountains, on a hill overlooking the shores of Lake Champlain, the University of Vermont has combined the best of a small liberal arts college with the best of a major research university. Offering both the close student-faculty relationships of the former and the major resources of the latter, the University of Vermont is home to approximately 9,000 undergraduate students; 1,000 graduate students; 400 medical students; and 1,200 full- and part-time faculty members.

The university is comprised of eight schools and colleges that offer a combined total of 95 bachelor's programs, 50 master's programs, three pre-professional programs, 21 doctoral programs, and an MD program. The size of an undergraduate class averages at 22 students, creating an intimate student-faculty ratio of 15:1. As undergraduates, students have over 2,000 courses from which to choose.