Florida Atlantic University is a public university committed through its distributed campus structure to providing access to challenging opportunities in higher education for students in Southeast Florida and beyond. Its mission is to serve its region, state, and nation by preparing students to make meaningful contributions in an increasingly complex global society, by encouraging reflection on and evaluation of emerging needs and priorities, and by supporting research and service that enhances economic, human, and cultural development.

      FAU accomplishes its mission primarily through its teachers and researchers, its undergraduate educational programs, its graduate and professional offerings, and its linkages to other educational institutions and the community.

Teachers and Researchers

      Florida Atlantic University fosters an intellectual environment that values the role of faculty as researchers-teachers. As researchers and scholars, faculty discover and create new knowledge, design solutions, and develop new means of expression. As teachers committed to effective student learning, faculty share results, processes, and perspectives with students. Inside and outside the classroom, students at Florida Atlantic University find opportunities to become a part of a dynamic community of inquiry and learn to value intellectual activities and personal qualities that contribute to an enriched and productive life.

Undergraduate Educational Programs

      Florida Atlantic University prepares its undergraduate students to be productive and thoughtful citizens by offering a broad liberal education coupled with the development of competency in fields of special interest. By providing both disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to the pursuit of knowledge and the solving of problems, FAU encourages students to think creatively and critically and provides intellectual tools needed for lifelong learning. A variety of curricular and extra-curricular opportunities enables students to appreciate the rich diversity that characterizes their region and world.

Graduate and Professional Offerings

      With its graduate and professional programs, Florida Atlantic University offers advanced education responsive to evolving societal needs. These programs promote original scholarship and basic and applied research, thereby contributing to the new knowledge and approaches needed to respond effectively to complex and critical issues. By working closely with faculty in the classroom, laboratory, studio, and field, students experience first-hand the ways in which knowledge is discovered, applied, and extended.

Community Linkages and Educational Partnerships

      Through its partnerships with other educational institutions, local businesses, industries, and civic and cultural organizations, Florida Atlantic University enhances the economic, human, and cultural development of Southeast Florida and beyond. By collaborating with others to address critical problems and expand cultural and educational opportunities, the University connects learning and discovery with the needs and priorities of the communities that it serves.

Source: Expanded Mission Statement (May 2000)