Robinson Observatory

The Florida Space Institute (FSI) is a research institute of the State University System of Florida and the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States.FSI is currently led by Interim Director Dr. Julie Brisset.

The Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) is a research institute of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. Grace Bochenek, Ph.D. was appointed director of IST in early 2021. She was previously the director of the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (2006-12) and the chief technology officer of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, and served as acting secretary of energy for the U.S. Department of Energy (2017). The Institute provides a wide range of research and information services for the modeling, simulation and training community of Central Florida. As well, the institute aids in undergraduate and graduate studies in modeling and simulation leading to bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, Professional Science Master's and doctoral degrees. IST is a member of the National Center for Simulation.

The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan public research university located on a 1,415-acre (5.73 km2) main campus in Orlando, Florida, United States. UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida and is the second-largest university in the United States. Metropolitan Orlando sustains the world's largest recognized cluster of modeling, simulation and training companies, and the university has made noted research contributions to optics, modeling and simulation, digital media, engineering and computer science, business administration, education and hospitality management. The UCF Office of Research & Commercialization is responsible for the organization and administration of the university's research centers, institutes and partners. The Office is located directly south of the main campus in the Central Florida Research Park, which is one of the largest research parks in the nation. Providing more than 10,000 jobs, the Research Park is the largest research park in Florida, the fourth largest in the United States by number of companies, and the seventh largest in the United States by number of employees. Collectively, UCF's research centers and the park manage over $5.5 billion in contracts annually.Significant research also takes place on UCF's Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona. The campus includes the university's College of Medicine and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, as well as the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, M.D. Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Institute, and a University of Florida Academic and Research Center. It is estimated that the campus will create up to 30,000 jobs and have a $7.8 billion economic impact by 2020.

The University of Central Florida College of Nursing is an academic college of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The dean of the college is Mary Lou Sole, PhD, RN, CCNS, CNL, FAAN, FCCM.According to U.S. News & World Report, UCF is among the most innovative college programs, with one of the best online graduate nursing programs in the state of Florida and among the top 25 programs for Veterans.

The residence hall system at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida is administered by the Department of Housing and Residence Life. As of 2011, the system offers just under 6,500 beds on its main campus within five housing communities, 400 beds at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, and 3,750 beds in university-affiliated housing.Housing on the main campus is separated into five communities, the oldest being Apollo, and the newest residence hall being UnionWest at Creative Village in downtown Orlando. The majority of on-campus housing is occupied by freshmen, while the bulk of upper-class and graduate students live in off-campus apartments, houses, and cooperatives. The Residence Hall Association (RHA) is the residence hall association for the university. All residents living in on-campus housing, UCF Affiliated Housing, or the Rosen College of Hospitality Management Housing are automatically members of RHA. They rebranded from the United Resident Student Association (URSA) to RHA in 2013.

The UCF Knights are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I (FBS for football) as a member of the American Athletic Conference. UCF was invited to join the Big 12 Conference on September 10, 2021, and accepted the invitation later that day. The American Athletic Conference announced on June 10, 2022 that UCF had been approved for an early exit of the conference following the 2022-23 season (albeit with an increased buyout cost), permitting them to enter the Big 12 Conference for the 2023-24 season. Since men's soccer is not sponsored by the Big 12, they will play in the Sun Belt Conference beginning in 2023. The "Knights of Pegasus" – as the nickname was originally called – was a submission put forth by students, staff, and faculty in 1970 who wished to replace UCF's unpopular original mascot, the Citronaut, which was a mix between an orange and an astronaut. The Knights were also chosen over "Vincent the Vulture," which was a popular unofficial mascot among students at the time. From 1993 through 2007, the teams were known as the Golden Knights. In 1994, Knightro debuted as the Golden Knights' official athletic mascot. Since 2014, the Citronaut has made a limited return for some "throwback" games in football. UCF sponsors 16 varsity sports: 6 for men (baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, and tennis; the minimum number of men's sports required for a Division I school) and 10 for women (basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and volleyball). UCF also used to sponsor a men's wrestling team, but it was discontinued after the 1986 season. The Knights 16 varsity teams have combined to win 89 conference championships and two national championships as of the end of the 2020–21 school year. The women's volleyball team won in the AIAW Small College Division national title in 1978 and the football team was selected as national champions by the Colley Matrix in 2017. Neither of these titles came in NCAA sanctioned events as the NCAA does not award national championships in FBS Football and did not sponsor women's sports at all before 1982. One Golden Knights athlete, Aurieyall Scott, has won an individual NCAA championship. Scott won the 60 meter dash at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. The UCF cheerleading team (which not considered a varsity team) has captured three national titles at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals.Athletic facilities on the campus include the 44,206-seat FBC Mortgage Stadium, the 9,432–seat Addition Financial Arena, 3,000–seat Venue, John Euliano Park, the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, and the UCF Softball Complex.

The University of Central Florida College of Optics and Photonics is an academic college of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The dean of the college is David J. Hagan, Ph.D.In 2004, UCF's board of trustees voted to give UCF's School of Optics and Photonics full college status, making it the first college dedicated specifically to optics and photonics at a public university in the United States. Until 2013, it was the only college at UCF that did not offer an undergraduate program, offering only Master's and Doctoral degrees in Optics. In March 2013, the Board of Trustees approved the Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering. The college houses the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), the Florida Photonics Center of Excellence (FPCE), and the Townes Laser Institute.

The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is an Echelon IV command of the United States Navy, reporting to the Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. NAWCTSD is located in Orlando, Florida in the Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the University of Central Florida (UCF). The facility is a part of a larger military installation within the Central Florida Research Park known as Naval Support Activity Orlando (NSA Orlando).The Commanding Officer (CO) of NAWCTSD, an aeronautically designated U.S. Navy Captain, is also dual-hatted as the installation CO of NSA Orlando. This results in a dual-track command chain, answering to the Commander of NAWCAD as CO of NAWCTSD for Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issues, and to the Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) as CO of NSA Orlando for installation-related issues. NAWCTSD is the principal U.S. Navy center for research, development, test and evaluation, acquisition, life cycle program management and product support of all aviation, surface and undersea training systems, devices and programs for the U.S. Navy and all aviation training systems for the U.S. Marine Corps. It also provides interservice coordination and training systems support for the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard, especially in those instances of similar platforms and systems (i.e., USAF CV-22B Osprey, USCG MH-60T Jayhawk, etc.).

The Arboretum of the University of Central Florida is located on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, United States. Covering 80 acres (320,000 m2), it contains more than 600 species of plants, including more than 100 bromeliads, in cultivated gardens.

The University of Central Florida College of Business Administration is an academic college of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The dean of the college is Paul Jarley, Ph.D.The College of Business Administration offers programs in accounting, economics, finance, business administration, management, marketing, real estate and taxation, which were developed in response to the demands of the Central Florida community. The curriculum focuses on specific competencies that are integrated throughout all coursework: Teamwork, Communication, Creativity, Adaptation to Change, Diversity, and Ethics.

The University of Central Florida College of Engineering and Computer Science is an academic college of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The college offers degrees in engineering, computer science and management systems, and houses UCF's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The dean of the college is Michael Georgiopoulos, Ph.D.UCF is listed as a university with "very high research activity" by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. With an enrollment of over 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students as of Fall 2012, the college is one of the premier engineering schools in the United States. The college is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's best Engineering schools, and as one of the world's best in the ARWU rankings. The university has made noted research contributions to modeling and simulation, digital media, and engineering and computer science.

The University of Central Florida College of Sciences is the largest academic college of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. From 2011 until 2020, the dean of the college was Michael Johnson, Ph.D, before he was elevated to Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Afairs. Since 2021, the dean has been Maggy Tomova, Ph.D.The College of Sciences was established in October 2005 after the division of the former College of Arts & Sciences into two separate colleges. It consists of two divisions: the Division of Natural Sciences and the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Division of Natural Sciences is home to the National Center for Forensic Science, while the division of Social and Behavioral Sciences includes the Nicholson School of Communication, one of the largest schools of communication in the nation. The college is also home to the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government. In 2007, the college completed construction of a Psychology Building and the second phase of a new Physical Sciences Building is currently under construction.