University of Vermont

Burlington, VT · founded 1791 · 13,000 students · public research university · America East Conference

Known for: A leader in environmental studies, health sciences, and liberal arts, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and public service.

Rankings

U.S. News national: #133
QS World: #531
Times Higher Education: #301

Top programmes

Environmental Science
Health Sciences
Business
Education
Liberal Arts
Agriculture

Notable alumni

Jodi Picoult — Bestselling author of novels like 'My Sister's Keeper'
Ben Cohen — Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
Howard Dean — Former Governor of Vermont and presidential candidate
John LeClair — Former NHL hockey player and Olympic medalist
Alison Bechdel — Cartoonist and author of 'Fun Home'

Traditions

Rally Catamount
Spring Fest
Homecoming
Winter Carnival

If University of Vermont were…

As a food: Heady Topper IPA from The Alchemist — Cult-status Vermont craft beer that's aggressively local, sustainably minded, and comes with a whole ethos about freshness and purity. UVM students treat their values the same way — with intensity and a touch of superior
As an athlete: Kelly Clark — Vermont-born Olympic snowboarder, pioneering and progressive, who dominated her sport while staying rooted in mountain culture. UVM has that same blend of high achievement and crunchy authenticity.
As a person alive today: Bernie Sanders — Vermont's most famous political figure, progressive to the core, with a devoted following and an unshakable commitment to social justice. UVM students are basically Bernie's base — earnest, left-leaning, and ready to exp
As a historical figure: Rachel Carson — The marine biologist and conservationist whose Silent Spring launched the modern environmental movement. UVM's identity is built on that same fusion of rigorous science and moral urgency about the planet.
As a movie or TV show: Portlandia — Satirizes earnest progressive culture, artisanal everything, and the obsession with local sourcing and sustainability. UVM and Burlington are the East Coast version — same energy, colder weather, more Ben & Jerry's.
As a US president: Theodore Roosevelt — The outdoorsman president who created the national parks, combined progressive politics with a love of nature, and wasn't afraid to break with his party. UVM has that same conservationist, reform-minded, get-outside etho
As a city: Boulder, Colorado — Progressive college town surrounded by mountains, obsessed with outdoor recreation and sustainability, with a population that's fit, educated, and will lecture you about your carbon footprint. Both are beautiful, expensi
As an element: Carbon — The basis of all organic life, central to climate science, and endlessly discussed in terms of footprints and cycles. UVM's entire identity revolves around understanding, measuring, and reducing carbon — it's the element
As a car: 1989 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia — UVM is the granola-crunching, Ben & Jerry's-adjacent eco-warrior of higher ed—progressive, outdoorsy, health-obsessed, and unapologetically Vermont. The Westfalia camper is both lifestyle statement and transportation, ju

Campus life

UVM boasts a vibrant, progressive campus life with a focus on sustainability, wellness, and outdoor activities. Students enjoy a lively social scene with events, clubs, and Division I athletics, all set against the backdrop of Burlington's cultural offerings.