The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, SUNY Albany or UAlbany, is a public research university with campuses in the New York cities of Albany and Rensselaer and the Township of Guilderland, United States. Founded in 1844, it carries out undergraduate and graduate education, research, and service. It is a part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
The University has three campuses: the Uptown Campus in Albany and Guilderland, the Downtown Campus in Albany, and the Health Sciences Campus in the City of Rensselaer, just across the Hudson River. The University enrolls approximately 17,750 students in nine schools and colleges, which offer 50 undergraduate majors and 125 graduate degree programs. The University's academic choices include new and emerging fields in public policy, homeland security, globalization, documentary studies, biotechnology, bio-instrumentation, and informatics.
Through the UAlbany and SUNY-wide exchange programs, students have more than 600 study-abroad programs to choose from, as well as government and business internship opportunities in New York’s capital and surrounding region. The Honors College, which opened in fall 2006, offers opportunities for well-prepared students to work closely with faculty. The UAlbany faculty had $103.0 million in research expenditures in 2016-17. for work advancing discovery in a wide range of fields. The research enterprise is in four areas: social science, public policy, life sciences and atmospheric sciences.
SUNY Albany offers many cultural benefits, such as a contemporary art museum and the New York State Writers Institute. UAlbany plays a major role in the economic development of the Capital District and New York State. An economic impact study in 2004 estimated UAlbany’s economic impact to be $1.1 billion annually in New York State — $1 billion of that in the Capital Region.
