Founded in 1892, the University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public research university based in Kingston, to the south of the state.
There are eight distinct colleges for undergraduate students: Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Environment, Health Sciences, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Located less then ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean, URI is a member of the Sea Grant College Programme, and offers bachelor’s courses in Marine Biology that providing both specialised education and an interdisciplinary approach such as Aquaculture and Marine Archeology. The graduate school of Oceanography has a PhD programme, and maintains a 185-foot research vessel, the Endeavor.
The study abroad programme at URI offers students the opportunity to take international exchange in 200 programmes in over 60 countries, for periods of study ranging from short term to year long. The Chinese Flagship Programme is of only twelve such courses in the US, and is designed for students taking any major to acquire a professional level of proficiency in Chinese while also granting opportunities to study in China.
Athletics teams at URI are known as the Rams, and compete in the NCAA Division I. In total there are seven men’s sports programmes and nine women’s, including rowing, swimming, and volleyball. Men’s and women’s basketball games are played at the Ryan Centre, which can seat up to 7,600, and also hosts events and concerts.
Notable alumni of URI include CEO of American Airlines Robert Crandall, basketball player Lamar Odom, governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Almond, rapper Masta Ace, and Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who discovered the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
