What University of Central Oklahoma is like

What it's like

UCO is Oklahoma's third-largest public university with nearly 13,000 students, located in Edmond and rooted in 134 years of institutional history. Founded in 1890 as a territorial normal school, it has evolved from a teacher-training college into a comprehensive regional university offering over 120 undergraduate majors and 80 graduate programs. The campus maintains a strong connection to its legacy while developing modern academic and cultural offerings, anchored by a notable jazz program and growing athletics presence.

Academic feel

UCO houses six colleges, one institute, and multiple schools spanning fine arts, business, liberal arts, education, mathematics and science, and engineering. The university's research footprint is diverse, with substantial activity in mathematics (460 works), business (465 works), ecology (347 works), social psychology (295 works), and biochemistry (291 works). The School of Music Jazz Division is the largest in Oklahoma and one of the largest in the region, with a program dating to 1974 that has achieved national recognition—the Dixieland band ranked No. 1 nationally in 1983, and the Jazz Ensemble I won top honors at the Wichita Jazz Festival in 1975. The university also hosts the American branch of the British Academy of Contemporary Music in downtown Oklahoma City.

Strengths

• The UCO Jazz Studies Division is the largest in Oklahoma and one of the largest in the region, with a program established in 1974 that offers undergraduate minors and master's degrees in jazz studies.[1]
• The women's rowing team has won back-to-back NCAA Division II Rowing Championships from 2018 to 2022, demonstrating sustained excellence in collegiate athletics.[1]
• The UCO Jazz Lab has won 'Best Place for Live Music' multiple times in Edmond Life & Leisure's Reader's Choice poll and repeatedly won Best Live Music Venue in the Oklahoma Gazette's Best of OKC readers' poll.[1]
• The university offers comprehensive undergraduate and graduate degree programs across over 120 majors and 80 graduate programs, including two doctoral programs.[2]

Traditions

• The university's motto, 'Ubi Motus Est' (Where Movement Is), was created in 1966 and modeled after the television series 'Where the Action Is,' and is featured on the official coat of arms.[1]
• UCO Jazz Ensembles maintain a long tradition of participation in major jazz competitions, with the ensemble performing at the Wichita Jazz Festival since 1975.[1]