,·Private (nonprofit)·Est. 1964
“Private R1 research university in Fort Lauderdale-Davie with 14 colleges and more than 150 degree programs.”
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a private, not-for-profit research university headquartered on a 314-acre main campus in Davie, Florida — a Fort Lauderdale suburb framed by the Everglades and the Atlantic coast. Founded in 1964 and merged with Southeastern University of the Health Sciences in 1994, NSU is today one of the largest independent universities in the southeastern United States and is classified by Carnegie as an R2 "high research activity" doctoral institution. With roughly 20,500 students across its undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs — including colleges of allopathic and osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, and health care sciences — NSU is above all a health-professions powerhouse, and its reputation is built on clinical training, translational research, and a direct pipeline into South Florida's medical and biotech economy. Academically, NSU offers 150+ degree programs and organises them into more than a dozen colleges, including the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, the College of Dental Medicine, the Barry and Judy Silverman College of Pharmacy, the Ron and Kathy Assaf College of Nursing, the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (home to the nationally recognised Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center), the College of Computing, AI, and Cybersecurity, the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the Shepard Broad College of Law, and the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Undergraduate programs such as biology, health sciences, nursing, marine biology, psychology, and business feed directly into NSU's graduate and professional schools through a large catalogue of "Dual Admission" and "Premier" tracks that reserve a seat in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, PA, PT, or OT programs for qualified high-schoolers. Student life revolves around the Sharks identity — a reference to NSU's athletic teams and the oceanographic institute — and is shaped by its South Florida location. On-campus housing is required for first-year undergraduates and is organised around resort-style residence halls with Caribbean-flavoured landscaping and swimming pools. Students routinely describe the campus climate as professionally focused, multicultural, and tightly tied to clinical rotations across Broward County's major hospital systems. For international students, NSU combines a strong professional-school pipeline, year-round warm weather, and a location in one of the most demographically diverse metropolitan areas in the United States — Miami–Fort Lauderdale hosts large Latin American, Caribbean, South Asian, and European communities — with a dedicated Office of International Affairs that issues I-20s and supports F-1 students through CPT and OPT.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
International Student Enrollment (F-1)
DHS SEVIS by the Numbers (2024)
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Research Classification
Carnegie
Largest Private R1
NSU homepage
Test Required — All applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores.
Official SourceRegular Decision
Applications reviewed on rolling basis; priority deadline for fall enrollment
Early Action
Non-binding early action
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$38,700
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
8 years
Reserves a seat in NSU's Doctor of Pharmacy program for qualified high-school applicants who complete undergraduate prerequisites at NSU, bypassing the competitive PharmCAS application cycle and providing one of the clearest early-assurance paths to a Pharm.D. in the Southeast.
4 years
A flagship program linked to the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center and Halmos College's coral-reef, shark, and coastal-ecosystem labs; students routinely work aboard NSU's research vessels in the Florida Keys and Bahamas.
4 years
The Ron and Kathy Assaf College of Nursing offers a traditional four-year BSN with clinical rotations across South Florida hospital systems; NCLEX pass rates are strong and graduates feed directly into Florida's acute-care and specialty nursing workforce.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $38,700
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
