University of the District of Columbia

University of the District of Columbia
Former names
List
  • Normal School for Colored Girls (1851–1879)
  • Miner Normal School (1879–1929)
  • Miner Teachers College (1929–1955)
  • Washington Normal School (1873–1913)
  • >Wilson Normal School (1913–1929)
  • Wilson Teachers College (1929–1955)
  • District of Columbia Teachers College (1955–1977)
  • Federal City College (1966–1977)
  • Washington Technical Institute (1966–1977)
  • Antioch School of Law (1972–1986)
  • District of Columbia School of Law (1987–1996)
Motto"Aspire, Accomplish, Take on the World"
TypePublic historically black land-grant university
EstablishedDecember 3, 1851 (December 3, 1851)
FounderMyrtilla Miner
AccreditationMSCHE
Academic affiliations
Endowment$49.1 million
PresidentMaurice Edington
Administrative staff
3,747 (Fall 2018)
Students4,202 (fall 2024)
Undergraduates3,610 (fall 2024)
Postgraduates592 (fall 2024)
Location,
United States
CampusLarge city, 23 acres (0.093 km2)
Colors  Red
  Gold
NicknameFirebirds
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division IIECC
MascotFelix the Firebird
Websiteudc.edu

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1977. The university offers workforce and certificate programs in addition to associate, baccalaureate, master's, professional and doctoral degrees. Its schools include the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Business and Public Administration, College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences, David A. Clarke School of Law and UDC Community College.

The university's main campus is at Van Ness in the North Cleveland Park neighborhood. Other campuses and sites include the Lamond-Riggs campus, Congress Heights campus, aviation facilities at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the UDC Firebird Farm Research Farm in Beltsville, Maryland. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.