About

See what students say:

Academics

Located in the village of Kingston in the southern part of the state, The University of Rhode Island is a public research institution known for having “excellent science programs,” including a “marine biology program [that] is one of the best in the Northeast.” URI is a school that challenges me to think big and outside the box,” says one student. Other stand-out majors include “nursing, pharmacy,” which students feel is “excellent— one of the top in the country,” and engineering.” Students feel that “all professors have a unique style of teaching. Most are very willing to adapt their style to fit students’ needs though” and many “are able to share stories from their experiences that make the material more accessible and interesting.” Another student observes that the staff is also “great at helping freshmen transferring from home to college, and there are lots of different programs offered to help students excel academically.” Overall, URI is known to have a solid liberal ideology with “openness to creative and critical exploration.” This engineering major finds the environment to be rather “forward-thinking [with an] emphasis on today’s global workforce.”

Student Body

URI, as an affordable state school, naturally attracts a large percentage of Rhode Islanders. Rumor has it that this group “sticks to their friends from high school,” yet one undergrad observes, “Rhody-borns are so afraid of college turning into another four years of high school that we go searching for new people to meet.” The typical URI student “is involved in at least one student organization, but many are involved in more than one. They usually go out about once a week on average and study about an hour a day.” There are “many students...involved in at least one type of extracurricular activity,” “then there are students who are not involved at all.” Campus diversity is strong, and most groups intermingle without issue.

Campus Life

The school’s proximity to the beach and to other major cities like Providence and Boston make it appealing to students from all over the Northeast. One student reports that “driving to one of the nearby beaches to just clear your mind and relax is one of the many benefits of URI’s location.” Students are said to have a “two brain track” in terms of serious attention to study followed by equal attention to “relaxing and having a good time.” If fine dining is meaningful to your quality of life, it’s worth noting that URI’s dining hall has “won a national award the past two years in a row.” And, while there are complaints about the dry campus, one senior notes that this is a surmountable obstacle, in that “people usually live in the surrounding neighborhoods, so you can travel to your friends’ houses and party.” Others say that students who live nearby still choose to stay on campus during weekends, since this is where their social life is centered. Life isn’t all about “getting wasted,” chides one sophomore. “Sometimes we get together [to] make dinner and just have a movie night inside our apartment.”

Contact & Visit

Campus Visits Contact

Contact
Erin West Earle
Director, Campus Visit Experience

Address
Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center
45 Upper College Rd
Kingston, RI 02881-0807

Phone
4018747000

Email
admission@uri.edu

Experience College Life

Most Popular Places On Campus
Ryan Center and Boss Ice Arena
Fascitelli Wellness & Fitness Center
Memorial Student Union
Multicultural Student Services Center
Hope Dining Commons
College of Pharmacy and the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences - are LEED certified and the focal point of a statewide effort to build a new, knowledge-based economy for Rhode Island. Green Hall - historic building houses Registrar, Financial Aid and Bursar, as well as Administrative Offices.

Most Popular Places Off Campus
Newport, RI-cliffwalks,historic areas,shops
Providence, RI-dining, shopping, history
Narragansett Beaches, RI-10 min from campus
Block Island, RI-popular vacation spot
Mystic, CT- Aquarium, history, dining and shopping,

Campus Tours

Campus Visiting Center
Monday-Friday (Saturdays-academic year)
7:30 am to 5:00 pm (Saturdays-9:00 am-2:00 pm)
4018747000

Campus Tours
Appointment Required: Yes
Dates: Varies
Times: Varies
Average Length: 2 hours

On Campus Interview

Campus Interviews
No

Information Sessions
Available

Times
varies

Faculty and Coach Visits

Dates/Times Available
Year-round

Arrangements
Contact Coach Directly

Advance Notice
Other

Contact Email Address for Visit
gorhody.com

Class Visits

Dates/Times Available
Varies

Arrangements
Contact individual academic department

Overnight Dorm Stays

Overnight Dorm Stays
Not Available

Transportation

Types of Transportation Available to Campus
The T.F. Green Airport in Warwick is 20 miles from campus. The airport is serviced by the major airlines. Bus transportation and rental cars are available for the trip from the airport to campus. For information on bus transportation, contact the RI Public Transportation Authority at 401-781-9400 or www.ripta.edu. Amtrak trains along the northeast corridor stop at the station in Kingston about 2 miles from campus. Local buses (RIPTA) and taxis are available to get to campus from the station. (For train schedules, call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL, www.amtrack.com; for bus schedules, call RIPTA at 401-781-9400.) Bus service to Providence is provided by Bonanza Bus Lines (800-556-3815), www.bonanzabus.com; service from Providence to campus is provided by RIPTA

Driving Instructions to Campus
From the north, take I-95 S. to exit 9, then take Rhode Island Rte. 4 S (a left-lane exit). Follow Rte. 4 S to Rte. 1 S., then stay on Rte. 1 to Rhode Island Rte. 138 W. (Note that this is just past the Holiday Inn; do not take the first 138 exit, which is 138 E.) Take Rte. 138 W. for approximately 4 miles; the university will be on the right. From the south, take I-95 N. to Exit 3A and Rhode Island Rte. 138 E. Proceed for approximately seven miles on Rte. 138; the university will be on the left.

Local Accommodations
About 10 minutes away is the Holiday Inn (3009 Tower Hill Road, South Kingston; 401-789-1051). from mid-May through October. Approximately 10 minutes from campus is the recently constructed Hampton Inn, conveniently located in the Village at South County Commons - a unique mixed-use development in a quaint New England Village setting (20 Hotel Drive So. Kingstown, RI; 401-788-3500). Newport the "City by the Sea" is about 15 miles to the east of the university and offers choices in accommodations ranging from large national hotels and motels to small bed and breakfasts at a variety of seasonal prices. Your best bet for a stay in Newport is to contact to Newport County Visitors Bureau at 800-326-6030 or 800-976-5122 of www.gonewport.com

Admissions

Applicants: 25,481
Acceptance Rate: 76%
Average HS GPA: 3.59







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