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The University of Florida’s plan to open a tech- and business-focused graduate campus in Jacksonville is getting closer to becoming a reality.
Governor Ron DeSantis last week approved the state’s annual budget, which included a $75 million line item for the campus, WJCT News, Jacksonville’s NPR affiliate, reported. The project, which is projected to cost around $300 million, now has more than $250 million of support from a mix of state, city and private donors, The Florida Times-Union reported.
The campus will initially offer nine master’s degree programs in management in artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence and analytics, engineering management in data analytics, computer science in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and legal studies, Jacksonsville Today reported in March.
“We think the new world [of higher education] will have students going back and forth between practical experiences and classroom many times over the course of their life,” University of Florida President Ben Sasse said in March, noting that students at the Jacksonville campus will get a mix of classroom and experiential learning.
Classes are expected to start in fall 2025 and temporarily take place at the downtown headquarters building of the Jacksonville Electric Authority.
A permanent location of the proposed 15-acre campus has not yet been determined, but there are multiple possibilities up for discussion.
News4Jax, a local television station, reported that Shad Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars football team, and Mark Lamping , the team’s president, want it built on the Jacksonville Fairgrounds (which Khan purchased last year) next to TIAA Bank Field downtown. The fair is moving to Jacksonville’s westside, and Khan didn’t specify his plans for the land when he purchased it last year.
Lawmakers are billing the campus as an economic development opportunity for northeast Florida.
“By bringing the University of Florida graduate center to Jacksonville, we will attract talented students to the region who will graduate ready to enter and enhance our community’s workforce,” Florida House speaker Paul Renner said in a statement, according to The Florida Times-Union. “As the No. 1 public university in the nation, UF’s presence in Jacksonville will have a generational benefit.”
