Tampa Bay’s commitment to excellence in education is impressive and helps create an outstanding quality for residents and a well-trained workforce for employers.
Excellent educational options are available for families with students in pre-kindergarten through high school, both public and private. The public schools of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties equaled or excelled the state's average in scores on FCAT tests.
Hillsborough County Public Schools continuously receives an overall A grade based on each year’s FCAT exams. Overall, 57 percent of Hillsborough schools received an A and more than three-fourths received an A or B. Nearly two-thirds of elementary schools (66%) were graded A, and 60 percent of middle schools earned A’s. The district was recently awarded a $100 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to overhaul how teachers are trained and evaluated.
Adult students can choose to attend one of many major colleges, universities, technical and trade schools. Tampa Bay is home to a respected medical school, top-ranked law school, private national liberal arts college and several graduate schools.
The University of South Florida has more than 46,000 students across its main campus in Tampa and three other regional locations. It has become the 9th largest public university in the nation and holds the distinction of being a top-tier research institution. USF offers 200 majors and degree programs in every field from business to arts and sciences, engineering and public health.
Situated along the waterfront in downtown Tampa, the University of Tampa is a private institution offering 120 majors and minors and its MBA is one of the largest in Florida. Also near downtown is the Tampa Law Center of the Stetson University College of Law. Hillsborough Community College has multiple locations across Tampa Bay and proves an array of business, technical, and health sciences programs. Saint Leo University just north of Tampa has a center at MacDill Air Force Base and has been recognized as one of the top military-friendly colleges and universities.
Students of every age can achieve their educational goals in the Tampa Bay area. For families with young children, there are a variety of wonderful public and private school options to choose from.