University of Oklahoma
About OU
Created by the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a doctoral degree-granting research university serving the educational, cultural, economic and health-care needs of the state, region and nation. OU enrolls more than 30,000 students and has 20 colleges offering 163 majors at the baccalaureate level, 166 majors at the master’s level, 81 majors at the doctoral level, 27 majors at the doctoral-professional level and 26 graduate certificates.
OU has the academically highest-ranked student body at a public university in Oklahoma history, and the Princeton Review ranks OU in the top-10 public universities in the nation in terms of academic excellence and affordability.
Sam Noble Museum
OU is home to one of the two largest natural history museums in the world associated with a university. The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History has more than 7 million artifacts and contains 195,000 square feet on 40 acres of land. The museum exhibits include the largest Apatosaurus on display in the world and the oldest work of art ever found in North America — a lightning bolt painted on an extinct bison skull.
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s collections total more than 10,000 works of art, including OU’s Weitzenhoffer Collection of French Impressionism, one of the most impressive gifts of art ever given to a U.S. public university. The museum also shares the Eugene B. Adkins Collection, one of the most important private collections in the nation of works by the Taos artists, as well as Native American works of art, with the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. Additional collections have further strengthened the museum’s holdings in the areas of Native American and Southwest art.
National Weather Center
Experience the forces of nature to go behind the scenes and see the newest technology in action at the National Weather Center, where more than 550 scientists, meteorologists, climatologists, students and staff from The University of Oklahoma and multiple federal and state agencies work together to improve the understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere and severe weather events.
Tours are available at 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and last approximately 45 minutes. All tours require a reservation. Call to schedule a tour at least two weeks in advance. All visitors must pass security to enter the facility.
Historic Campus
Guided tours of the historic, park-like campus can be scheduled through the OU Visitor Center, or if you’re the adventurous type, you can take self-guided tour with a brochure highlighting points of interest.
Four buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Bizzell Library, the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house, Casa Blanca (formerly the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house) and the Boyd House – the official residence of the university president.
Athletics
OU’s 19 varsity sports teams comprise one of the most storied athletic programs in the country. View the team schedules on our calendar, and learn about the Sooners’ proud sports traditions at the Barry Switzer Center, Legacy Court and Heisman Park – all located on OU’s campus.
