The University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor, a small cosmopolitan city in the southeast corner of Michigan, 44 miles west of Detroit and only a half-hour drive from the Detroit Metro Airport. With a population of ~120,000, Ann Arbor combines the congenial atmosphere and ease of living in a small city with the wide range of cultural opportunities typically found in a much larger community. Intercalation of the University of Michigan campus and the city of Ann Arbor provides easy access to these activities and to an abundance of affordable and conveniently located housing.
The University serves as one focus for art, music and theatrical performance. The city itself also has a lively arts scene and offers an abundant array of restaurants, microbreweries, coffee houses, jazz, blues and rock clubs, museums and other entertainment. Ann Arbor's proximity to Detroit provides the advantages of life in a major metropolitan area—cultural events, museums, professional sporting events—without the attendant disadvantages of urban life. Chicago, Toronto, and several other urban areas are within a six hour radius by car or train, providing access to the array of events these cities have to offer. Over 150 parks inside the Ann Arbor city limits and more in the surrounding area offer countless possibilities for outdoor activities, from paddleboarding on the Huron River to biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing on scenic trails. Chains of inland lakes and nearby rivers offer boating, swimming, and fishing opportunities.
The University of Michigan
The University of Michigan, chartered in 1817, has a student enrollment of over 46,000. About 65 percent of the students are engaged in undergraduate studies and 35 percent are in graduate or professional schools. The University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor is complex and diverse, with several different areas, each possessing a wealth of architectural delights and attractive views. There is also a network of inspiring museums and spaces including the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Art, the Kelsey Museum of Archeology, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and Nichols Arboretum. The intellectual, cultural and environmental components of the University of Michigan work together to provide a comfortable home to thousands of students, postdoctoral trainees, faculty and staff.
Michigan is a place of limitless possibilities and our students invest their time in distinctive and vibrant ways. Outside of class there are opportunities for research, sports, social events, nightlife, theater and the arts, outdoor recreation, and all levels and types of community service and activism. Michigan's atmosphere is vivid and energetic, with passionate and creative students who play as hard as they work.