The University of Virginia (U.Va. or UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by United States Declaration of Independence author Thomas Jefferson. It is the flagship university of Virginia and home to Jefferson's Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UVA is known for its historic foundations, student-run honor code and secret societies.

The University of Virginia offers 121 majors across the eight undergraduate and three professional schools. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Its alumni have founded many companies, such as Reddit and CNET, which together produce more than $1.6 trillion in annual revenue and have created 2.3 million jobs. It sits on a historic 1,135-acre (1.8 sq mi; 459.3 ha) central campus partially protected by UNESCO.The university additionally maintains 562 acres north of the campus at UVA Research Park, and 2,913 acres southeast of the city at Morven Farm. Moreover, it manages the College at Wise in Southwest Virginia and until 1972 managed George Mason University and the University of Mary Washington in Northern Virginia.