Broaden your horizons
Your college experience is in your hands!
Volunteer at the annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival, express yourself creatively, become an athlete, or find your tribe by joining one of the 300+ clubs and organizations on campus.
No matter what you're into, FIU has an opportunity that will peak your interests and more.
SOBEWFF
Started by our School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, the annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival is a star-studded, five-day, destination event showcasing the talents of the world’s most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.
- 60,000+ guests
- 95+ events
- $31.8+ raised for our Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and our Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center
- 1,200+ student volunteers
Wertheim Performing Arts Center
The Wertheim Performing Arts Center provides space for collaboration between students and professionals. In addition to the 585-seat concert hall, WPAC also houses classrooms, an instrumental hall, a recital hall and a black box theater.
Write a bestseller
Our creative writing program has yielded some of the most talented writers of our time. Housed at the Biscayne Bay Campus, major writers such as Campbell McGrath, Lynne Barrett, John Dufresne and more serve on the regular faculty.
Learn from the masters
David Chang, renowned artist and faculty member, carries the classical painting tradition at our Academy of Portrait & Figurative Art, the first such school at a public university in the country.
Set the beat
Our artist- in-residence program offers students the opportunity to learn from some of the most accomplished artists out there.
Design. Act. Direct.
FIU Theatre will guide you toward your unique artistic visions. Our students stand out nationally, winning Kennedy Center awards in directing, theatrical design and more.
Modern art world
Our students have access to 15,000 square feet of studio and lab space in Wynwood, the heart of the modern art world.
When you don’t grow up around the theater, you don’t know that any of this exists. FIU Theatre has shown me parts of myself that I didn’t even know existed. I always appreciated the arts, but I didn’t know I had an artistic and creative side to myself.Apriah Williams - Turks & Caicos
Your college experience is in your hands
At FIU there is no shortage of ways to get involved and enrich you college experience. From freshman convocation to homecoming week and the hundreds of clubs and organizations to choose from, you're bound to find your tribe for the next four years.
Learn from the pros
To be entrepreneurial doesn't mean you have to go it alone. You can learn from the 150+ scholars and business leaders at our College of Business. They are internationally known experts representing 38 different nations. They offer a wealth of research and practical business savvy.
Collaborate and design
Our College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts is the only arts or design college in the nation to house a MakerBot Innovation Center like the one at our Miami Beach Urban Studios. The college also supports social entrepreneurs at the Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator located on our Biscayne Bay Campus.
Pitch your ideas to real investors at StartUP FIU
Ideas alone can’t create change. Ideas need to be nurtured and refined. They need support to become more than just ideas. That’s where StartUP FIU steps in to provide the guidance and support to help ideas become reality.
StartUP FIU is a university-wide initiative to foster innovation and entrepreneurship and aimed at developing breakthrough technologies to close social and environmental gaps and create meaningful jobs of the future.
Bleed blue and gold
Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton caught touchdowns here. Olympic gold medalist Tayna Lawrence sprinted here. Major League All Star and World Series champion Mike Lowell swung for the fences here.
More than 400 of our student athletes compete in 17 Division-I sports, and earch All-American honors while appearing in 45 NCAA tournaments and routinely making the Dean’s List.
Whether you’re a screaming blue and gold fan or a future star, here is where you belong— among champions.
Meet your mascot
Roary the Panther, FIU mascot.
While you won’t find many panthers wandering around urban Miami, you'll certainly see Roary the Panther at every FIU football and basketball game. Snag a selfie for Roary's frequent strolls around campus, or take part in the Hidden Roarys on-campus scavenger hunt.
FIU traditions
Homecoming
Homecoming is a full week of fun at every corner. Become a part of the planning by joining the Homecoming Council or just join in on the fun. The week is complete with a comedy show, talent show, festival, concert, tailgating and, of course, the homecoming football game.
Panther Convocation
Panther Convocation is an FIU tradition that welcomes new students, their friends and family as they embark upon their college journey. The formal ceremony is hosted by the FIU president, our college deans and other distinguished faculty and staff. This memorable experience marks students' introduction to their college career in the same manner that commencement will mark their success as proud graduates of FIU.
Kissing Pond & Bridge
Behind the Ryder Business Building is a pond shaped like a heart. At the opening of the FIU Modesto Maidique Campus in 1972, students began sitting along the pond with their significant other. As time passed, more and more couples began to visit the area around the pond, and it soon became known as the Kissing Pond. It is said that any couple who kisses on the bridge over the heart-shaped pond will be together for life.
Stepping on the Seal
The Graham Center (GC) serves as the center of student life at FIU. At the front of the building, you'll find the great seal of our university, symbolizing its strength, unity and success.
Legend has it that those who step on this seal are doomed to fail their finals and thus graduate later than intended. If you do accidentally step on it, be sure to walk around it counter-clockwise to undo the bad juju!