The University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor, a small cosmopolitan city in the southeast corner of Michigan, approximately one hour west of the greater Detroit metropolitan area and only a twenty-minute drive from the Detroit Metropolitan International Airport. With a population of ~125,000, Ann Arbor combines the congenial atmosphere and ease of living of 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 a 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 other major metropolitan areas are within a four hour trip by car or train, providing access to the distinct array of events these cities have to offer.
Over 140 parks in the city and surrounding areas offer outdoor activities from boating on the Huron River to biking, rollerblading and hiking, and in the winter cross-country skiing, skating and other outdoor activities. Chains of inland lakes and an abundance of clear streams offer adventurous canoeing and fishing opportunities. In addition Ann Arbor is only a few hours from the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan and the wild shorelines of Lakes Superior and Huron as well as the deep forests and campsites along the waters of the upper peninsula. The combination of cultural, outdoor and sporting activities, excellent restaurants and a lively community make Ann Arbor a terrific place for graduate and postdoctoral studies.
The University of Michigan, chartered in 1817, has a student enrollment of approximately 36,000. About 60 percent of the students are undergraduates and 40 percent are in graduate or professional schools. The 2500 acre University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor is complex and diverse, full of architectural delights and attractive views. There is also a network of inspiring museums including the Exhibit Museums, featuring the Museum of Art, a Hall of Evolution, the Ruthven Planetarium, the Kelsey Museum of Archeology, the University Herbarium and the President Gerald R. Ford Museum. The intellectual, cultural and environmental components work together to provide a comfortable home to students, postdoctoral trainees, faculty and staff.