The University of Georgia (UGA) is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States. UGA offers seventy-nine degree programs in a wide range of disciplines and enrolls about 26,000 undergraduate and about 9,000 graduate students from the United States and around the world every year.

The university is organized into sixteen schools and colleges. In its 2011 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university's undergraduate program 56th among national universities, while ranking the business, education, journalism, law, and public affairs graduate programs as high as 4th and all in the top 50. The same publication also cited the university as the #11 ranked "Up-and-Coming School" in the National University category tied with the University of Southern California and ahead of Emory University. It has also been recognized as one of the Public Ivies. The university also made the list of "Top 10 Public Ivy League Schools" The School of Environment and Design was named the #1 Landscape Architecture program for undergraduates in the nation, as well as #3 for post-graduate studies in the list of top 15 Landscape Architecture Schools for 2006. Internationally, Georgia was ranked 386th in the 2011 QS World University Rankings.

UGA student athletes compete intercollegiately as the Bulldogs. As a member of the Southeastern Conference, the Bulldogs have won thirty-seven national championships and 130 conference championships.

Besides academics, research, and athletics, UGA is also well known for its campus in the acclaimed college town of Athens, with dominant architectural themes of Federal—the older buildings—and Classical and Antebellum style. Situated on a 615-acre (2.49 km2) main campus, UGA has a workforce of more than 9,800, an annual budget of about $1 billion, and a physical plant valued at some $500 million, making it one of the largest employers in Georgia and a major contributor to the state's economic and cultural vitality.