AHU traces its origins to a nursing program started in 1913 at Florida Sanitarium (now AdventHealth Orlando). In 1983, a two-year associate degree in nursing began under the sponsorship of Southern College (now Southern Adventist University).[8] Plans to establish a standalone institution began in 1990, led by hospital chaplain David Greenlaw, who became the founding president.[9]
In October 2022, it partnered with Full Sail University to open a technology laboratory for healthcare education.[12][13] In December 2023, AdventHealth partnered with Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine to train physicians to keep them in the Orlando metropolitan area. Students from the new college will be able to work at AdventHealth hospitals; AdventHealth employees and AHU students will be able to take courses at OCOM. And when OCOM opened in 2024, many of its faculty were physicians from AdventHealth.[14][15] In 2024, AHU opened a Welcome Center in Orlando and broke ground on a new simulation center, scheduled to open in 2026.[16][17]
In late October 2024, the university began to offer certificates to high school students.[18][19] The following month, AdventHealth University Tampa opened.[20][21] In 2025, Howell Construction expanded AdventHealth University Denver in Greenwood Village, Colorado for $5 million. The Colorado campus is in the same building as AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region.[22][23]
Statistics
Ranking
By EduRank in March 2025, the university is #6,459 of 14,131 on earth; #1,785 of 2,597 in North America; #1,698 of 2496 in the United States; #69 of 109 in Florida; #3 of 6 in Orlando and #4,706 of 4,826 for surgery.[4]
Money
At the four year university the average annual cost is $31,885, and the median earnings of former students is $72,282.[5]
Ratio
The acceptance rate at the university is 100%.[4][5] The graduation rate at the university is 55%, and the student loan rate is 55%.[5] 40% of the students are full-time, and 60% of the students are part-time.[5] The student ratio at the university is: 37% Hispanics, 31% Whites, 17% Blacks, 4% Asians, 3% nonresident alien, 3% two or more races, 1% Hawaiians or other Pacific Islander.[5] While the faculty ratio is: 64% White, 15% Black, 12% Hispanic, 5% Asian and 5% two or more races.[5] The geographic ratio of students is: 87.8% from Florida, 12.22% from another state and 2.17% from another country. The majority of the international students come from Brazil, Jamaica and Bermuda.[24] In 2025, the majority of the students are female with 81% and males are only 19%.[4]
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