The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original governing Board of Visitors included three U.S. presidents: Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the latter as sitting president of the United States at the time of its foundation. As its first two rectors, Presidents Jefferson and Madison played key roles in the university's foundation, with Jefferson designing both the original courses of study and the university's architecture.

Located within its 1,135-acre central campus, the university is composed of eight undergraduate and three professional schools: the School of Law, the Darden School of Business, and the School of Medicine. The university has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1904.

The university's alumni, faculty, and researchers have included several U.S. presidents, heads of state, Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Marshall Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, and 57 Rhodes Scholars. Thirty governors of U.S. states have attended the university, as have numerous U.S. senators and members of Congress. UVA students and alumni have founded companies such as Reddit, Skillshare, VMware, and Space Adventures. Its athletic teams are called the Cavaliers and they compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.