Vanderbilt University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the South. The Commodore hoped that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War.

Today, Vanderbilt comprises four undergraduate and six graduate schools, enrolling approximately 11,800 students from all 50 U.S. states and over 90 foreign countries. In its 2008 ranking of universities, U.S. News & World Report placed Vanderbilt 19th overall, and ranked the schools of education, law, medicine, and nursing among the top 20 in the country. The university is among the top 25 recipients of federal educational research funds. Also affiliated with the university are several research institutes, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, the Dyer Observatory, and the comprehensive Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), the only Level I trauma center in Middle Tennessee.

With the exception of the off-campus observatory, all of Vanderbilt's facilities are situated on a plot in the heart of Nashville only from downtown. Despite its urban surroundings, the campus itself is a national arboretum and features over 300 species of trees and shrubs. Tucked among the trees, however, is an institution that continues to grow. As part of its transition to a residential college system, Vanderbilt is creating a new living area for freshmen, called The Commons, that will comprise 10 new or newly-renovated residence halls. The Commons is expected to open in the fall of 2008, at a cost of over USD$150 million.