University of Oklahoma Campus - Virtual Tour
At the University of Oklahoma, you will experience a stimulating academic community where you are a hands-on participant in the learning process. Discover the benefits of a major research institution while receiving the personal attention and support you deserve. Become part of the OU family and connect yourself to enriching opportunities that will equip you to excel in our global society.
North Oval - Evans Hall
Parrington Oval, or the North Oval, houses many of our academic departments and administrative offices. Seen here is Evans Hall, one of the most photographed buildings in Oklahoma. Evans Hall is an example of our iconic Cherokee Gothic campus architecture, a term created by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright when he toured campus. Evans Hall is home to the President’s Office and Office of the Provost. Are you interested in OU? Apply now!
South Oval
The Van Vleet Oval, commonly called the “South Oval,” serves as the hub for student activities, and the majority of your courses will be located in the buildings which line it. The location is named after Dr. Albert Van Vleet, the first holder of a doctorate to join the OU faculty. Standing on one end of the South Oval is OU’s iconic Seed Sower statue, representing David Ross Boyd, OU’s first president. He sowed the seeds of knowledge, history, tradition, and excellence at the university. Boyd also sowed literal seeds, planting many of the early trees on campus that are still thriving today.
Bizzell Memorial Library
Rising over the buildings lined along the South Oval, the Bizzell Memorial Library stands as the heart of OU’s main campus. With five floors, this building, affectionately called “The Biz” by the OU family, is home to thousands of books, documents, and other reference materials available to the OU community. Inside, students will find resources that fulfill the needs of academic, research, artistic, and scholarly objectives.
Great Reading Room
Students can study in the heart of the Bizzell Memorial Library, the Peggy V. Helmerich Great Reading Room, the quietest studying environment on campus. Take a seat at one of the 28 tables and be surrounded by the theses and dissertations of OU graduates.
Library Collaborative Learning Center
On the basement level of the Bizzell Memorial Library, students can visit the Helmerich Collaborative Learning Center, a creative student workspace that offers a relaxed setting and technology-enabled study spaces. Whether working on a group project, collaborating with a professor, or studying with friends, the Center will be your go-to resource.
Graduate Lounge
The Zarrow Family Faculty & Graduate Student Center is a space dedicated to supporting the research and teaching needs of OU faculty and graduate students in a central campus location. The center recognizes the library as essential to discovery and supports creative interaction among faculty and graduate students.
Oklahoma Memorial Union
The Oklahoma Memorial Union is a great place to grab lunch at the food court, study, or meet with friends. Are you interested in campus involvement? The student union is also where you can meet with helpful advisors from offices like Student Life, Leadership Development & Volunteerism, and the Union Programming Board. Often considered as the living room of campus, there is always something fun in the Union!
Gameday
Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, also known as the Palace on the Prairie, has the capacity to hold over 86,000 Sooner fans. The Sooner football team boasts several Heisman Trophy winners, conference championships, national titles, and the longest winning streak of any college football team ever—an NCAA record. Owen Field was named after Sooner legend Bennie Owen, the coach who brought the team to prominence. Football games are cheered on by the Pride of Oklahoma student marching band and the Oklahoma RUF/NEKS, the school’s spirit ambassadors.
Classroom
OU is the largest research institution in the state of Oklahoma, and with more than 170 academic programs for you to choose from, students gain a real world, hands-on learning experience, while our programs continue to be ranked among the best. Our student-to-instructor ratio is 17:1, meaning our professors are accessible to every student. OU professors will challenge you to think critically, and you will have countless opportunities to be an active learner through class discussions and debates.
Engineering Practice Facility
OU’s ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility (EPF) is a world-class, one-of-a-kind space where current engineering students benefit from a real-world interdisciplinary experience. Students can design concrete canoes, Formula One race cars, and human-powered vehicles, among other projects. Often described as an “engineer’s playground,” the EPF provides limitless hands-on learning to OU students. EPF is also home to the Jerry Holmes Leadership Program and the Women in Engineering Program.
Student-Run Advertising Agency
OU students have numerous avenues to engage in experiential learning, including working for Lindsey + Asp, a student-run public relations and advertising agency that serves more than a dozen real-world clients and is housed in our Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication. Here, students collaborate and brainstorm in an environment that fosters creativity, just as they will in their jobs after graduation. This hands-on experience sets our students apart from other college graduates and prepares them for career success.
Gallogly Hall Biomedical Lab
Gallogly Hall is where engineering meets medicine. In the 75,500-square-foot building, students throughout the Gallogly College of Engineering have the opportunity to learn and study in ten classrooms, group meeting spaces, a maker’s space, a rooftop terrace, and teaching labs.
OU Arts District
The OU Arts District is home to the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts. The college hosts hundreds of performances and exhibits each year. Nationally ranked in numerous areas, it is the largest, most comprehensive fine arts program in Oklahoma and the premiere college of fine arts in the heartland of America. The college is composed of the OU School of Visual Arts, School of Dance, Peggy V. Dow Helmerich School of Drama, School of Music, and the A. Max Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre. Because the college is part of a major research university, students benefit from many opportunities to study in areas outside the arts.
Reynolds Performing Arts Center
The Reynolds Performing Arts Center (RPAC), sometimes referred to as “Oklahoma’s meeting house,” is home to the historic Holmberg Hall, Oklahoma’s only European-style performance hall, built in 1918. RPAC is one of nine performance venues in the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, ranging from a 1,000-seat concert hall to small black box and lab theaters.
National Weather Center
The National Weather Center (NWC) is home to over 500 research scientists, operational meteorologists and climatologists, engineers, technicians, and OU students who work to improve the understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere. This building provides a one-of-kind collaborative work environment for the federal, state, and academic units housed there. These three areas work together to provide accurate and timely forecasts on severe weather, and to educate and train future meteorologists. The NWC is also home to the Oklahoma Weather Lab (OWL), which is run entirely by students. OWL provides forecasts to OU Nightly and sponsors guest speakers throughout the year.
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
The Sam Noble Museum is a research division of the University of Oklahoma. Housing more than 10 million objects and specimens in 12 collections, curators conduct research around the world and teach university classes, where OU students get to participate in field studies. The Sam Noble Museum is always free to OU students and is home to the oldest piece of artwork ever found in North America and the largest Apatosauras fossil on display in the world.
Sam Noble Museum Labs
In addition to its public exhibit halls, the Sam Noble Museum also hosts a variety of ongoing research within 12 departmental collections. Graduate and undergraduate students have the opportunity to lead and participate in research activities and programs associated with the museum programs.
Cross Village Housing
Cross Village is a first-year residence hall that offers a variety of room styles. The 1,200-bed complex features one, two, and four bedrooms with full-size beds and desks. Each unit has a kitchenette with a sink, a full-sized refrigerator, and microwave. Bathrooms have tile floors and showers with a vanity outside of the bathroom. Cross Village also offers a fitness facility and theater, and best of all, is located just minutes from most university buildings.
Cross Village Brickwalk
The Cross Village Brickwalk has convenient shopping and dining options on the first floor throughout each building. Students can stop by The Hive coffee shop and pick up their favorite latte before class or enjoy their lunch outside.
Cross Village Dining
Cross Village has several dining spots for the OU community to enjoy. From the pizza and pasta restaurant Basic Knead to the quick and casual Credo Kitchen that offers a grill menu, students will find what they need to satisfy any craving.
Dunham Residential College
The OU Residential Colleges are an infusion of academic and social support to first-year and upper-class students. Dunham and Headington Colleges have their own dining hall, creative common space, game room, library, courtyard, and classrooms. They offer five different room styles, ranging from single rooms to three-bed with living and bath.
Residence Halls Tower
On-campus housing is guaranteed to all freshmen, and living on campus means you are at the center of the university experience, including support, friends, and convenience. Creating a sense of family matters at OU, and the residence halls will soon be your home away from home. Within the Towers, residents have a suite-style room. In this style of room, students share a semi-private bathroom with their roommate and suitemates. Residents also share the responsibility of cleaning their own bathroom.
Couch Restaurants
Couch Restaurants, OU’s largest dining operation, features 14 unique restaurant concepts. At this all-you-care-to-eat venue, you can enjoy a wide variety of foods, including stir fry, barbecue, Halal-certified, bold vegan and vegetarian dishes, home cooking, traditional Mediterranean, and much more. Couch Restaurants is also known for having the country’s only all-you-care-to-eat Chick-fil-A! Couch Restaurants is a great place to study over lunch, catch up with friends, and fill up between classes.
Sarkeys Fitness Center
Are you searching for ways to move your body while at OU? Sarkeys Fitness Center is a 150,000-square-foot recreation center that is located near the Residential Halls. It has basketball and volleyball courts, state-of-the-art weight and cardio rooms, racket sports, rock walls, and fitness classes like kickboxing, yoga, cycling, and more.
Visit Norman
Not only is Norman, Oklahoma home to the main campus of the University of Oklahoma, it is also a close-knit community that welcomes and supports our university and students. As the third-largest city in the state, it provides the best of both worlds with a small-town feel and big-city resources. Nearly every weekend, Norman provides events free to the public, like the 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk and the annual Norman Music Fest.
The Jones Family Welcome Center at Jacobson Hall
The OU Welcome Center, housed in Jacobson Hall, is where all prospective students and visitors are welcomed through the university’s “front door.” Just across the street is Norman’s historic Campus Corner. Campus Corner is a hub for activity with restaurants, coffee shops, and unique boutiques. We hope you enjoyed your virtual visit and would love to see you on campus for a full tour soon. Schedule yours now at tour.ou.edu!