[8][9] UVM is also recognized by a longstanding tradition of student-led activism,[10] playing a key role in movements for civil rights, environmental justice, and divestment from fossil fuels.

[18] UVM was the first American institution of higher education with a charter declaring that the "rules, regulations, and by-laws shall not tend to give preference to any religious sect or denomination whatsoever".

In the second half of the 20th century, UVM gained a reputation for its political activism, and struggles ensued on campus between student and faculty activists and the university administration.

In 1953, the university's board of trustees ousted Alex B. Novikoff, a tenured professor and cell biologist in the College of Medicine, over his association with the Communist Party.

[22][23]In March 1957, student protests against a motel owner who refused service to an African-American woman led the Vermont General Assembly to outlaw discrimination in public accommodations.

[25][26] In 1972, the board of trustees intervened again to deny tenure to Michael Parenti, a popular Marxist political science professor who drew ire from the authorities due to his participation in anti-war demonstrations.

[34] Under his tenure, the university faced record enrollment and a 50 percent increase in research funding to $250 million; however, he has been criticized for his public relations with students and faculty.

[35] In 2021, the university administration imposed budget cuts that terminated three departments, 12 majors, 11 minors and four master's degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The college also offers the bulk of the foundational courses to help ensure that students all over campus have the tools to succeed in all academic endeavors.

[66] In 2023[update], Corporate Knights ranked the Grossman School as the 5th best MBA program in the world for social and environmental impact.

or Ph.D.) also are offered.In 1804, John Pomeroy began teaching students in his house in Burlington, as the first medical department at a state college or university.

The Patrick Leahy Honors College sponsors opportunities for students to participate in co-curricular programs and extracurricular activities — special symposia, dinners with visiting scholars, and trips to museums and theaters in Montreal and Boston.

Through a required ethics course, small seminars, informal gatherings, and special research projects, students work alongside scholars from a section of the university's academic disciplines in the humanities, the sciences, engineering, nursing, medicine, education, business and more.

Men's teams include basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, and track and field (indoor and outdoor).

UVM's athletic teams won seven straight America East Academic Cups (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011) for the best overall combined GPA among its student-athletes.

Notable mainstage shows in recent years have included Straight White Men and Bat Boy: The Musical (2022/2023); It's a Wonderful Life and She Kills Monsters (2021/2022); An Enemy of the People (2020/2021); The Wolves and The Normal Heart (2019/2020); Pippin (2018/2019); Sense and Sensibility and Peter and The Starcatcher (2017/2018); Spring Awakening (2016/2017); The 39 Steps and Noises Off (2015/2016); Much Ado About Nothing (2014/2015); The Mousetrap and Urinetown (2013/2014).

Presenting nationally and internationally-known artists, the series offers twenty-five events per academic year, including performances in classical, jazz, folk, chamber, and choral music, as well as theater, film, and dance.

[89] The club has assisted with the formation of TREK, an outdoor pre-orientation student program that takes incoming freshman on 5 day excursions to connect them to the UVM community and the State of Vermont.

[96] Annually, the club runs the Catamountain Classic event, in which participants hike all 272 miles of the Long Trail in one weekend.

[98] In recent years, UPB has organized events like the annual SpringFest featuring comedian Michelle Wolf, Two Door Cinema Club and Laverne Cox.

[98] In addition to campus events, UPB organizes live musical entertainment featuring acts from across the country as well as local bands.

The concerts committee learns about various aspects of the music industry by putting on shows and working with local sound and production professionals.

The Concert Bureau was established in 1971, inviting artists such as R.E.M., Phish (three of its four members attended UVM in the 1980s), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Lou Reed, Primus, The String Cheese Incident, James Brown, Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band, Death Cab for Cutie, Jurassic 5, the Disco Biscuits, The Grateful Dead, Guster, and The Flaming Lips.

Headliners have included Vida Blue, The Roots, Cake, Keller Williams, Gov't Mule, co-headliners Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Ziggy Marley, and Talib Kweli.

Other acts to perform at various SpringFests have included The Meditations, Toots & the Maytals, Soulive, Rjd2, Apollo Sunshine, Ratatat in 2009, MSTRKRFT in 2010, The Roots and Thievery Corporation in 2011, Dillon Francis in 2012, MGMT in 2013, Atmosphere in 2014, The Disco Biscuits in 2015, The Head and the Heart in 2016, Two Door Cinema Club in 2017, and Playboi Carti in 2018.

Fraternity and sorority members become involved in Student Government Association (SGA) and work as Orientation Leaders, advocates, and Residence Assistants.

In 2012, UVM became one of the first institutions nationwide to end the sale of bottled water on campus and mandate that one third of drinks offered in vending machines be healthy options.

[113] During the same year, UVM's Board of Trustees passed a resolution to earmark $13 million for the fund, making it the largest challenge to date.

The CST is a direct outgrowth of work that began at the University of Vermont in 2005 and now houses the eRating certification, driver trainings, and an array of awareness and education programs.

[citation needed] The program is currently ranked seventh in the top schools for British Parliamentary debate in the world, and is the third-ranked American university on the list, behind only Yale and Cornell.