Vanderbilt to build West Palm Beach Graduate Campus

As Vanderbilt University expands beyond its Nashville home, the school is “moving forward” with a West Palm Beach graduate campus including a $250 million fundraising campaign.

The more-than-150-year-old university, which is also expanding in New York City and San Francisco, said it’s experiencing “strong philanthropic momentum” for the Florida campus expected to serve 1,000 graduate students annually.

The school said site planning and design are underway, as they work with the West Palm Beach City and Palm Beach County Commissions to prepare for construction.

Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the West Palm Beach campus will mark a “new age for Vanderbilt as a multicampus university, a new chapter in the civic life of the Palm Beach region, and a new phase in our life.”

“What we aim to create here is not just another graduate campus for business and engineering,” he said in a written statement. “We are creating programs that reimagine business and engineering education in the age of technology.” 

City of West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James said the campus will provide “a transformative moment for West Palm Beach.”

“With world-class graduate programs in business, data science, artificial intelligence and engineering, it will help build the skilled workforce companies are seeking and strengthen our position as a hub for innovation,” Mayor James added.

Vanderbilt said its West Palm Beach campus would focus on finance, management, engineering, space technology and innovation, defense technology and manufacturing and business innovation.

The school said offerings would align “with the region’s rapidly growing innovation economy — including its expanding financial services sector — and proximity to leading-edge industries.”

“We’re excited to begin offering programming in West Palm Beach as soon as possible after regulatory approval,” according to the school, which didn’t announce a projected opening date.

Vanderbilt said education in AI and data science “will be integrated throughout to meet the demands of the growing industries and emerging fields in South Florida.”

The school said the campus would “contribute to the city’s vibrant downtown” and “further position the Palm Beach region as a rising global center for finance and technology.”

Elkus Manfredi Architect CEO David P. Manfredi, who led design, said the campus seeks to “create an environment of teaching, learning, discovery and research that promotes a culture of openness, transparency, innovation and collaboration.”

The school said “Florida’s innovation and industry density creates a launchpad for Vanderbilt” and cited the region’s appeal with its “high quality of life and a business-friendly environment that encourages and supports rapid growth.”

The university said the region also could offer students and faculty “enormous opportunities in the financial services industry, among others.”

Describing the area as nicknamed “Wall Street South,” Vanderbilt called it a financial hub that houses nearly 20,000 financial services companies employing more than 250,000 people. 

Vanderbilt has been quietly preparing this campus that could become the latest major addition to West Palm Beach and graduate education in Florida.

The school in 2024 was given five acres of county-owned land and two acres of city-owned land as it began fundraising to build a West Palm Beach campus. 

“Palm Beach County is committed to supporting high-impact projects that strengthen our workforce and expand opportunity,” Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter said in a statement. “Vanderbilt’s progress signals momentum for our innovation ecosystem and meaningful benefits for residents across the county.” 

The school showed renderings that it said are designed to “generate awareness and excitement for community philanthropic investment in the project.”

Vanderbilt said the campus would house an innovation hub, attracting undergraduate students seeking immersive education experiences, semesters away, internships, and auditing courses.

The project also includes rooftops adorned with photovoltaic cells, as well as soaring ceilings, outdoor spaces and beautiful views and landscaping.

The university plans to offer executive education designed with local employers and programs to educate “leaders in a new technology era” as well as continuing education for residents.

West Palm Beach is a centerpiece of Vanderbilt’s expansion, including a New York City campus, its first outside of Nashville, set to welcome students this fall. Vanderbilt University also plans to open a San Francisco campus next year.

It also recently announced its Institute of Quantum Innovation in Chattanooga, Tenn., closer to its Nashville home.

Diermeier said real estate developer and Vanderbilt alumnus Cody Crowell and CEO of Related Ross Stephen Ross both provided significant support.

“It is an exciting milestone and a strong vote of confidence in the future of Palm Beach County and all of South Florida,” Ross said of the project’s progress.

“We are all in on West Palm Beach,” Diermeier said of a project that could soon begin to go from blueprints to building.

As it seeks to expand beyond its home base, Vanderbilt University’s Dare to Grow fundraising campaign already has raised more than $3.5 billion.