Ann Arbor:
Much More Than a "College Town"

Located in southeastern Michigan, Ann Arbor is a city of about 114,000 residents, one third of whom are college or graduate students. Chicago is a few hours west and Toronto a few hours east of Ann Arbor. Detroit Metro International Airport is a 30-minute drive from the Law School. Unlike many other universities, the University of Michigan is completely absorbed into the city. The heart of downtown is within a few blocks of the Law Quadrangle.

Watch a short video about Ann Arbor.

Home to world-class research facilities, high-tech and life sciences start-ups, and highly regarded companies that range from Google to Borders, Toyota Research to Car and Driver magazine, and Domino's Pizza to Zingerman’s Deli, Ann Arbor has at its heart the University of Michigan, which draws individuals from all over the world to teach, attend class, work, and make their homes. The resulting range of perspectives contributes to the city’s reputation as an educational, cultural, social, and athletic center.

Ann Arbor is a city of contrasts. It features retail boutiques and a major shopping mall, national chains alongside local art galleries, and historic homes on brick-paved streets as well as cutting-edge architecture. There are more than 140 parks within city limits, bike paths along most major streets, and a variety of recreational facilities. With its scenic variety and the University's attractive locales, Ann Arbor is growing in popularity as a shooting location for feature filmakers.

Numerous national and international figures come to Ann Arbor for lectures, presentations, shows, dance performances, and concerts—the city, in fact, has earned a national reputation for its excellence in the performing arts. Students can see Broadway touring companies or avant-garde drama, attend University Musical Society performances, and frequent local clubs and concert halls featuring jazz, hip-hop, techno, classical, indie, alternative, folk, zydeco, and other musical genres, all the way to world-renowned symphony orchestras, ensembles, and choral societies. Two independent movie theaters are within easy walking distance of the Law Quad and they, along with nearby multiplexes, offer art films, national film festival winners, cult cinema, classics, and traditional first-run movie theater fare.

Alimentary needs are satisfied by an array of cafés, bistros, restaurants, pubs, and microbreweries, as well as artisanal, ethnic, and gourmet food and wine at farmer’s markets, specialty stores, and national groceries.

Finally, few areas of the country can rival the range of college and professional sports events available for spectators. Watching a football game in the Big House (Michigan Stadium), which seats more than 107,000 fans, is an experience like no other.

Such richness of arts, culture, and entertainment is hardly typical of towns this size, but it is an integral part of what makes Ann Arbor vital and attractive.