According to the National Science Foundation, Vanderbilt spent $738 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 31st in the nation. In 2013, Vanderbilt University was ranked 9th in the country in terms of funding from the National Institutes of Health. Its Institute for Space and Defense Electronics, housed in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, includes the largest academic facility in the world involved in radiation-effects research.

Vanderbilt University's hometown of Nashville is a vibrant, engaging city known proudly as "Music City, U.S.A."Located a little more than a mile from downtown, the university’s students, faculty, staff and visitors frequently cite Nashville as one of the perks of Vanderbilt. From serving as home to the nation’s largest Kurdish population, to being named America’s friendliest city for three years in a row, Nashville is a metropolitan place that proudly exudes all of the charm and hospitality one expects from a Southern capital.

The university has over 430 student organizations, ranging from academic major societies and honoraries to recreational sports clubs, the oldest of which is the Vanderbilt Sailing Club. Vanderbilt also has a large performing arts community spanning every genre of the arts with numerous organizations representing each category.

The Vanderbilt campus is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of downtown in the West End neighborhood of midtown Nashville. It has an area of 330 acres (1.3 km2), though this figure includes large tracts of sparsely-used land in the southwest part of the main campus, as well as the Medical Center. The historical core of campus encompasses approximately 75 acres (0.3 km2). Approximately 190 species of trees and shrubs can be found on campus. One tree, the Bicentennial Oak between Rand Hall and Garland Hall, is certified to have lived during the American Revolution and is the oldest living thing on the campus.

Vanderbilt University is a founding and charter member of the Southeastern Conference and for a half-century has been the conference's only private school. The university fields six men's and ten women's intercollegiate teams and has won five NCAA championships. With fewer than 6,900 undergraduates, the school is also the smallest in the conference.