The University of Texas at Arlington: A Comprehensive Overview

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), a public research university located in Arlington, Texas, stands as a pre-eminent institution for intellectual pursuits and a driver of positive change regionally, nationally, and internationally. As the second oldest university in the University of Texas System, founded in 1895, UTA has evolved from its humble beginnings as a private school to a major research university with a diverse and vibrant campus community.

A Legacy of Transformation and Growth

The university traces its roots back to the opening of Arlington College in September 1895. Arlington College was established as a private school for primary through secondary level students, equivalent to the modern 1st to 10th grades. Rankin also convinced the two co-principals of the public school in Arlington, Lee Morgan Hammond and William Marshall Trimble, to invest in and hold the same positions at Arlington College. In the first few years, between 75 and 150 students were enrolled in the college. The public school began to rent space at Arlington College, and was eventually sold to the city in 1900. The public school building became so unsafe that all of the space in Arlington College was rented for the 1901-1902 school year until the creation of the Arlington Independent School District in 1902.

Carlisle was already established as a respected educator in the North Texas region, and he opened the Carlisle Military Academy in the fall of 1902. His program consisted of a balance between course work and military training. Enrollment increased to 150 students by 1905, and he began a large expansion of the campus. Baseball, football, basketball, and track teams were begun between 1904 and 1908. Around the same time, new barracks, a track, a gymnasium, and an indoor pool were built. Lawsuits for the mortgages on the property were filed in 1911, and Carlisle Military Academy was closed in 1913.

In the fall of 1913, Henry Kirby Taylor moved from Missouri, where he was president of the Northwest State Teachers' College, to set up another military academy called Arlington Training School. He also was required to manage the finances and campus for the property owners. By the 1914-1915 school year, the campus contained 11 buildings on 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land with 95 students enrolled. The school was incorporated in 1915 in order to raise funds to make improvements to the existing buildings, but more financial problems arose and another series of lawsuits were filed. Taylor left Arlington, and the property owners hired John B. Dodson to establish a third military academy for the 1916-1917 school year called Arlington Military Academy.

Since the turn of the 20th century, the prospects for turning the campus into a public, junior vocational college had been discussed. By 1917, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in College Station was overcrowded and had only one branch campus, Prairie View A&M. Vincent Woodbury Grubb, a lawyer and education advocate, organized Arlington officials to lobby the state legislature to create a new junior college. The Arlington campus was established as a branch of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and was called Grubbs Vocational College. Students were either enrolled in a high school or junior college program, and all men were required to be cadets. Its name changed again in 1923 to the North Texas Agricultural College (NTAC). The Great Depression resulted in major cuts to funding and a decline in students, so more general college courses were gradually introduced at NTAC instead of vocational classes.

Davis was also an enthusiastic support of eugenics and believed in the inherent inferiority of Mexicans and African-Americans in regards to literacy and genetics. He advised the leadership of the A&M system to consolidate the white-only schools, else they would "descend into decadence". Dean Davis appointed Ernest H. Hereford, then Registrar in 1942, to the position of associate dean in 1943. In 1948, the Texas A&M System was created and Dean Hereford was named the first president of NTAC. The name was changed to Arlington State College (ASC) in 1949 to reflect the fact that agriculture was no longer an important part of the curriculum. Efforts began to turn ASC into a four-year institution, but the Texas A&M system board refused to consider the idea since it was possible that ASC could grow to be larger than College Station.

The growth of the city of Arlington in the 1950s led to a major expansion of ASC. The student population increased from 1,322 in 1952 to 6,528 in 1959, which led to land acquisition and construction of many buildings. Jack Woolf was named president in 1959 as serious efforts began to make ASC a four-year college. The Texas legislature approved the four-year status on April 27, 1959. ASC's racial segregation would come to an end in the summer of 1962 due to NAACP member and Dallas lawyer Fred Finch, Jr threatening litigation on behalf of his clients Ernest Hooper, Jerry Hanes, and Leaston Chase III. The decision by the Texas A&M University governing board to block development at Arlington State College led officials of the college and a number of Arlington citizens to enlist the support of Governor John Connally and key members of the Texas Legislature to separate Arlington State College from the Texas A&M University System and to join The University of Texas System. As part of a plan that reorganized several university systems in Texas, Arlington State College officially became a part of The University of Texas System on September 1, 1965.

Joining the UT System was of immediate consequence. Controversy erupted in the late 1960s over the use of a rebel theme that was started in 1951, including Confederate symbols and mock-slave auctions as campus traditions. Wendell Nedderman served as acting president from 1972 to 1974 and president from 1974 to 1992. His tenure was characterized by increased growth and aspirations. In these years, the graduate student population increased from 936 to 4,200 and the overall university enrollment reached 25,135 students.

UTA continues its march to becoming a national research university. This is evident in the pioneering faculty who have vaulted research activities to unprecedented heights, the unsurpassed facilities that fuel groundbreaking discoveries, and the record enrollment that furthers the university's reputation as an academic powerhouse offering highly valued undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Address and Contact Information

The University of Texas at Arlington is located at 701 S. Nedderman Drive, Arlington, TX 76019.

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Academics and Research Prowess

UTA nurtures minds within an environment that values excellence, ingenuity, and diversity. The university offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in a broad range of disciplines.

Pioneering faculty members have helped research expenditures reach record levels, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies the University as a Research University/High Research Activity. UT Arlington's research expenditure in fiscal year 2018 was $105.7 million. According to the university's Research Administration, total research expenditures for fiscal year 2019 totaled $117 million.

Colleges and Schools

UTA is comprised of several colleges and schools, each offering a diverse array of programs:

College of Engineering: Offers eleven baccalaureate, fourteen master's, and nine doctoral programs.
School of Social Work: Offers the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), the Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW), and the Ph.D. in social work.
College of Business: One of the largest and most comprehensive in the nation, offering an Executive MBA program that features a study trip to China. CEO Magazine ranked the Executive MBA program No. 1 in Texas, No. 16 in the nation.
College of Science: Consists of six departments: Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology. The college offers over 50 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs, including fast-track programs in select departments which allow students to earn advanced degrees in a shorter period of time than traditional degree programs.
College of Education: Graduates of the College of Education had a 95% pass rate on the Texas state licensure examination during the 2014-2015 academic school year.
Honors College: A highly selective interdisciplinary college that caters to high-achieving undergraduate students of all majors and interests. The Interdisciplinary Studies program (INTS), a program under the Honors College, is one of the fastest-growing programs on campus. The INTS program allows students to custom build their own program of study resulting in either a B.A.I.S. or B.S.I.S. degree. The INTS program at UTA is the largest program of its kind in Texas.

Campus Life and Resources

With a rising number of campus residents, UT Arlington has become a first-choice university for students seeking a vibrant college experience. These diverse and talented scholars represent nearly 120 countries.

Campus Features

The campus is organized on the city's former street grid. The topography generally slopes to the south and east to landscaped creeks. The oldest buildings on campus, Ransom Hall, Preston Hall, and College Hall are on the Second Street Mall and date to 1919. The architecture of these pre-World War II buildings is traditional. Later buildings from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s are typical of much campus construction of the period: modern, functional, and not especially noteworthy. An exception is the Architecture Building (designed by the respected Dallas firm, Pratt, Box, and Henderson) which forms an intimate and visit-worthy courtyard; Pickard Hall, the Mathematics and Nursing Building, is noted for its unusual triangular shape. Texas Hall (George Dahl, architect) is a contributing building with its front portico, and Nedderman Hall is a contributing structure with its large atrium. An admirable feature of the campus is the aesthetic consistency of limestone and UTA-blend brick. The north and east sides of campus have defined edges, being bounded by UTA Boulevard and Center Street, respectively. The south and west sides tend to blend more irregularly into the city. Cooper Street is a major artery that runs through campus and is partially depressed and spanned by three pedestrian bridges. Surface parking is pushed to the outer edges of campus, particularly south of the academic core, resulting in students getting more exercise than they may want during peak periods. The West Campus Parking Garage and the College Park parking garages on the northwest and northeast campus corners, respectively, provide some relief and advance the master plan goal of reducing surface parking. Green spaces, or outdoor rooms, have increased in the 2000s most notably with the creation of the Greene Research Quad, the Green at College Park, a sunken courtyard at University Administration Building, Brazos Park, and the Davis Street west campus edge.

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Libraries

UT Arlington Libraries have three locations: Central Library, the Architecture and Fine Arts Library, and the Science and Engineering Library. The Libraries Collections includes historical collections on Texas, Mexico, the Mexican-American War, and the greater southwest. An extensive cartography collection holds maps and atlases of the western hemisphere covering five centuries. Also included is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo archives, a collection representing over 100 years of North and West Texas history. All together, Special Collections holds more than 30,000 volumes, 7,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival collections, 5,000 historical maps, 3.6 million prints and negatives, and thousands of items in other formats.

Student Life

UTA participates in 15 intercollegiate sports as a Division I member of the NCAA and Western Athletic Conference. UT Arlington's athletic teams are known as the Mavericks.

A variety of traditions and events contribute to a vibrant campus life:

Bed races: Since 1980, hundreds of students have gathered to watch teams consisting of four pushers and a rider race against each other in a race just over the length of a football field.
Homecoming: Paired with the beginning of basketball season in the fall, UT Arlington Homecoming features numerous diverse activities.
Oozeball: An annual event hosted by the Student Alumni Association and Campus Recreation to raise money for the Student Alumni Association Sophomore Scholarship. In Oozeball, students play volleyball in artificial mud pits.
Rubbing Hereford's head: Superstition holds that rubbing Hereford's head gives good luck on exams.
UT Arlington Marching Band: one of the few college marching bands to exist without a football team.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

UTA is committed to life-enhancing discovery, innovative instruction, and caring community engagement. News & World Report consistently ranked UT Arlington in the top 10 in the nation for achieving the most ethnically diverse undergraduate student body. Females account for about 55% of the total population.

Recent Developments and Future Aspirations

In May 2023, UTA alumnus Kelcy Warren gave the largest single philanthropic investment in UTA's history. The Barnett Shale formation sits below the campus and has earned the university millions of dollars from natural gas production since 2008.

UTA's small coed cheerleading team has become a perennial power in Division I competitive cheerleading. The University of Texas System Board of Regents has approved funding for the first building at UTA West, clearing the way for construction to begin on UTA's new campus in far west Fort Worth. On August 5, 2024, UTA announced a planned expansion to a 51 acre property in west Fort Worth within the Walsh Ranch development in Parker County.

Rankings and Recognition

UTA baseball's victory over the No. 7 ranked Texas Christian University was the program's highest-ranked win since defeating No. News & World Report survey. The College of Education’s programs ranked No. 8 and CONHI’s nursing program No.

Opportunities for Students

UTA offers numerous opportunities for students to get involved and enhance their college experience:

Organizations: Students can join a student organization and discover countless opportunities for personal and social growth.
Athletics: Our NCAA Division I men's and women's athletic teams will have you on your feet and cheering.
Financial Aid: The 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open now. Complete your application at fafsa.gov to get ahead and begin maximizing your financial aid opportunities.
Master of Multidisciplinary Studies: Get a head start on your master's degree while you’re still an undergraduate. Combine two or more complementary fields of study with a Master of Multidisciplinary Studies.

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