Vision
The University of Arkansas represents the best of public higher education, advancing Arkansas while building a better world.
Mission
The University of Arkansas is determined to build a better world by providing transformational opportunities and skills, promoting an inclusive and diverse culture, nurturing creativity, and solving problems through research and discovery, all in service to Arkansas.
Since 1871, our fundamental purpose as a land-grant institution and state flagship remains unchanged — to serve the state of Arkansas as a partner, resource and catalyst by:
- Providing access to a comprehensive and internationally competitive public education, and fostering student success across a wide spectrum of disciplines.
- Utilizing research, discovery and creative activity to improve the quality of life, develop solutions to the challenges we face and drive the state's economy.
- Contributing service and expertise through outreach, engagement and collaboration.
Quick Facts
- Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Founded: 1871
- Enrollment: 32,140 (Fall 2023)
- Average ACT: 24.1
- Average high school GPA: 3.79
Got to the university's Quick Facts page for more information.
History
Founded just over 150 years ago in 1871 as a land-grant college and state university, the University of Arkansas established its campus on a hilltop overlooking the Ozark Mountains. There were few facilities and little money that first academic year, but the eight students and three faculty members who gathered for the first class in January 1872 showed the same dedication to learning and commitment to excellence that has carried the University of Arkansas into the 21st century.
More than 150 years later, the university’s enrollment has passed 29,000, and its students represent all 75 counties of Arkansas, all 50 states and 120 countries. The university is the state’s foremost partner and resource for education and economic development. It serves as the major provider of graduate-level instruction in Arkansas. And its public service activities reach every county in Arkansas, throughout the nation, and around the world. Read a fuller history of the university.
The University of Arkansas has 10 colleges and schools offering more than 200 academic programs including bachelor’s degrees in more than 90 areas of study. The university maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio of 19:1 that promotes personal attention and mentoring opportunities. Individual classes may range from a large general-lecture class of more than 400 to a focused special-topics class of 4 or 5 students. U of A students are given the tools and encouragement needed to excel. Over the last decade, Arkansas students have become Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, Madison, Marshall, Goldwater, Fulbright, Boren, Gilman and Truman scholars. More than 120 students have received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.
Students pursue a broad spectrum of academic programs leading to baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees, not only in traditional disciplines within arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, but also in the core professional areas of agricultural, food and life sciences; architecture; business; education; engineering; nursing; human environmental sciences; and law.
Students may also pursue a wide range of graduate degrees, including the Master’s, the Educational Specialist, the Doctor of Education, and the Doctor of Philosophy.
As you make your way around campus, you’re sure to notice something unique about many of the sidewalks. Historic Senior Walk showcases the names of more than 220,000 University of Arkansas graduates, grouped by year of graduation starting with the Class of 1876 in front of Old Main. A long tradition in both time and mileage, it is concrete proof of the university’s commitment to students. If you know a family member or friend graduated from the university, you can look up the location of their name on a digital version of Senior Walk.
You won’t be able to discover everything the university has to offer in a day, but here are a few attractions that you don’t want to miss.
- The Arkansas Union — A primary gathering place for nearly 50 years, the Arkansas Union serves as a place for students to attend educational and cultural events, access campus resources, eat, study and just meet friends between classes. The facility offers a food court, fitness center, technology center, banking, post office, Razorback shop, art gallery, theatre and much more.
- Faulkner Performing Arts Center — The university's old Field House, in which such legendary performers as Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong and Peter, Paul and Mary have performed, was renovated recently into a 600-seat acoustically tuned performance hall. More than 200 musical concerts, operas and theatrical performances occur in the course of each year.
- Chi Omega Greek Theatre — The Chi Omega Greek Theatre, based on the outdoor amphitheaters of ancient Greece, is a popular place for concerts, pep rallies or just catching some rays between classes. Chi Omega, founded at the U of A in 1895 and now the largest women’s fraternity in the nation, donated the Greek Theatre in 1930.
- Silas Hunt Memorial Sculpture — Near Old Main, you’ll find this tribute to the first black student to integrate a major Southern public university since Reconstruction. A veteran of World War II, Hunt was admitted without litigation into the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1948. (This sculpture is temporarily removed while construction occurs nearby on the new Student Success Center, a central hub for student-focused services such as tutoring and skillset training.
- Old Main — This architectural centerpiece of campus opened for classes in 1875, making it the oldest building at the University of Arkansas. Visit the restored classrooms, take a closer look at the inner workings of the tower clock on the fourth floor, don't forget the display about Senior Walk on the first floor and enjoy the shade of the trees on the Old Main Lawn.
- Mullins Library — The university's libraries, including its central Mullins Library, provide resources for students tailored to their academic interest as well as study space, meeting rooms, and research materials. (The first and secoond floors are currently under renovation.)
- The Inn at Carnall Hall — Built in 1905, the first women’s residence hall on campus is now a historic inn. The Inn at Carnall Hall is also home to the award-winning Ella’s Restaurant and Lambeth Lounge, the perfect spot for a little R&R while visiting campus.
- The Fine Arts Center — Designed by renowned architect Edward Durell Stone, the Fine Arts Center at the University of Arkansas was the first complex to integrate the fine arts — theatre, music and art — in one building with the intention that students from each discipline would be inspired by each other. The center houses the University of Arkansas Theatre, the Fine Arts Gallery and the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. (It is currently under full renovation.)
- Pi Beta Phi Centennial Gate — A new landmark, the gate serves as a formal entrance to the university’s historic core. The striking entranceway was a gift, commemorating the first 100 years of Pi Beta Phi on campus.
- Il Porcellino — This statue of a wild boar is a replica of the original Il Porcellino, in Florence, Italy. The Italian title of the statue means “piglet” and comes from the local Florentine nickname for the statue. It's one of many Razorback tributes on campus!
- Razorback Stadium/Hall of Champions Museum — Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium is one of the finest collegiate football facilities in the nation and home to the Jerry Jones/Jim Lindsey Hall of Champions Museum, located in the Frank Broyles Athletic Center. Bud Walton Arena houses two more athletic museums.
- Walmart On Campus — The nation’s first Walmart on Campus is also the smallest Walmart in the country. It’s located in the Garland Center, which also includes a parking deck, the U of A Bookstore as well as boutiques, salons and dining options.
The campus features many other landmarks and noteworthy facilities including the Clinton House, the small brick home on campus in which then-future President Bill Clinton and future Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton lived while both served on the U of A’s law school faculty.
Fayetteville is routinely considered among the country’s finest college towns, and the area is regularly ranked as one of the best places in the United States to live, raise a family, work, play and retire. The second-largest city in the state, Fayetteville is located in the hilly northwest corner and is routinely named among the top 10 cities in America. Most recently the international Union Cycliste Internationale named Fayetteville its first Bike City in the United States due to the large number of paved and soft-surface bicycle trails, tracks and cycling amenities. The Fayetteville Traverse, an 18-mile mountain bike trail, loops through campus connecting riders with Kessler Mountain and Centennial Park trails.
Museums and Theatre
Quickly gaining recognition as a nationwide center for arts and culture, the region is home to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. This world-class museum features a permanent collection of art spanning five centuries, from the Colonial era to the current day. The collection includes several works considered masterpieces. Crystal Bridges also offers miles of wilderness trails and a unique dining experience. If that’s not enough, admission is free. Two other major cultural amenities, the Walton Arts Center and TheatreSquared, are located just two blocks from campus. The arts center brings in Broadway touring shows and national performers regularly, and TheatreSquared offers locally produced professional theatre, recently winning the state's first Obie Award for one of its productions.
Entertainment and Retail
Dickson Street, one of the state’s most popular entertainment districts, is also just a short walk from campus. A part of Fayetteville’s downtown historic district, Dickson Street offers a variety of restaurants, boutiques, galleries, and clubs unique to the area. Fayetteville’s historic square, College Avenue and the retail district around the Northwest Arkansas Mall are also great places for shopping and dining. The Fayetteville Farmers' Market, an area tradition since 1974, was recently named one of “America’s Favorite Farmers' Markets.”
Nearby Rogers offers the region’s newest open-air shopping experience with many of the nation’s most popular shops and eateries. And Eureka Springs, a Victorian mountain village known as the “Little Switzerland of the Ozarks,” offers more than 100 specialty shops and 70 restaurants about 45 minutes from campus.
Outdoors in the Natural State
Arkansas is a natural wonder of forests, mountains and lakes framed by picturesque rivers and streams. Some of the nation’s best outdoor amenities and most spectacular hiking trails are within a short drive of campus. Devil's Den State Park is a 30-minute drive south of Fayetteville. Beaver Lake is 30 minutes to the northeast. Hawksbill Crag and the Buffalo National River, one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states, are an hour's drive to the east. The Razorback Greenway, a 40-mile paved bicycle route, runs from Kessler Mountain Park, past the edge of campus and north to nearly the Missouri state line (and they're still adding). Even closer to campus, Fayetteville’s Botanical Garden of the Ozarks offers another outdoor option on the east end of Lake Fayetteville.
Economically Robust
Northwest Arkansas is one of the most economically stable regions in the nation and serves as the base of operations for Walmart, Tyson Foods Inc. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. Because of their presence, many other corporations have established primary or secondary headquarters in the region. Their close proximity to the U of A campus, along with their executives’ and employees’ active involvement in university life, offers students and faculty exceptional opportunities for research partnerships, internships, and post-graduation employment.
The Northwest Arkansas National Airport has direct flights to most major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Destin/Fort Walton, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Washington, D.C.; and, Fayetteville is within a half day’s drive of several larger metropolitan areas, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Tulsa.
