University Profile

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.

History

The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871 and will celebrate its 150th anniversary during the calendar year of 2021. The university opened its doors to students on January 22, 1872. Under the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, federal land sales provided funds for the new university, which was charged with teaching “agricultural and the mechanic arts,” “scientific and classical studies,” and “military tactics” to Arkansas scholars.

Statewide elections, held to establish bonds to help finance the university, eventually determined the school’s location. Washington County and the city of Fayetteville submitted the highest bid, a total of $130,000, to which was added a $50,000 state appropriation for the benefit of the institution and $135,000 from the sale of federal lands. With $12,000 of this money, the university purchased a 160-acre farm, the homestead of William and Martha McIlroy, and 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 classes in 1872 showed the same dedication to learning and commitment to excellence that has carried the University of Arkansas into the 21st century. Over the past 150 years, the university has developed into a mature institution with 10 schools and colleges, more than 1,100 full-time faculty members, and more than 26,000 students. Its graduates number more than 200,000 and their names are engraved in the sidewalks of campus, a lasting tribute unique in America.

The University of Arkansas serves as the major provider of graduate-level instruction in Arkansas. The research and scholarly endeavors of its faculty make it an economic and cultural engine for the state. And its public service activities reach every county in Arkansas, throughout the nation, and around the world. Find out more about the university's history or browse our timeline.

Today at the University of Arkansas Campus

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.

The University of Arkansas houses more than 200 academic programs and offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 75 areas of study. 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.

The Carnegie Foundation categorizes the University of Arkansas as a research institution with “highest research activity.” U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks the university among the top tier of institutions of higher education. Faculty members perform cutting-edge research for which they annually win prestigious grants and awards, and the university encourages undergraduates to participate in the research process. Such opportunities enhance the learning process by providing hands-on experience in lab and research techniques, by developing students’ abilities to implement, experiment, discover and teach, and by fostering a mentoring relationship early in students’ academic careers.

Research programs involving both faculty and students serve as vital sources of information on the economic and social needs of Arkansas. In many fields, research performed at the University of Arkansas reaches beyond the state to provide insight and guidance on issues of national and international concern. The university provides extensive technical and professional services to varied groups and individuals throughout the state, helping to further Arkansas’ economic growth. The university operates nationally respected online courses and degree programs; it assists other institutions in developing educational programs; it offers graduate programs, both cooperatively and singly, throughout the state; and it makes specialized campus resources such as computing services and library holdings available to other institutions in the state.

Classes at the university maintain a low average ratio of students to instructor, although individual classes may range from a large general-lecture class of 200 to a focused special-topics class of 4 or 5 students. University of Arkansas students are given the tools and encouragement needed to excel. Over the last 15 years, more than 200 undergraduate Arkansas students have become Rhodes, Gates Millennium, Madison, Marshall, Goldwater, Fulbright, Boren, Gilman and Truman scholars. More than 100 graduate students have received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Find out more about the university's numbers.