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The University of Arkansas System provides communities in Arkansas with access to academic and professional opportunities; develops intellectual growth and cultural awareness in its students; and provides knowledge and research skills to an ever-changing society. With more than 70,000 students and more than 28,000 employees, the UA System is a driving force in the state’s economy.
Since the inception of the flagship campus in Fayetteville in 1871, the UA System has developed a tradition of excellence that extends to five universities, seven community colleges, a college of medicine, two schools of law, a presidential school, a residential math and science high school, a 100 percent-online university, a non-profit organization, and divisions of agriculture, archeology, and criminal justice. The individual entities of the UA System maintain cooperative strength as well as diverse offerings that exhibit unmatched economic and social impact to the state.
Through the students, faculty, staff, and citizens it serves, the UA System drives Arkansas’s economy with investment in human capital. In today’s knowledge-based society, the entities of the UA System are setting the curve through a diverse field of academic programs, cutting-edge research, workforce training initiatives, and public service programs that give Arkansans the tools for a better future.
The Arkansas General Assembly established the university in Fayetteville in 1871 as the Arkansas Industrial University, and under the Morrill Act of 1862, it became the state land-grant institution and first state-assisted college in Arkansas. On opening day, Jan. 22, 1872, there were four teachers and eight students.
In 1969 Little Rock University joined the UA System, becoming the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 1971 the Monticello campus was added, dissolving its predecessor, Arkansas A & M College. Phillips Community College in Helena joined the UA System in 1996, later adding campuses in Stuttgart and DeWitt. Also in 1996 Red River Technical College in Hope joined the System and was renamed the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope. In 1998 Gateway Technical College in Batesville joined the System and was renamed the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. In 2001 Petit Jean College joined the System and was renamed the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. Also in 2001 Cossatot Technical College joined the System and was renamed Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas. On Jan. 1, 2002, Westark College joined the System and was renamed the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. More recent additions to the UA System are the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts on Jan. 1, 2004; the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service on July 1, 2004; and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in 2006. The UA Board of Trustees approved a resolution in 2012 to develop a System-wide online initiative, and the UA System launched eVersity - the state’s first 100 percent-online university - in September 2015. The system grew its community college membership in 2017 with the addition of the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College, based in North Little Rock, and the University of Arkansas Community College at Rich Mountain, based in Mena. In late 2021, Grantham University joined the University of Arkansas System and officially became the University of Arkansas Grantham serving thousands of students already enrolled in more than 60 online degrees and certificate programs.
Keenly aware of the continually changing world, the entire UA System is committed to study and anticipates an evolving society. By updating offerings and featured programs accordingly, it helps prepare students to be leaders of tomorrow.
U.4 Updated June 2024
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