Shaping Our Present

The University of Arkansas  is placed in the  highest research classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching based on the number of doctoral degrees awarded, grants received, and level of research activity. In addition to demonstrating the depth and breadth of research on campus, the classification acknowledges the quality of academic work by our faculty and students.

We strive to put students first by looking at every decision—academic, financial, and administrative—and asking how we can best enhance academic programs, create an engaging campus life, keep costs as low as possible, and reduce obstacles to student success. 

Shaping Our Future

The university has already surpassed its 2021 goal of enrolling 22,050 students and has made significant progress toward becoming a top public research institution. The university expects to continue to improve in national ranking as we empower excellence in competitive research, promote economic growth and foster increased federal research expenditures. As part of the university's active pursuit of strategies that enhance teaching, learning and mentoring, a campus strategic planning process has begun.

Shaped by Our Past

The University of Arkansas, founded in 1871 as a land grant institution and the state’s first public university, has been the educational leader in Arkansas ever since. In 1948, the university became the first Southern institution to break the color barrier when Silas Herbert Hunt enrolled in the School of Law, starting the slow process of integrating undergraduate programs, campus housing, faculty recruitment and the athletic teams, not only at Arkansas, but across the South. Individual professors engaged in discovery of new knowledge starting in the late 19th century, but institutional support for research did not gain traction until the 1980s and then blossomed during the 1990s.

Shaped by Our Mission

The mission of the University of Arkansas is to provide an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in a wide spectrum of disciplines; contribute new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research and creative activity; and provide service to academic/professional disciplines and society, all aimed at fulfilling its public land-grant mission to serve Arkansas and beyond as a partner, resource, and catalyst.