Quick Facts

Quick Facts

Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and offers more than 200 academic programs. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity.

Quick Facts

  • Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
  • Founded: 1871
  • Chancellor: Joseph E. Steinmetz
  • Endowment market value: $898.9 million (end of FY 2016)
  • Research expenditures: $175 million (FY 2018)

Students

  • Enrollment: 27,778 (Fall 2018)
  • Student-to-faculty ratio: 19:1
  • Average ACT: 26
  • Average high school GPA: 3.72
  • Six-year graduation rate: 65.5 percent (2012 cohort)

Faculty and Staff

  • Faculty: 1,401
  • Staff, full-time: 3,150
  • Staff, part-time: 77

Academics

  • Undergraduate majors: 94
  • Master's degree programs: 79
  • Doctoral and specialist programs: 39
  • Graduate certificate programs: 27
At a Glance: Points of Pride Infographic
Aarkansas Short Takes Video
Mini Fact Book
Determined: Stories Highlighting our people, Work and Impact

Did You Know?

Senior Walk

We have over 4 miles of sidewalks imprinted with the names of our graduates. To add your name to Senior Walk, it only takes another two inches (and four years of dedication for your college degree).

Bill and Hillary Clinton

Bill and Hillary Clinton began their careers by teaching law at the University of Arkansas. Before she was a U.S. senator or the nation's secretary of state, Hillary founded our university's legal clinic. 

Fulbright Statue

The Fulbright Scholarship Program, the largest international exchange of scholars in the world, was created by J. William Fulbright, a graduate, former president of the university and the longest-serving chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Our Impact


We make lives better.

We solve problems through innovation, finding new ways to make people healthier, safer and more successful. Our research, scholarship and creative activities provide life-changing opportunities.

  • Professor Barnett Sure co-discovered vitamin E.
  • We work to protect our natural environment for future generations
  • Combined investments in the arts of $160 million, establish School of Art and new Design District, advancing the arts locally, in Arkansas and beyond
  • We are dedicated to making higher education more affordable and accessible for all Arkansans

We solve problems.

As the state’s only Tier One research institution, we’re determined to find solutions to the problems we share. Our innovations and discoveries make lives better, building stronger communities and a better world.

  • $15 Million National Center devoted to protecting the nation’s power grid from cyber attacks
  • $24 Million Center for Surface Engineering to develop new technology for industries

We drive economic development.

We stimulate the economy by collaborating and partnering with business and industry leaders to solve real-world problems and provide specialized education and training for the workforce. We generate new companies and new jobs through the commercialization of our research discoveries and the business ideas that are formed here.

  • The commercialization of our research discoveries and the business ideas that are formed and tested here generate new companies and new jobs
  • The University of Arkansas delivers an estimated economic impact to the state of more than $2 billion a year

We build stronger communities.

We help schools, organizations and communities plan for the future by providing specialty expertise and by working together to develop better processes, methods and programs. We volunteer, get involved and give back through service-learning projects at home and around the world.

  • We serve Arkansas through numerous research and outreach centers that provide valuable services to the state by serving children, increasing civic knowledge and participation, and making businesses more profitable.
  • Our graduates are governors, leaders, teachers, nurses and entrepreneurs.
  • Our faculty members mentor future leaders and solve problems in hundreds of fields and disciplines.

We create better understanding.

We believe that enhancing relations between people and nations requires better understanding through the support of diversity, inclusion and international exchange.

  • J. William Fulbright, a graduate and former president of the University of Arkansas, chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for longer than any other Senator in American history and inspired the Fulbright Scholarship Program, the world’s largest international student exchange program.
  • “International education exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that nations can learn to live in peace,” Fulbright said.
  • Phi Alpha Theta, the only national honor society in History, was founded here in 1921.

We leave our mark here and everywhere.

Our graduates and faculty contribute to communities across Arkansas and around the world. We are entrepreneurs, leaders, teachers and nurses dedicated to Arkansas. We are Fortune 500 CEOs, engineers, architects, artists and scientists determined to build a better world.

  • U of A graduate Robert Maurer co-invented fiberoptic cable, the backbone of today’s Internet and global communication system.
  • Professor E. Fay Jones (1921-2004) achieved international fame for design, received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and his masterwork, Thorncrown Chapel, was ranked as the fourth best building by an American architect in the 20th century.

Famous Razorbacks

Arts and Entertainment

  • Charles Portis, author of ‘True Grit’
  • Janis Kearney, presidential diarist
  • Bob Sauerberg, president of Condé Nast
  • Ed Wilson, former Fox TV president
  • T.J. Holmes, journalist and television personality
  • Nic Pizzolatto, created HBO series True Detective

Business and Education

  • William T. Dillard II, president/CEO of Dillard's department stores
  • Sonja Hubbard, CEO of E-Z Mart Stores Inc.
  • Jerry Jones, owner, Dallas Cowboys
  • Robert Maurer, co-inventor of fiberoptic cable
  • Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
  • J.K. Symancyk, CEO, PetSmart and former president and CEO, Academy Sports

Sports

  • Mike Conley, Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Veronica Campbell-Brown, Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Sandi Morris, Olympic Silver Medalist
  • Darren McFadden, 2-time Heisman Trophy runner-up
  • Stacy Lewis, LPGA 2-time major champion
  • Cliff Lee, 4-time MLB All-Star, Cy Young winner
  • Andrew Benintendi, MLB outfielder; College Player of the Year

Government

  • Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas governor
  • Mike Beebe, former Arkansas governor
  • John Boozman, U.S. senator
  • Bruce Westerman, U.S. congressman
  • Princess Areej Ghazi of Jordan
  • J. William Fulbright, former U.S. senator
  • Dale Bumpers, former governor and U.S. senator
  • David Pryor, former governor and U.S. senator
  • Mark Pryor, former U.S. senator