General Information

The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research Institution (High Research Activity) whose mission is the advancement of knowledge and the pursuit of excellence in research, teaching, and service to the community. The mission statement affirms UT Arlington’s commitment to expanding academic research; to attracting and retaining high quality faculty scholars who actively engage students; to providing a well-rounded academic experience that promotes student involvement, service learning and free discourse; to employing alternative access venues to meet students’ needs; and to developing public and private partnerships.

Founded in 1895 as a private liberal arts institution, UT Arlington has evolved through a succession of names and missions. The institution achieved senior college status in 1959 and became part of The University of Texas System in 1965. The institution, which comprises 409 acres in downtown Arlington, is currently authorized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer 81 baccalaureate, 72 master’s, and 31 doctoral degree programs.

UT Arlington currently serves more than 33,700 students, including more than 8,100 graduate students.

The UT Arlington Fort Worth Center serves the Tarrant County region and is committed to meeting the life-long educational needs of working professionals. The center offers upper-division undergraduate and graduate programs and has the flexibility and vision to capitalize on global opportunities that address economic development.

UT Arlington is categorized as a “selective” institution by U. S. News & World Report. In fall 2010, 73% of first-time freshmen applicants were accepted. The mean SAT composite score of incoming first-time, full-time freshmen was 1076. Sixty-five percent of incoming first-time, full-time freshmen graduated in the top quarter of their high school class.

The student population is non-traditional in many ways. Most students enter UT Arlington as transfers, many with 60 or more hours already completed. The average age of students in fall 2010 was 27, and 43 percent were enrolled on a part-time basis. According to the 2008 Student Survey, 69 percent of UT Arlington students hold jobs, with 32 percent working 21 or more hours per week. It should be noted, however, that the cohort of traditional first-time freshman is growing. The size of the incoming freshman class has almost doubled since 2000, reaching 2,805 in fall 2010. These students have an average age of 18, almost all attend full-time, and about 53 percent of first-time freshmen live in campus residence halls or apartments.

UT Arlington is one of the most diverse institutions in the nation. In fall 2010, the student population was 14.1 percent African American, 16.9 percent Hispanic, 9.1 percent Asian, 0.4 percent Native American and 10 percent International. It is estimated that the Hispanic student population will be UT Arlington’s fastest growing student segment in the coming decades.

The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research, teaching, and public service institution whose mission is the advancement of knowledge and the pursuit of excellence. The University is committed to the promotion of lifelong learning through its academic and continuing education programs and to the formation of good citizenship through its community service learning programs. The diverse student body shares a wide range of cultural values and the University community fosters unity of purpose and cultivates mutual respect.

As a University, we affirm our commitment to the following objectives:

• The University is committed to comprehensive programs of academic research. This research effort requires attracting and retaining scholars who promote a culture of intellectual curiosity, rigorous inquiry, and high academic standards among their fellow faculty and the students they teach.
• The University prepares students for full, productive lives and informed and active citizenship. To that end, we have developed undergraduate and graduate curricula and classroom practices that engage students actively in the learning process. Outside the classroom a wide range of student organizations and activities contribute to the learning environment. Our service learning program offers students the opportunity to supplement their academic study with internships in a variety of community settings, testing their skills and aptitudes and challenging their values. State-of-the-art teaching technologies, distance education, and off-site instruction afford access to off-campus as well as traditional students. Non-degree certificate and continuing education programs offer practical, aesthetic, and intellectually stimulating opportunities for community learners, for individual courses or a sustained program of study.
• The mission of a university can be achieved only when its students, faculty, staff, and administrators value and promote free expression in an atmosphere of tolerance, responsibility, and trust. The University regards these attributes as prerequisites for any community of learners and vigilantly strives to maintain them.
• Mindful of its role as a resource to the community, locally, nationally, and internationally, the University continually seeks partnerships with public and private concerns in order to advance the economic, social, and cultural welfare of its constituencies. We serve the needs of the North Texas community by sponsoring public lectures and academic symposia, as well as artistic, musical, and dramatic productions.

The University of Texas at Arlington is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation status of The University of Texas at Arlington.

In addition, many of UT Arlington's academic departments and schools have received national accreditation from specific agencies. These accreditations are detailed under the individual listings for departments and schools in this catalog.

Since 1993, students and faculty of The University of Texas at Arlington have benefited from its membership in Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). ORAU is a consortium of 98 colleges and universities, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and a strategic partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratories.  Located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, ORAU works with member institutions to help students and faculty gain access to federal research facilities throughout the country; to keep its members informed about fellowship, scholarship, and research opportunities; and to organize research alliances among member institutions.

Undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, as well as faculty enjoy access to a multitude of opportunities for study and research through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) – a program managed by ORAU for the DOE. Students can participate in programs covering a wide variety of disciplines including business, earth sciences, epidemiology, engineering, physics, geological sciences, pharmacology, ocean sciences, biomedical sciences, nuclear chemistry and mathematics. Appointment and program length range from one month to four years. Many of these programs are especially designed to increase the numbers of under-represented minority students pursuing degrees in science- and engineering-related disciplines. A comprehensive listing of these programs and other opportunities, their disciplines, and details on locations and benefits can be found in the ORISE Catalog of Education and Training Programs, which is available at http://orise.orau.gov/, or by calling either of the contacts below.

ORAU's Office of Partnership Development seeks opportunities for partnerships and alliances among ORAU's members, private industry and major federal facilities. Activities include faculty development programs, such as the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards, the Visiting Industrial Scholars Program, consortium research funding initiatives, faculty research and support programs, as well as services to chief research officers.

For more information about ORAU and its programs, contact:

Ronald L. Elsenbaumer
Vice President for Research and Federal Relations
ORAU Councilor for The University of Texas at Arlington

Monnie E. Champion
ORAU Corporate Secretary (865-576-3306)

or visit the ORAU Home Page (www.orau.org)

The government of UT Arlington is vested in a nine-member Board of Regents of The University of Texas System, nominated by the governor and approved by the Senate. The Office of the Chancellor is the chief administrative office of The University of Texas System and is located in Austin. The chief administrative officer of UT Arlington is the University president, under the authority of the Office of the Chancellor of the UT System and the Board of Regents. A complete statement of the authority and duties of the Regents and of the several officers, together with an account of the organization of the system, is published in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System.

The University of Texas at Arlington complies with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 as amended, the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act and the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System.

It is the policy of The University of Texas at Arlington that to the extent provided by these applicable laws no person shall, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, disabilities or veteran status, be denied employment or admission, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or subject to discrimination under, any program or activity that it sponsors or conducts. It is also the University’s policy to maintain an environment free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Inquiries concerning the application of this policy and complaints of discrimination should be directed to the Office of Equal Opportunity Services, 710 S. Davis Drive, Office and Classroom Building (OCB), 817-272-2106. E-mail: eoaa@uta.edu. Web site: www.uta.edu/eos.

The University of Texas at Arlington is committed to an academic and working environment free from inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is a prohibited practice under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for employees as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1973, and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act for students under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and consensual relationships between faculty members and the students they currently teach or supervise, and between employees in positions of authority and their subordinates, are prohibited under University policy.

Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, insults, sexual threats, innuendoes and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature under circumstances where: 1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment (or a student's status in a course, program or activity); 2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an employee is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting the individual (or in the case of a student, it is used as a basis for academic or other decisions affecting a student); or 3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual's employment (or the student's educational experience), or of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive academic environment.

Constitutionally protected expression cannot be considered harassment under this policy.

Complaints and violations of the policy should be reported to the Office of Equal Opportunity Services, 710 S. Davis Drive, Office and Classroom Building (OCB), 817-272-2106. E-mail: eoaa@uta.edu. Web site: www.uta.edu/eos.