The University of Arizona is the state’s oldest and largest institution of higher learning. It was founded in 1885 as the Territorial Normal School, a teacher training school.
The university’s first president, William Owen Smith, modeled it after Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The school was originally located in downtown Tucson, but it moved to its current location on the south side of town in 1901.
In fact, The University of Arizona has over 45,000 students enrolled at its three campuses: Tucson, Oro Valley and Phoenix. The main campus is spread over 1,500 acres and includes more than 300 buildings on 200 acres.
Students can participate in more than 300 student organizations at UA, including fraternities and sororities, club sports teams, community service organizations and honor societies.
In addition, The university offers more than 170 undergraduate degree programs and more than 100 graduate programs in areas including arts & humanities; business; engineering; health professions; education; sciences; social sciences; fine arts; nursing; law and pharmacy.
The University of Arizona has 19 varsity teams (10 men’s and 9 women’s) that participate in the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference (for non-football sports) and compete for national championships in a variety of sports. The Arizona Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level for college football.
