About

Universities

The Texas A&M University System was created by the Texas Legislature in 1948 to manage the evolution of a statewide educational, research and service system. Its roots lie in the founding of what are now Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University as land-grant colleges in 1876. Today, the Texas A&M System provides oversight and leadership for 11 universities and eight state agencies. Its role is governed by the state’s education code (Title 3, chiefly Ch. 51, Sec. 51.353 and Ch. 85, Sec. 85.17). Responsibilities include system-wide planning, coordination, and execution of the policies of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.

John Tarleton Agricultural College at Stephenville (now Tarleton State University) joined an earlier form of the A&M System in 1917. Tarleton State University-Central Texas, an upper-level institution offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees, was established in Killeen in 1999.

The Galveston Marine Laboratory joined with the Texas Maritime Academy in the 1960s to form Texas A&M University at Galveston, Texas A&M’s marine studies branch. Texas A&M University at Qatar was established in 2003 to bring engineering programs and research to the Gulf Region by establishing a branch campus in an area called Education City in Doha, Qatar. Education City is a 2,400-acre multi-university campus housing various American universities.

In 1989, the A&M System increased its presence in South Texas with the addition of Texas A&M International University (formerly Laredo State University) in Laredo, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (formerly Corpus Christi State University) and Texas A&M University-Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I University). The Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-San Antonio, which offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, was opened in 2000.

In 1990, West Texas State University in the Texas Panhandle city of Canyon joined the A&M System, changing its name to West Texas A&M University in 1993.
In 1996, three other institutions joined the A&M System: Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas and two former East Texas State University campuses, now East Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center, established in 1999, officially merged with Texas A&M University in 2013.  The five health-related colleges have campuses in Bryan/College Station, Dallas, Temple, Houston, Round Rock, Kingsville, and McAllen. Its five colleges are the Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy.
In 2009, Tarleton State University System Center-Central Texas became a standalone university, Texas A&M University-Central Texas. That same year, Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-San Antonio also became a standalone university, Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Each of the members of the A&M System has its own mission, history and goals. The oldest institution and founding member of the A&M System is Texas A&M University, established in 1876. Many of the member universities and agencies joined the A&M System decades after being established. Together, they strive to provide educational programs, outreach and community enhancement services, as well as research that will improve the lives of people in Texas and beyond.

• More than one in five students in a public university in Texas is enrolled in an A&M System institution.
• Texas A&M consistently ranks in the forefront among public universities in Texas in retention rates—keeping students enrolled and on course for graduation both overall and for African-American and Hispanic students.
• A&M System students receive about $580 million in scholarships and grants annually.
• The A&M System awarded 36,346 degrees in FY 2018.
• The A&M System’s faculty includes recipients of the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, Pulitzer Prize, World Food Prize and the Wolf Prize, as well as members in the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

Total Texas A&M University System Enrollment
for Fall Semesters

University Summary Table