Establishment

Before the founding of the University of Texas at Dallas, Eugene McDermott, Cecil Howard Green and J. Erik Jonsson had purchased Geophysical Service Incorporated (GSI) on December 6, 1941 – the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. With the rapid increase in defense contracts due to declaration of war with Germany, the General Instrument Division of GSI grew substantially and was later reorganized under the name Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI) in 1951.^[13]

The increase in defense contracts also created a shortage in the Dallas–Fort Worth area of the qualified personnel required by TI. At the time, the region's universities did not provide enough graduates with advanced training in engineering and physical sciences. Texas Instruments was forced to recruit talent from other states during its expansion, and the founders observed in 1959 that "To grow industrially, the region must grow academically; it must provide the intellectual atmosphere, which will allow it to compete in the new industries dependent on highly trained and creative minds."^[14]

To compensate for a shortage, McDermott, Green, and Jonsson established the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest on February 14, 1961. While the institute initially was housed in the Fondren Science Library at Southern Methodist University, a nearby empty cotton field was later acquired by Jonsson, McDermott, and Green in Richardson, Texas in 1962. The first facility, the Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Science (later named the Founders Building), opened in 1964. The Graduate Research Center of the Southwest was renamed the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies (SCAS) in 1967.

On June 13, 1969, Gov. Preston Smith signed House Bill 303, which added the institution to the University of Texas System as the University of Texas at Dallas (effective September 1, 1969).^[15] When Texas Instruments and UTD co-founders officially bequeathed the young university to the UT System, they boldly stated that they envisioned it would one day become the “MIT of the South.”^[16][17] At the time, the college only accepted graduate students for Masters and PhD programs – no undergraduate Bachelor degree programs were offered. Francis S. Johnson served as initial interim president before Bryce Jordan was selected in 1971.^[18]

Expansion and growth

Engineering and Computer Science South Building

Founded at the dawn of the Information Age and steeped in science and technology, The University of Texas at Dallas has been more intent on creating the future than on preserving its history. As a result, not all relevant early historical details were documented carefully and fully; which is a reflection of the nature of a youthful institution's disregard for archiving.^[19] While some details were preserved, detailed historical documentation for the university did not start until around the late 2000s.

In July 1971, Bryce Jordan became the university's first president and served until 1981.^[20] At that time the campus consisted of only one facility (the Founders Building) and only admitted graduate students. During Jordan's 10-year tenure the university received 275 acres (111 ha) of land in 1972 from the Hoblitzelle Foundation. This allowed the campus to expand with the addition of a number of new facilities including most notable the Cecil H. Green Hall, the Eugene McDermott Library, and a campus bookstore.^[21][22] The school received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1972, and the first diplomas were awarded in 1973.^[23]

The first bachelor's degrees were awarded in spring 1976. The Callier Center for Communication Disorders became part of the UTD in 1975 and the School of Management opened in 1975.^[24] Enrollment increased from 700 in 1974, to 3,333 in 1975, and later to more than 5,300 students in 1977.^[15]

UT Dallas's first Nobel laureate, the late Polykarp Kusch, was a member of the physics faculty from 1972 to 1982.^[25]

The first art installation, the Love Jack by Jim Love, was added to UTD's campus in 1976.^[16] The Visual Arts Building opened in 1978.

Robert H. Rutford, an Antarctic explorer recognized with the naming of the Rutford Ice Stream and Mount Rutford in Antarctica, became the second president of UT Dallas in May 1982.^[26] He served in this post until 1994. During his tenure as president, the university secured approval for a school of engineering, added freshmen and sophomores to its student body, and built the first on-campus housing.^[27]

The school became a four-year institution in fall 1990.^[28][29] The initial incoming freshman class was about 100 students. The state mandated that admission criteria for entering freshmen "to be no less stringent than the criteria of UT Austin".^[30]

Franklyn Jenifer became the third president of UT Dallas in 1994 and served until 2005. Under Jenifer, UT Dallas's enrollment increased over 61% - from less than 8,500 to nearly 14,000.^[31]

The chess club and debate program were founded in 1996, and later began offering academic scholarships for those skilled in either area. The Galerstein Women's Center also opened that year.^[16]

UT Dallas Texas Logo, inspired by the Texas Instruments logo.

UT Dallas' ceremonial mace contains a university seal surrounding a wafer embedded with Texas Instruments microchips, representing TI's role in the founding of the college. A steel band in the headpiece and the metal foot of the staff fashioned from a scientific instrument designed by the UT Dallas Space Sciences Institute and were flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1995.^[32][33]

In June 2005, David E. Daniel was appointed the university's fourth president. He previously served on the faculty at UT Austin and was the Dean of Engineering at the University of Illinois from 2001 to 2005. He has continued the expansion of the campus by adding the Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory, the Center for BrainHealth (near the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center), and almost 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of new facilities added from 2007 to 2010.^[34][35][36]

The first campus mural was introduced in July 2008. The first fight song was written in September 2008; it was written to the music of Tiger Rag.^[16]

In 2010, the Student services building was added and UT Dallas had hit a record enrollment of over 17,000. In 2011, the new university Visitor Center & Bookstore opened.

Attempted DFW area UT System mergers

In July 2001, the 77th Texas legislature failed to pass two proposed bills which had very different plans for the future of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex UT System intuitions.^[37][38][39]

The first plan, 77(R) HB 3568 proposed by Kenn George,^[40] would have consolidated the 2 universities and 1 medical school under the name "The University of Texas at Dallas".^[37] It would have established UT Dallas (UTD) in Richardson, TX as the main flagship campus, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSW) as its medical school, and would have designated UT Arlington (UTA) as a UT Dallas satellite campus (a situation similar to UT Rio Grande Valley).^[37] The purpose of the bill was to consolidate all DFW UT System institutions into one, creating single cohesive flagship-level university for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. However, the bill was unpopular with supporters of UT Arlington (because they wanted to retain their identity as a separate institution from UT Dallas) and the House Bill ultimately failed to pass. Despite this, UT Dallas has continued a close relationship with UT Southwestern. UT Dallas' Center for BrainHealth and Callier Center were built right next to UTSW's main campus in downtown Dallas. Additionally, UT Southwestern later established a Clinical Center in Richardson next to UTD's main campus.

The second plan, 77(R) HB 3607 proposed by Domingo Garcia,^[40] would have transferred UT Dallas, UT Southwestern, and UT Arlington to the University of North Texas System (to create something similar to the University of Houston System).^[37] The Denton, TX campus would have remained as the flagship university while the 3 Dallas–Fort Worth UT System institutions would have been designated as separate degree-granting sister UNT System colleges. Their names would have changed to the "University of North Texas at Dallas" located in Richardson, TX (not to be confused with the present-day UNTD campus established later in 2009), the "University of North Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas" (UNTSW), and the "University of North Texas at Arlington" (UNTA).^[37] The law was left pending due to objections from both UT Arlington and UT Dallas, as both preferred to remain under the UT System.

Recent history

Naveen Jindal School of Management

On July 15, 2016, Dr. Richard C. Benson was appointed the fifth president of the University of Texas at Dallas.^[41] Previously he was Dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, which saw record growth from 2005 to 2016 after the number of engineering applicants nearly doubled during his tenure.^[42] He has continued the expansion of the UTD campus with the addition of The Bioengineering and Sciences Building, The Engineering & Computer Science West Building, a new Science Building, The Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, and Northside Phase 1 & 2 (the first on-campus apartments with first floor retail space).

UT Dallas Monogram

In fall 2017, The University of Texas at Dallas adopted a secondary logo, the UTD Monogram. It is typically used to retain UT Dallas’ identity across digital platforms, as the primary logo does not adapt well to mobile devices or smaller screens.^[43] UT Dallas also adopted its first mascot logo for Temoc. Later in spring 2017, Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center opened.

In 2018, the University inherited the Barrett collection of Swiss art which will be housed in a new building as part of the Edith O'Donnell Institute of Art History.^[44] In January 2019, the family of Trammell and Margaret Crow donated the entire collection of the Crow Museum of Asian Art to The University of Texas at Dallas, along with $23 million in support funding to help build a structure on the university campus to show more of the artworks.^[45]

In fall 2019 UT Dallas marked its 50 years as a Texas public university (est. 1969), 44 years of undergraduate junior/senior enrollment (since 1975), 29 years of incoming freshmen enrollment (since 1990), and 58 years as a research center (founded in 1961).^[46][47]

On July 20, 2023, UT Dallas announced that it would leave the American Southwest Conference and transition to become a NCAA Division II school in the Lone Star Conference.^[48]

Rankings

In 2019, U.S. News & World Report in Best Colleges ranked UTD at 115th among national universities.^[60][61] The 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities placed UTD at 71st–99th in the United States. Washington Monthly's 2015 Annual College and University Rankings placed UTD at 99th in the United States.^[62] Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's 100 Best Values in Public Colleges 2016 ranked UTD at 33rd in value for in-state residents and 38th for out-of-state students.^[63]

Colleges and schools

Science Learning Center. The tile exterior represents two patterns: atomic emission spectra of gases, and human DNA.

For Fall 2021, The University of Texas at Dallas offered 146 academic programs across its seven schools including 56 baccalaureate programs, 59 master's programs and 31 doctoral programs^[80].^[81][82] The school also offers 33 undergraduate and graduate certificates.^[83] The school offers a number of interdisciplinary degree programs.^[84]

In July 2022, UTDallas announced it would combine the School of Arts & Humanities with the School of Art, Technology and Emerging Communications (ATEC) to form the School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology (AHT) effective August 22, 2022.

The seven schools of UT Dallas for Fall 2022:

The Hobson Wildenthal Honors College offers several programs and support resources for high achieving students:^[86][87]

Historically important degree programs

• In January 2007 UTD's School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences began offering the first doctoral degree in criminology in Texas.^[88]
• In 2008 a complementary major, Emerging Media and Communication (EMAC), was offered.^[89]
• In 2015, the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communications was founded offering programs in animation, design and creative production, game design, and critical media studies.
• The Geospatial Information Sciences program was the first from Texas admitted to the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science.^[90]
• UT Dallas is the fourth university in the nation to receive an accreditation from the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) for a Geospatial Intelligence certificate.^[91]
• The GIS program is ranked No. 1 in the nation for GIScience/Computation and Spatial Analysis/Statistics by Geographical Perspectives.^[92]

Student body

The top majors among undergraduates are biology, computer science, arts and technology, accounting, business administration, mechanical engineering, finance, neuroscience, psychology, and electrical engineering.^[94]

In the fall 2022–23 academic year, UTD enrolled 227 National Merit Scholars in its freshmen class of 4,220, which was the highest total number in Texas and one of the highest in the nation.^[95] The fall 2017 entering freshmen class had an average SAT composite score of 1323 and an average ACT composite score of 29. These freshman SAT/ACT scores are the highest averages in UTD's history – which surpassed Texas A&M's and matched UT Austin's averages of that year.^[96] For spring 2022 commencement, the university granted 4,881 bachelor's degrees, 2,333 master's degrees and 262 doctoral degrees for a total of 7,476 degrees.^[97]

Scholarship programs

All freshmen admitted to the university are automatically considered for an Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES) Award. For the fall 2017 incoming freshmen class, the awards range from $3,000 per year for tuition and mandatory fees up to complete coverage of UT Dallas tuition and mandatory fees plus $3,000 per semester cash stipend to defray the costs of books, supplies and other expenses.^[98]

The McDermott Scholars Program, established at UT Dallas in 2000, provides full scholarships and unique cultural and civic opportunities to academically talented high school students.^[99]

The National Merit Scholars Program, established at UT Dallas in 2011, provides admission to the Collegium V Honors college, full tuition and mandatory fees, and an additional stipend.^[100]

In 2006, UT Dallas became one of 13 universities in Texas affiliated with the Terry Foundation Scholarship. The Terry Scholars Program is a cohort experience that offers academic, cultural, service, mentoring, and other unique opportunities to traditional and transfer students awarded the prestigious scholarship.^[101]

Research

UT Dallas is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and had research expenditures of $140 million for the 2022 fiscal year, $60 million of which came from federal fundings.^[102][103] Research projects include the areas of space science, bioengineering, cybersecurity, nanotechnology, and behavioral and brain sciences. The university has more than 50 research centers and institutes and the UTD Office of Technology Commercialization, a technology transfer center.^{[104][105][106]}

Scale model of the C/NOFS probe. NASA's CINDI instrument is installed on C/NOFS.

The William B. Hanson Center for Space Studies (CSS), affiliated with the Department of Physics, conducts research in space plasma physics. It has its roots in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Laboratory of the university's predecessor. The center conducts a NASA-sponsored mission, Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI), which was launched in April 2008 in cooperation with the United States Air Force.^[107] CINDI, which is part of the payload for the Communication and Navigation Outage Forecast System program, seeks to uncover information about the equatorial plasma bubbles that interrupt radio signals.^[108][109] Under the leadership of John H. Hoffman, the center designed the mass spectrometer for the Phoenix Mars Lander as part of the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) experiment in cooperation with the University of Arizona.^[110]

UT Dallas conducts cybersecurity research in a number of areas including cross-domain information sharing, data security and privacy, data mining for malware detection, geospatial information security, secure social networks, and secure cloud computing.^[111] The university is designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research for the academic years 2008–2013 by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.^[112]

The Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute was established in 2001 when Bay Baughman, a pioneering nanotechnologist, became the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry and director of the university's NanoTech Institute. In 2007, it was renamed in memory of the late Alan G. MacDiarmid, who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry with Alan Heeger and Hideki Shirakawa. The NanoTech Institute has produced more than 200 refereed journal articles, 13 of which have been published in Science or Nature, and given over 300 lectures in the United States and abroad.^[113] Ray Baughman was ranked number 30 on the March 2, 2011, Thomson Reuters list of the top 100 materials scientists.^[114][115]

Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory

The Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory (NSERL), a four-story, 192,000-square-foot (17,800 m²) research facility, was completed in December 2006 after two years of construction. Including ISO 7 cleanroom facilities, the $85 million building provides open floor plans that allows chemists, biologists, nanotechnologists, materials scientists and other specialists to conduct multidisciplinary research. The laboratory provides extensive wet lab, fabrication, instrumentation, and high performance computing facilities to foster biomedical engineering and nano-technology research. The Nanoelectronics Materials Laboratory, on the fourth floor, includes a system that allows researchers to deposit thin film materials one atomic layer at a time. In May 2011 a $3 million JEOL ARM200F scanning transmission electron microscope with an atomic resolution of 0.78 picometers, was added to the research laboratory, already home to two transmission electron microscopes.^{[116][117][118]}

Center for BrainHealth

The Center for BrainHealth, both its own facility and part of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, is a research institute with clinical interventions focused on brain health. The center is located near the UT Dallas' Callier Center for Communication Disorders and adjacent to the north campus of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the city of Dallas. Brain research is concentrated on brain conditions, diseases, and disorders including, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, autism, dementia, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and working memory.^[119]

The Callier Center for Communication Disorders became part of the University of Texas at Dallas in 1975 as part of the School of Human Development (now the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences). Research, at the center, includes the causes, prevention, assessment and treatment of communication disorders and the facilities include laboratories for research in child language development and disorders, autism spectrum disorders, speech production, hearing disorders, neurogenic speech and language, cochlear implants and aural habilitation.^[120]

Additional ongoing research initiatives at UT Dallas include researchers overseeing the long-running British Election Study (BES). Harold Clarke, the Ashbel Smith professor of political science in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, and Marianne Stewart, professor of political science are the co-principal investigators for the study, which began in 1964 and is one of the world's oldest continuous political research projects. The other two co-investigators are David Sanders and Paul Whiteley of the University of Essex in England.^[121]

Main campus

UTD Visitor Center

The main campus is mostly located in Richardson, Texas, with a small section to the west in Dallas.^[122]

It is next to Dallas's Telecom Corridor, 18 miles (29 km) north of downtown Dallas, on the boundary of Dallas and Collin counties. UT Dallas owns land in Richardson, Texas consisting of approximately 465 acres (1.88 km²) for campus development and another 265 acres (1.07 km²) adjacent to the campus.^[7] The Princeton Review's Guide to 332 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition recognized UTD for their green campus efforts.^[123]

While the main campus' address is officially within the jurisdiction of Richardson and Collin county, approximately one-third of the college today (one-half in 1969) is physically located within the border of Dallas county (which the city of Dallas typically governs). This section contains major areas in the south end of campus, including the Visitor Center, Bookstore, the Naveen Jindal School of Management, Athletics District and facilities, half of the Founders Building, parking lots, and some on-campus student housing (Canyon Creek and University Village buildings 1, 2, and 3).^[124][125] When UT Dallas started growing in the 1960s, the university needed to coordinate with one of the cities for water, electricity, sewer, police, and fire services. Dallas agreed to let Richardson officially host the university because it did not have the ability or capacity to support UTD at the time (a situation similar to SMU and University Park).^[126] Today, UT Dallas and Richardson share a close relationship and have strongly supported each other's growth for the past 50 years.^[127]

Other locations

• Waterview Science & Technology Center and the Research and Operations Center, a leased building, is adjacent to the main campus and officially within Dallas city limits.^[128]
• Callier Center, consisting of 8 buildings, and the Center for BrainHealth, a single building, is adjacent to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the city of Dallas.^[129]
• Artist residency CentralTrak was located east of downtown Dallas one block away from Fair Park.^[130] It closed in 2017 due to a lease cancellation.^[131]
• The Crow Museum of Art, acquired by UT Dallas in January 2019, is located in the Arts District in Dallas.^[132]
• The Venture Development Center and Center for Emergent Novel Technology at the Innovation Quarter (CENT-IQ) will be located at the headquarters of the Innovation Quarter as part of a partnership between the City of Richardson and the University of Texas at Dallas to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 19, 2022, to officially launch CENT-IQ that will be home to five multi-disciplinary research centers.^[133][134]

Architecture

Student Services building

The first campus development plan (1971) called for brutalist-style concrete architecture, a monorail, and skywalks.^[16] While not everything was implemented, some of the original elements outlined do remain today. The overall modern look and feel of the campus was inspired by the founders' vision of a "college of the future" – intentionally straying far from the traditional "red-brick" styles of older universities.

Early architecture on the campus (late 20th century) exhibits typical characteristics of Brutalism, a popular civic style when the structures were designed and built. In accordance with this style, many of the early buildings are pale, off-white, precast concrete with repetitive structures. Most of these buildings are concentrated towards the north end of the Mall area, the most notable being the Founders Building, Eugene McDermott Library, and Administration Building.

Later architecture (early 21st century) exhibits late modern or postmodern features such as bronze glass, bronze aluminum frames, unadorned geometric shapes, unusual surfaces, and unorthodox layouts. This styling is seen in the Engineering and Computer Science West building, School of Management, Cecil and Ida Green Center, and Natural Science and Engineering Research Lab facility (called the Mermaid Building due to its colorful anodized shingles). To provide protection from inclement weather and extreme temperatures, many of the buildings on campus are connected by a series of elevated indoor walking paths also referred to as skybridges.^[135]

The Student Services building, completed in 2010, is the first academic structure in Texas to be rated a LEED Platinum facility by the United States Green Building Council.^[136]

Landscape

The Plinth, located between the McDermott Library (left) and the Student Union (right)

A $30 million Campus Landscape Enhancement Project, largely funded by Margaret McDermott (wife of UTD founder Eugene McDermott), was started in October 2008 and completed in late 2010. The project encompassed all aspects of landscape architecture from campus identity to pedestrian strategies, future growth patterns, sustainability and establishing a campus core. The first enhancement included the reforestation of the main entry drive with more than 5,000 native trees. Each tree was hand-picked and individually arranged by the landscape architect after study of native stands in Texas.

The next major enhancement a included the commitment to a riparian corridor, consisting of a densely planted natural creek bed along the central entry median to the campus Allée. The main Mall (or 'Allée') includes 116 hand-picked columnar 'Claudia Wannamaker' Magnolias alongside five reflecting pools and four human-scale chess boards (to represent the achievements of the school's chess team). At the northern terminus of the Mall (between the McDermott Library and the Student Union) is a pavilion-sized plaza, referred to by many students as "The Plinth". The plaza includes a granite fountain complete with mist column, an overhead trellis covered in wisteria vines, and a temperature-modifying shade structure design.^{[137][138][139]}

The most recent Phase of the Campus Landscape Enhancement Project was completed in time for the Fall 2021 semester. This phase included converting a section of Rutford Ave from North Loop Road to Franklyn Jenifer Drive into a 24-foot wide pedestrian-only promenade. Six brick signs matching that of the main entrance was also installed at major intersections and campus entrances. A bridge was also installed over Cottonwood Creek between Callier Center Richardson and the Bioengineering and Sciences Building which was finished in September 2021.^[140] A total of 1,200 trees were planted and enhancements were made to the Rock Garden behind the Founder Building.

Construction and development

Completed projects

The first building on campus was the Laboratory of Earth & Planetary Science (completed in 1964), later renamed to the Founders Building.^[147] Notable campus buildings added in the 20th century include the Eugene McDermott Library (1975),^[147] Student Union (1981), Administration Building (1988), Waterview Apartments (1989), and the Activity Center (1998).^[148]

Campus development in early 21st century included the additions of the School of Management (2003) and the Natural Science & Engineering Research Lab "Mermaid Building" (2007).^[149][150] Starting in 2009, UT Dallas began experiencing major growth due to a rapidly increasing undergraduate population, new research opportunities, and donations. This spurred a series of campus developments that continues to present day. As a result, most of the signature landmarks on main campus are (at most) just a decade old. Below is a timeline of the largest recent additions to UTD's main campus in Richardson, TX.

2009

• The first dorm-style units & 2nd on-campus student housing development, Residence Hall South.^[151]
• Dining Hall (now the Student Union Food Court).^[151]
• University Parkway and Entrance, featuring a long road lined with 6,000+ native trees & shrubs along with a large roundabout intersection. It is the main entrance to UT Dallas, leading traffic and pedestrians to the south end of campus.^[151]

UT Dallas mall magnolia trees and reflecting pools

2010

• Enhancements to the central and south Mall area, a transformation that marked the first major efforts of beautifying the main campus. It was largely funded by donations from Margaret McDermott, the wife of one of UT Dallas' founders, Eugene McDermott.^[151] The construction added the four reflecting pools and surrounding magnolia trees in the south mall area. It also added the trellis and plinth to the center of the mall, which features a shady outdoor sitting area and a mist fountain.
• Student Services Building added 74,343 sq.ft. of student support offices/programs. This includes financial aid, the bursar's office, registrar and enrollment center, health and counseling services, career center, resident and housing operations, international student services, women's center, gender center (LGBTQ+), and more. The facade makes the building appear to float when viewed from various vantage points.^[151][152]
• Science Learning Center (SLC), featuring 76,000 sq.ft. of space for lecture halls, recitation rooms, and instructional labs.^[151] The exterior of the building is inspired by two patterns: atomic emission spectra of gases, and human DNA when it is separated in a process called gel electrophoresis.^[153]
• Renovation and expansion of the Founders Building, which added an atrium lobby, computer labs, classrooms, and offices.^[151]

2011

• The Visitor Center & University Bookstore, which also houses the tech store, copy center, and is attached to the rec center.^[151][154] It replaced the original campus bookstore that was constructed in 1978.
• The third on-campus student housing development, Residence Hall North.^[155][151]

2012

• The fourth on-campus student housing development, Residence Hall Northwest.^[156][151]
• Soccer Fields, for UTD's varsity DIII soccer teams.^[151]

2013

• The Edith O’Donnell Arts & Technology Building is home to the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication. The 155,000-square-foot building was designed by STUDIOS Architecture – the same firm that designed Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The footprint of the building is designed around cluster concepts allowing thinkers to gather and work. ATEC classrooms, research labs, and makerspace studios support new ways of collaboration for a community immersed in innovative practices.
• The 5th on-campus student housing development, Residence Hall Southwest.^{[156][151][157]}
• The first general on-campus parking garage, Parking Structure 1.^[151]
• Tennis Courts, for UTD's DIII varsity tennis teams.^[151]

2014

• A 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) expansion to the Naveen Jindal School of Management building.^[158][159]
• The sixth on-campus student housing development, Residence Hall West. It includes a dining hall, recreation center, and a resident parking garage.^[156][157]
• Parking Structure 2, the second general on-campus parking garage. It also houses retail space.^[151]

2015

• Beautification enhancement for the north Mall area.^[160]

2016

• The seventh on-campus student housing development, Northside Phase 1. It is the first urban mixed-use development apartment complex at UTD that includes first floor retail space, designed to serve both students and future DART light rail commuters.^[160]
• The Bioengineering and Sciences Building. The $108 million, 220,000-square-foot (20,000 m²) facility accommodates students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and provide research space for 70 faculty members.^{[160][161][162]}
• Parking Structure 4, the 3rd general on-campus parking garage.^[160]

2017

• The Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, the first campus facility solely designated for special use.^[163] It features conference venues, meeting rooms, and event spaces and houses the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
• The 8th and 9th on-campus student housing developments, Canyon Creek Heights North and South.^[163]
• A 68,700 sq.ft. addition to the Student Services Building.^[160]

2018

• The Engineering & Computer Science West Building. The 200,000-square-foot facility was built on the site of the (now-demolished) Clark Center.^[160]
• The 10th on-campus student housing development, Northside Phase 2.^[160]

2020

• A new Science Building opened in fall 2020. The 175,000-square-foot (16,300 m²) space features laboratories, classrooms, and offices.^[160]
• Northside Phase 3. "Smart" student apartments added 370 beds and 246 living units.^[160]

2021

• Northside Phase 4. Additional 387 units and 675 beds added.^[160]

Under Construction

• Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building. Future home of Fabrication and Biodesign Center. Located off the Main Campus, in Dallas near UT Southwestern Medical Center.^[160]
• DART Silver Line- UT Dallas Station. The Silver Line will run 26 miles from Plano to DFW Airport Terminal B and will connect to three of DART's light rail lines: Orange, Red and Green and to Trinity Metro TEXRail to downtown Fort Worth.^[160]
• Phase one of the 12-acre, $158M cultural district, the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum. is being built on the southeastern edge of the UTD campus. The Athenaeum will host a two-story, 68,000-square-foot second location for the Crow Museum of Asian Art. The other elements of the cultural district will feature 2 additional buildings: a two-story, 53,000-square-foot performance hall; and a two-story, 50,000-square-foot museum focused on traditional arts of the Americas, all surrounding a central plaza.^[164]

Collections

The Edith and Peter O'Donnell Jr. Athenaeum will be home to the following collections:^[169]

• Trammell and Margret Crow Collection of Asian Art
• Barrett Collection of Swiss Art
• Brettell Reading Room housing the personal library of Dr. Richard Brettell
• Roger Horchow Collection
• The Laura and Dan Boeckman Collection of Latin American Folk Art
• The Bryan J. Stevens Collection of Masks of the Sierra de Puebla

Activities

Activity Center

The University of Texas at Dallas has 300+ registered campus organizations and 26 national Greek-letter fraternities and sororities. Campus culture is generally more academically inclined compared to other major Texas universities, and traditional athletic sports are not a major focus of the institution.^[96]

UTD's 89,000-square-foot (8,300 m²) Activity Center includes a fitness center, basketball courts, a multi-purpose room, and an indoor swimming pool. Also available are sand volleyball courts, soccer fields, tennis courts, softball fields, baseball fields and a disc golf course.^[170]

Recreation and education teams

Greek life

The University of Texas at Dallas opened the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life in 1992 with Kappa Sigma and Alpha Gamma Delta as the first fraternity and sorority on campus, respectively. Since then, it has grown to a community of over 1,000 students among its 26 Greek organizations as of Fall 2019.^[200] Each Greek organization is a member of one of the four councils on campus: the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Collegiate Pan-Hellenic Council (CPC), the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), or the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC). The IFC and CPC are the largest councils by number of students, while the MGC, third in population, is the largest by number of entities.

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is composed of eight men's fraternities:^[201] Alpha Lambda Mu (the first national Muslim fraternity, founded at UT Dallas), Chi Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

The Collegiate Pan-Hellenic Council (CPC) is composed of four women's sororities:^[202] Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Zeta, Kappa Alpha Theta.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), chartered on November 11, 2001,^[203] is composed of historically African-American fraternities and sororities that make up the "Divine Nine". Four of those nine entities are represented at UT Dallas: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho.

Established in the Fall of 2002,^[204] The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), composed of both fraternities and sororities, is the largest of the four councils by number of entities. Its member organizations are among the youngest national Greek organizations in the world and promote diversity among their membership, although some of them promote a specific cultural ethnicity or nationality.^[205] The nine entities are: Beta Chi Theta, Delta Epsilon Psi, Delta Kappa Delta, Kappa Delta Chi, Lambda Theta Phi, Omega Delta Phi, Sigma Lambda Alpha, Sigma Lambda Gamma, and Sigma Sigma Rho.^[206]

In addition, UT Dallas hosts four Greek-letter professional fraternities:

• Beta Alpha Psi, an accounting honors fraternity
• Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity
• Gamma Iota Sigma, a professional fraternity for insurance and risk management
• Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honors association^[207]

Esports

On September 24, 2018, the university added a co-ed Varsity Esports team managed under the athletic department. In 2023, the team was moved to Student Engagement under the Director of the Student Union. The team officially competes in collegiate competitions for League of Legends, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League and Valorant.^[208]

• In their inaugural year, UTD Esports ranked No. 8 overall in collegiate League of Legends competitions according to an official ESPN poll.^[209]
• In 2019 UTD Esports won the first US collegiate Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition at t Collegiate Starleague Smash Ultimate National Championships, taking home the program's first national title.^[210]

Student media

The Mercury has been the official student newspaper of the University of Texas at Dallas since 1980. It publishes 5,000 copies every other Monday during the fall and spring semesters, and every third Monday during the summer. It is distributed free around campus and at the UTD newsroom in the Student Union. The Mercury also publishes online at utdmercury.com. In April 2011, The Mercury won 12 awards at the 101st annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association IPA convention.^[211]

In 2004, another student print named A Modest Proposal (AMP) was formed. In contrast to The Mercury, which is almost all news articles, AMP is a magazine and features mostly editorial content. AMP is published once a month, eight times a year. Any student, faculty, or staff of UTD can contribute to the paper. Copies of AMP are available for free at the first of each month around the campus, and can also be downloaded in PDF format from their website.^[212] Radio UTD, the university's student-run, Internet-only, radio station offers streaming music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and broadcasts UTD sports games. Radio UTD has also been featured on XM Satellite Radio Channel 43 (XMU) on The Student Exchange Program.^[213] The radio station was nominated for three college radio awards at the 2010 College Music Journal annual Music Marathon and Festival. The nominations were for the following categories: Best Use of the Internet, Best Use of Limited Resources and Station of the Year.^[214]

In 2009, UTD TV, an internet-based campus TV station, was founded and launched by students. It webcasts a range of student-interest programs from campus news and amusing serial stories to student affairs coverage.^[215]

Residential housing

UTD Residence Hall South

On-campus housing for the 2015–2016 academic year consisted of the University Commons five residential halls and 1,237 apartments.^[216] The apartment buildings 1–37, which make up 696 units and buildings 38–67, which make up 541 units, are owned by the university and privately managed by American Campus Communities under the name University Village. Buildings 1–37, previously known as the Waterview Park Apartments, were owned by the Utley Foundation and purchased by UTD on July 1, 2013.^[217][218] Apartment floor plans vary from 1-bedroom to 4-bedroom units and amenities include swimming pools, volleyball courts, outdoor grills, and study centers.^[219] According to a UTD Mercury article on September 18, 2011, both graduate and upperclassman housing continues to be in short supply due to the increase in enrollment.^[220]

UTD Apartments

On August 12, 2009, a 148,000-square-foot (13,700 m²) residence hall (Residence Hall South) opened, providing housing for 384 full-time freshmen residents and 16 peer advisers. The building includes a mix of three-bedroom, single-bath suites for freshmen and one-bedroom, one-bath units for peer advisers. On each wing and each floor are several communal study areas and the ground floor features a 1,800-square-foot (170 m²) glass-enclosed rotunda with pool and ping-pong tables, large-screen televisions, couches and chairs.^[221] A second, 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m²) residence hall, (Residence Hall North), was officially completed June 27, 2011, and a third freshman residence hall (Residence Hall Northwest) adjacent to the two existing halls was completed in August 2012. A fourth residence hall (Residence Hall Southwest) opened in time for the fall 2013 semester.^[156][157] Construction for a fifth residential facility (Residence Hall West) was started in July 2013 and completed in 2014. The 339,000-square-foot (31,500 m²) 600-bed facility includes a dining hall with seating for 800 and a recreation center.^[222][223] Residence Hall West houses the Living Learning Communities program that groups students with similar interests and majors together.

Construction has begun on two new apartment-style housing complexes known as Phase VI and Phase VII.^[224] The two complexes will offer a total of 800 beds and are expected to open in time for the fall 2017 semester.

In 2015, co-developers Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and Wynne/Jackson began construction of a private mixed-use development known as Northside on leased university land directly adjacent to the main campus.^[225] Opened in time for the fall 2016 semester, the development offers 600 beds through a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes. Northside also includes 20,000 square feet of space for retail and food vendors, bringing an integrated residential and retail complex to the edge of campus for the first time.

Dining

Students have multiple dining options, including commercial restaurants primarily within the Student Union, a traditional dining hall near the residence halls, and convenience stores within buildings. Commercial restaurants include Firehouse Subs, Chick-fil-A, Smoothie King, Halal Guys, Panda Express, Starbucks, and Einstein Bros. Bagels.^[226][227] The Student Union dining hall opened on August 12, 2009, in conjunction with the opening of the first residence hall and was later replaced by a new dining hall within the Residence Hall West complex.^[228][229] The former Student Union dining hall was later replaced by an extended food court area featuring an expanded Chick-fil-A and a Panda Express, among other options. The Student Union building houses The Pub which features a sit-down restaurant atmosphere.^[230] Beginning in the fall 2016 semester, UT Dallas Dining began hosting local food trucks on campus. All first-year students living on campus are required to purchase a meal plan; meal plans are optional for all other students who live on campus.^[231]

Spirit Rocks Removal

On October 16, 2023, student newspaper The Mercury reported on students spray painting Palestinian and Israeli flags and messages on the Spirit Rocks, a set of three rocks where students can spray paint anything following loose rules,^[235] in response to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Students painted various messages in support of both countries, including "WE (Israel) ARE WINNING", "Free Palestine", "END OCCUPATION", "Terror ≠ 'Justice'", and "Zionism = Nazism".^[237] Dean of Students Amanda Smith said the support for both countries did not violate the rules of the Spirit Rocks.^[237] CBS Texas reported on the issue, calling the Spirit Rocks "a tense platform for politics with competing views about the violence in the Middle East".^[238]

On November 20, the Spirit Rocks were removed by Student Affairs executives for platforming "extended political discourse" without consulting the HOP committee responsible for university policies, including the Spirit Rocks. Members of Student Government confirmed that the university had not contacted them prior to removing the Spirit Rocks.^[236]

The Mercury conducted an Instagram poll where 92% of users disagreed with their removal.^[236] Students commented on UT Dallas' official Instagram page expressing their discontent with the decision, accusing them of silencing students.^[239] In response to the removal and silence from the university, student organizations formed a Progressive Student Coalition (PSC) composed mainly of social and political organizations. The Progressive Student Coalition held a brief walkout on November 27, protesting for the replacement of the Spirit Rocks and in support of Palestine.^[240][241] Other organized events included an where students left rocks painted with various flags and messages where the Spirit Rocks were removed from and covering the Plinth with pro-Palestinian chalk art.^[241]

Varsity

The University of Texas at Dallas' Varsity athletics program started when UTD provisionally joined the NCAA Division III and the American Southwest Conference (ASC) in 1998 and was granted full membership in the ASC in 2002.^[243][96] On July 20, 2023, the university announced it would move to NCAA Division II and join the Lone Star Conference.^[48] Varsity sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, esports, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.^[244][245] In total, there are 300 student athletes and 14 intercollegiate teams officially supported by the university.

Competitive club sports

In addition to varsity sports, the university's Club Sports program offers recreational and competitive opportunities across approximately 30 teams. UT Dallas' Recreation Center hosts many recognized student organizations that have been formed, organized, managed, and maintained by students leaders.^[246] While they are not part of the Varsity program, many do compete and officially represent the university.

UTD club sports include: Archery, Badminton, Climbing, Cycling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Japanese Karate, Jujutsu, Kung Fu, Lacrosse, Mixed Martial Arts, Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Rugby, Running, Soccer, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, and Wrestling.^[246]

Intramural sports

UT Dallas has several intramural sports teams.^[248] These teams compete only within UTD, as all teams are organized groups of current students. While available sports and teams can vary each year, teams offered in Spring 2019 include: Badminton, Basketball, Battleship, Cricket, Esports, Flag Football, Sand Volleyball, Soccer, Table Tennis, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Wiffleball, and Xtreme Dodgeball.^[249]