University of Arizona

As Arizona’s land-grant university, we are driven to do great things. It’s our passion to transform the lives of our student Wildcats and to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our state and the world.

But what makes us unique is how we do it. We live our purpose, mission and values every day. And we do this in one of the most incredible places on Earth, surrounded by majestic mountains and Saguaro forests, and under a sky that ignites imaginations with cotton candy sunsets and diamond-filled nights. At the University of Arizona, everywhere you look is filled with wonder.

The University of Arizona was established in 1885, and 27 years later, Arizona became a state. The first building, Old Main, was completed in 1890. It housed the School of Agriculture with classrooms, labs and a mess hall.

There were many obstacles on the path to opening the university. However, we never gave up on our mission. Our first graduating class of three students in 1895 set us on an incredible journey of learning and discovery with stories of wonder that continue to shape our Wildcat spirit:

• The Morrill land-grant acts of 1862 and 1890 designated us as Arizona’s Land-grant university

• Bear Down! Our beloved rallying cry, first heard in 1926, has become part of our core identity and is used by Arizona Wildcats all around the world

• In 1937 we invented tree-ring research and opened the first lab for dendrochronology

• We helped map the moon so that the Eagle could land in 1969 and sampled an asteroid in 2021 for the first time in U.S. history. #SpaceIsWildcatCountry

• Our military history runs deep. In 2016, on the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we honored the service members killed on the USS Arizona with the USS Arizona Mall Memorial

Coming soon! Spring 2022, we'll open the completed Student Success District, restoring iconic campus buildings with cutting-edge technologies and services to improve how students live, work and study.