The University of North Texas at Dallas is a public university that opened in 2000 as a branch campus of the University of North Texas. This institution offers upper-level graduate and undergraduate courses in different fields. Nine years after its establishment, the University of North Texas at Dallas became a free-standing university that provides graduate work and full undergraduate programs. In this article, we will learn more about the history of the University of North Texas at Dallas.

History

In 1997, state Sen. Royce West presented a feasibility study to build a state university located in southern Dallas County. The campus was imagined to be a public university located within the Dallas city limits. The project was approved, and the institution was launched at a temporary location during the spring 2000 semester. At that time, the school had 204 part-time students and 55 full-time equivalent enrollment.

In 2001, the Dallas City Council approved a resolution wherein they would provide up to $3 million by the following so that they could purchase about 200 acres of land located in southern Dallas to be the future location of the University of North Texas Dallas campus. Along with this, the institution also managed to raise private donations so that they could purchase a bigger size of the property for the new university campus.

Also, in 2001, the Texas Legislature passed a bill and signed it into law that the UNT System will establish UNT Dallas as an independent university once it has reached the 2,500 enrollees. However, in 2001, another bill was passed, which changed the university’s requirement from 2,500 enrollees to 1,000 full-tine students in just one semester.

Since then, the University of North Texas at Dallas’ enrollment rate initially grew at an average rate of 14 percent every year. That is why the university was able to reach its needed full-time equivalent of 1,000 students in the spring semester of 2007. Two years after that, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board decided to certify this enrollment and grant the University of North Texas at Dallas the status as an independent general academic institution. For the first time since its founding, the university accepted first-year students and sophomores in the Fall of 2010.

The year 2016 brought several major upgrades to the campus. This was the year that the campus broke ground on its first residence hall, which will house its first students in Fall 2017. Aside from this, the full-time enrollment number increased during Fall 2016; this was considered an increase of almost 22% compared to the previous year. In October that same year, DART was able to complete the extension of their Blue Line, which brings rail service that goes directly to the UNT Dallas campus. This extension also opens the University of Texas door for those who live along the Blue Line corridor, which is located as far north as Rowlett.

Also in during Fall 2016, UNT Dallas was able to officially launched the Emerging Teacher Institute or ETI. This project’s mission is focused on helping and preparing teachers how to effectively reach and teach their students in high-need classrooms while being able to remain stable even if they were in the face of adversity over time.

The University of North Texas at Dallas continues to grow over the years. Today, aside from its excellent facilities and numerous programs, the university is also known to be the only public university located within the Dallas city limits.