University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a land and space grant university that was founded in 1871 with just eight students and three faculty members. Today, this public research institution attracts around 26,000 students from all 50 US states and 120 countries worldwide.

Situated on the hills in the city of Fayetteville, the university’s campus comprises 130 buildings, 11 of which have been included in the national register of historic places. 

On offer to students are 78 undergraduate degree programmes, 86 master’s and 50 doctoral and specialist programmes, as well as around 1,300 faculty members.

The university, which has been classified as having high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation, provides more than $85 million in financial assistance and scholarships each year. It spends around $133 million on research and has an endowment that is valued close to $1 billion.

It also has close affiliations to the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.  Owned by the university, the Technology Park has helped dozens of tech start-ups develop their businesses, creating close to 350 jobs in the local economy.

William J. Fulbright, the creator of one of the largest exchanges of scholars in the world, the Fulbright Scholarship Programme, was a graduate and former president of the university.

Bill and Hillary Clinton also taught law at the university at the start of their careers, where Hillary founded its first legal clinic.

The university also boasts three miles of pavement, known as Senior Walk, on which it engraves the names of all its graduates – a total of 170,000, to date. 

Its mascot is the razorback hog (a wild boar) selected for its tenacity and fearlessness. A live one, which goes by the name of Tusk IV, attends all the university’s football games while the audience shouts out what is known as ‘the Hog Call.’