At 250 acres (100ha), the UA Little Rock campus encompasses more than 56 buildings, including the Center for Nanotechnology Integrative Sciences, the Emerging Analytics Center, the Sequoyah Research Center, and the Ottenheimer Library[5] Additionally, UA Little Rock houses special learning facilities that include a learning resource center, art galleries, KUAR public radio station,[6] University Television, and a campus-wide wireless network. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[7]
History
Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year university under the name Little Rock University in 1957.[8] It returned to public status in 1969 when it merged with the University of Arkansas System under its present name.[9] As of 2025, the former campus of Little Rock Junior College is used by Philander Smith University.[10]
In 1975, UA Little Rock's William H. Bowen School of Law was established. The university also began offering graduate and professional work in 1975, and the Graduate School was created in 1977.[8]
In 1986, the UA Little Rock public radio station KUAR went on the air.[11]
In 2000, UA Little Rock was classified as a doctoral university/research intensive in the National Carnegie categories of institutions of higher education.[8]
In 2002, the university celebrated its 75th anniversary.
In 2013, UA Little Rock opened the George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center to provide visual data services for regional institutions.[13]
In January 2018, the Windgate Center of Art + Design opened. Funded by a $20.3 million gift from the Windgate Charitable Foundation, the center includes 64,000 square feet of classrooms, studios, and art galleries.[14]
In October 2022, UA Little Rock announced the largest fundraising effort in university history ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2027. The Centennial Campaign aims to raise $250 million. As of September 2025, the university had raised $233 million.[15]
In November 2023, UA Little Rock announced its new Trojan Guarantee scholarship that provides a tuition-free bachelor's degree to eligible first-time freshmen by covering any remaining tuition and mandatory fees after other financial aid, such as the Pell Grant and Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship, has been applied.[16]
In October 2024, the university completed the multi-year Trojan Way Project[17] that revitalized the heart of campus. Funded by an $8.5 million grant from the George W. Donaghey Foundation, the project features new lighting and landscaping, a scenic new north–south promenade, and a revitalized plaza near Ottenheimer Library.
On August 1, 2025, UA Little Rock received a $4.2 million gift from the Trinity Foundation to strengthen early childhood education in Arkansas.[18]
During the fall 2025 semester, UA Little Rock marked the largest undergraduate enrollment increase since 2001. In fall 2025, the university enrolled 7,011 undergraduate and graduate students, up from 6,913 in fall 2024, representing a 1.4 percent increase. With the addition of students at the William H. Bowen School of Law and concurrent enrollment high school students, a total fall 2025 enrollment of about 8,000 is anticipated.[19]
The university offers more than 100 undergraduate degrees[23] and 60 graduate degrees,[24] including graduate certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees, through both traditional and online courses.[25] Students attend classes in one of the university's three new colleges and a law school:[26]
College of Business, Health, and Human Services[27]
College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education[28]
Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics[29]
The student life at UA Little Rock is typical of public universities in the United States. It is characterized by student-run organizations and affiliation groups that support social, academic, athletic, and religious activities and interests. Some of the services offered by the UA Little Rock Office of Campus Life are intramural sports and fitness programs, diversity programs, leadership development, peer tutoring, student government association, student support programs including groups for non-traditional and first-generation students, a student-run newspaper, and fraternity and sorority life. The proximity of the UA Little Rock campus to downtown Little Rock enables students to take advantage of a wide array of recreational, entertainment, educational, internship, and employment opportunities that are not available anywhere else in Arkansas.[32]
Campus living
UA Little Rock Trojan Grill
UA Little Rock provides a variety of on-campus living options for students ranging from traditional resident rooms to multiple-bedroom apartments. The university has four residence halls on the eastern side of the campus and the University Village Apartment Complex[33] on the southern side of campus. Six learning communities focusing on criminal justice, arts and culture, majors and careers, future business innovators, nursing careers, and STEM are available to students.
UA Little Rock's 14 athletic teams are known as the Little Rock Trojans, with teams participating in the Ohio Valley Conference. Little Rock's main athletic offices are located in the Jack Stephens Center. UA Little Rock offers the following sports:
Baseball
Men's and women's basketball
Men's and women's golf
Women's volleyball
Women's soccer
Women's swimming/diving
Men's and women's cross country
Men's and women's track and field (indoor and outdoor)
Men's wrestling
Two Little Rock teams that do not compete in the OVC are the women's swimming and diving team (Missouri Valley Conference) and wrestling (Pac-12 Conference), neither of which the OVC sponsors. Wrestling is the school's newest sport, starting in 2019, and is the first Division I program in Arkansas.
On July 1, 2014, the UA Little Rock Collections and Archives division was created. The division encompasses:
Ottenheimer Library
Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Sequoyah National Research Center
Weekend programs
The Japanese School of Little Rock (リトルロック日本語補習校 Ritoru Rokku Nihongo Hoshūkō), a weekend Japanese education program, holds its classes at the University Plaza.[35]
Notable students and alumni
Arts & entertainment
Julie Adams (1946) – actress (film and television)
Mike Saunders, also known as "Metal Mike" (B.S. in Accounting) – accountant, singer of the Californian punk band Angry Samoans, and rock critic who is credited with coining the music genre label "heavy metal"
James Richard Cheek (1957) – U.S. ambassador to El Salvador (1979–1981), Ethiopia (1985–1988), Sudan (1989–1992) and Argentina (1993–1996)
Charlie Daniels (attended) – Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands (1985–2001), Arkansas Secretary of State (2002–2010), Arkansas State Auditor (2001–present)
Allen Kerr (attended) – Arkansas Insurance Commissioner (2015–present) and former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Jim Lendall (1974 Bachelor of Arts in political science and history) – Army veteran, nurse, activist, and politician, including as the 2010 Green Party candidate for Arkansas governor
↑ "補習授業校リスト" (Archive). Consulate General of Japan in Nashville. Retrieved on February 15, 2015. "リトルロック日本語補習校 (Japanese School of Little Rock) 学校所在地 c/o University of Arkansas at Little Rock 5820 Asher Avenue, University Plaza Suite600, Little Rock AR 72204"
This list may be incomplete. Some parts of the county are in the East End School District though the district does not operate schools in Pulaski County.
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