UT San Antonio emerges as Texas' third-largest research university after merger
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UT San Antonio's new wordmark and logo. Photo: Courtesy of UT San Antonio
The merger between UTSA and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is official, launching a new era for the newly named UT San Antonio.
Why it matters: The combined university is now the third-largest public research university in Texas, behind only Texas A&M and UT Austin.
By the numbers: UT San Antonio now has 40,000 students, 17,000 employees and more than $486 million in annual research spending.
- The university now includes 15 colleges and schools across six campuses, offering more than 320 undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs.
- That's a substantial jump from 190 degree programs across eight colleges in fall 2024, per the university.
Between the lines: The merger unites two Carnegie R1 (very high research activity) universities and is the nation's largest integration of universities by total research spending and endowment since 2013, according to UT San Antonio.
Flashback: The UT System announced plans to merge the two schools in August 2024.
State of play: Taylor Eighmy remains president of the merged institution and says UT San Antonio aims to set a new national standard for public research universities.
- "With that spirit of excellence, we've combined two distinguished Tier One institutions to form a new world-class university that champions social mobility, improves health and powers discovery to amplify our collective strengths and create impact at scale," he said in statement.
Caveat: While the academic brand now carries the UT San Antonio name and logo, the 17 NCAA Division I teams will still compete as UTSA — and Rowdy, the beloved mascot, isn't going anywhere.
What they're saying: Francisco G. Cigarroa, who leads health affairs at UT San Antonio, says the merger is about more than academics.
- "Education saves lives. For me, it's the greatest public health initiative we can provide because we can transform one life that will change generations to come," he said in a statement.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show UT San Antonio (formerly UTSA) had 190 degree programs across eight colleges in fall 2024 (not 181 degree programs across seven colleges).