History and Development
Texas A&M University, the state's
first public institution of higher education, opened for classes
in 1876. It is now one of a select few institutions in the nation
to hold land grant, sea grant and space grant designations. The
University owes its origin to the Morrill Act approved by the
Congress on July 2, 1862. This act provided for donation of public
land to the states. The land was to be sold at auction, and the
proceeds were set aside in a perpetual fund. The act directed
that interest from this fund be used to support a college whose "leading
object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical
studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches
of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanical arts...in
order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial
classes in the several pursuits and professions in life."
By resolution of the Legislature of the
State of Texas in November 1866, Texas agreed to provide for
a college under the terms of the Morrill Act, but no such institution
was organized until the establishment of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas by act of April 17, 1871. The same
act appropriated $75,000 for the erection of buildings and bound
the state to defray all expenses of the college exceeding the
annual interest from the endowment. Proceeds from the sale of
the 180,000 acres of land scrip received under the Land Grant
College Act were invested in $174,000 of gold frontier defense
bonds of Texas, forming a perpetual endowment for the institution.
A commission created to locate the institution accepted the offer
of 2,416 acres of land from the citizens of Brazos County in
1871, and instruction began in 1876.
In 1888, twelve years after the opening
of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, the faculty
initiated programs of instruction at the graduate level. In 1890,
two Master of Science degrees were conferred without any indication
of the specialization of the recipients. Initially, the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas emphasized graduate programs
in agriculture and engineering which were administered by a faculty
committee for graduate studies. In 1898, a single Master of Science
degree in horticulture was awarded, followed by a scattering
of Master of Science degrees in agriculture over the next 22
years. The acceleration in the awarding of Master of Science
degrees after 1920, however, prompted the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas to establish the Graduate School in 1924, with
the dean of the college serving as graduate dean.
In keeping with the diversified and expanded
character of the institution, the 58th Legislature of Texas,
on August 23, 1963, changed the name of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas to Texas A&M University. With
the name change to Texas A&M University, the Graduate School
was designated the Graduate College. It was renamed the Office
of Graduate Studies in 1987, and is administered by the Dean
of Graduate Studies who reports to the Vice President for Research.
In 1936, the Board of Directors of the
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas approved "certain
programs of study and research leading to the doctorate." In
the same year the Academic Council of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas delineated qualifications required of the faculty
for participation in graduate instruction, thereby establishing
the graduate faculty. The first PhD degree was awarded in 1940.
In the 1960s the Board of Regents envisioned a broader role for
graduate studies and implemented changes that resulted in programs
of graduate instruction in all of the academic colleges throughout
the University.
As the State of Texas grew, so did its
land grant institution. Texas A&M now has a physical plant
valued at more than $1 billion. The campus in College Station
includes 5,200 acres and is one of the largest campuses of any
major institution of higher education in the nation.
On September 17, 1971, the designation "sea
grant college" was assigned to Texas A&M University
in recognition of its achievements in oceanographic and marine
resources development. Texas A&M was one of the first four
institutions nationwide to achieve this distinction. Patterned
after the century-old land grant idea, sea grant colleges are
federal-state partnerships for furthering marine work through
practical research, education and advisory services. The designation
clearly establishes the University's leadership relative to marine
affairs of the state.
Texas A&M added a third special designation
to its credentials on August 31, 1989, when it was named a "space
grant college." This new designation, bestowed by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, came to the University
based on its continuing commitment to space research and its
participation in the Texas Space Grant Consortium, a group of
24 higher education institutions, 22 corporations, two non-profit
groups and three state agencies under the leadership of Texas
A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin.
In addition to its traditional strengths
in agriculture and engineering, Texas A&M has established
itself as a leader in many newer technological areas such as
the space, nuclear, computer, biotechnological, oceanographic
and marine resources fields. It also has placed added emphasis
on the arts and sciences and business and continues to enhance
its prominent role in these fields.
A mandatory military component was a
part of the Land Grant designation until the 1950s, and the Corps
of Cadets has played an important part in the history and development
of Texas A&M. Even though membership in the Corps of Cadets
became voluntary in 1965, Texas A&M historically has produced
more officers than any other institution in the nation with the
exception of the service academies. The University is one of
only three institutions with a full-time corps of cadets including
ROTC programs leading to commissions in all branches of service--Army,
Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Texas A&M offers a variety of programs
in both undergraduate and graduate studies through its nine academic
colleges--Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture, Mays Business
School, Education, Dwight Look College of Engineering, Geosciences,
Liberal Arts, Science, and Veterinary Medicine--and the George
Bush School of Government and Public Service. Texas A&M University
at Galveston is the marine and maritime branch campus of Texas
A&M University. In addition, Texas A&M's extensive research
efforts in all fields, in conjunction with agricultural and engineering
experiment stations resulted in expenditures totaling $402 million
in 1999, more than any other university in Texas and among the
top universities nationally.
Classified by the Carnegie Foundation
as a Doctoral/Research University--Extensive, Texas A&M embraces
its mission of the advancement of knowledge and human achievement
in all its dimensions. The research mission is a key to advancing
economic development in both public and private sectors. Integration
of research with teaching prepares students to compete in a knowledge-based
society and to continue developing their own creativity, learning
and skills beyond graduation.
In 2001, Texas A&M University was
admitted to the Association of American Universities (AAU), the
prestigious organization founded in 1900, that restricts its
ranks to the nation's premier public and private institutions
of higher learning.
The University's enrollment is about
44,000 on the College Station campus, including more than 7,000
graduate students. Every state in the nation and more than 100
foreign countries are represented in the coeducational student
body. To date, Texas A&M has awarded approximately 278,971
academic degrees including 13,000 doctorates, 40,797 degrees
at the master's level and 6,111 doctor of veterinary medicine
degrees. As evidence of the recent growth and development of
the University, more than one-half of the advanced degrees have
been conferred in the last 15 years.
