The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the state’s economy.

Universities

The Texas A&M University System was created by the Texas Legislature in 1948 to manage the evolution of a statewide educational, research and service system. Its roots lie in the founding of what are now Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University as land-grant colleges in 1876. Today, the Texas A&M System provides oversight and leadership for 11 universities and eight state agencies. Its role is governed by the state’s education code (Title 3, chiefly Ch. 51, Sec. 51.353 and Ch. 85, Sec. 85.17). Responsibilities include system-wide planning, coordination, and execution of the policies of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.

John Tarleton Agricultural College at Stephenville (now Tarleton State University) joined an earlier form of the A&M System in 1917. Tarleton State University-Central Texas, an upper-level institution offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees, was established in Killeen in 1999.

The Galveston Marine Laboratory joined with the Texas Maritime Academy in the 1960s to form Texas A&M University at Galveston, Texas A&M’s marine studies branch. Texas A&M University at Qatar was established in 2003 to bring engineering programs and research to the Gulf Region by establishing a branch campus in an area called Education City in Doha, Qatar. Education City is a 2,400-acre multi-university campus housing various American universities.

In 1989, the A&M System increased its presence in South Texas with the addition of Texas A&M International University (formerly Laredo State University) in Laredo, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (formerly Corpus Christi State University) and Texas A&M University-Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I University). The Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-San Antonio, which offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, was opened in 2000.

In 1990, West Texas State University in the Texas Panhandle city of Canyon joined the A&M System, changing its name to West Texas A&M University in 1993.

In 1996, three other institutions joined the A&M System: Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas and two former East Texas State University campuses, now Texas A&M University-Commerce and Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center, also established in 1999, has campuses in Bryan/College Station, Dallas, Temple, Houston, Round Rock, Kingsville, Corpus Christi, and McAllen. Its six colleges are the Baylor College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the School of Graduate Studies, the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, and the School of Rural Public Health. Other units include the Institute of Biosciences and Technology and the Coastal Bend Health Education Center.

In 2009, Tarleton State University System Center-Central Texas became a standalone university, Texas A&M University-Central Texas. That same year, Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-San Antonio also became a standalone university, Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Each of the members of the A&M System has its own mission, history, and goals. The oldest institution and founding member of the A&M System is Texas A&M University, established in 1876. Many of the member universities and agencies joined the A&M System decades after being established. Together, they strive to provide educational programs, outreach and community enhancement services, as well as research that will improve the lives of people in Texas and beyond.

• More than one in five students in a public university in Texas is enrolled in an A&M System institution.
• Texas A&M consistently ranks in the forefront among public universities in Texas in retention rates—keeping students enrolled and on course for graduation both overall and for African-American and Hispanic students.
• A&M System students receive about $580 million in scholarships and grants annually.
• The A&M System awarded 36,346 degrees in FY 2018.
• The A&M System’s faculty includes recipients of the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, Pulitzer Prize, World Food Prize, and the Wolf Prize, as well as members in the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

Agencies

The A&M System boasts 8 state agencies with missions ranging from research to protecting natural resources and communities.

Established by the Texas Legislature in 1887 under the federal Hatch Act, Texas A&M AgriLife Research (formerly the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station) continues to represent a unique state-federal partnership in agricultural research. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (formerly the Texas Agricultural Extension Service) grew out of the agricultural initiatives of Texas A&M University under the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provided for cooperative agricultural extension work between Texas land-grant colleges and the United States Department of Agriculture. Texas A&M Forest Service was established in 1914, as a way to provide resources to develop and protect the forested areas of Texas. Today, TFS is charged with conserving and protecting the resources and lands of the Lone Star State. Texas legislators created Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory during the regular session of the 60th Legislature, in 1967; the lab formally opened in College Station in 1969.

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station was also created in 1914 with a research and technology transfer mission for the field of engineering. Established five years later, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service is dedicated to helping develop a highly-skilled workforce through technical and vocational training. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute, created in 1950, conducts highway, safety, and other transportation-related research.

In 2019, the Texas Division of Emergency Management joined the A&M System as its eighth state agency. With roots in the civil defense programs established during World War II, TDEM is charged with carrying out a comprehensive all-hazard emergency management program for the State and for assisting cities, counties, and state agencies in planning and implementing their emergency management programs.