From its initial small graduating classes to the thousands of students enrolled today, UT San Antonio has emerged as one of the most dynamic public research universities in Texas, now the third largest in the state.
With the merger of The University of Texas at San Antonio and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2025, the university’s history now encompasses the origin stories of two institutions with deep roots and shared missions of academics, applied research, discovery, innovation, service and care.
The Story Behind The University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio, commonly referred to as UTSA, was born at a ceremony held in front of the Alamo on June 5, 1969. This symbolic start, linking the new university to the community it serves, is one of many reasons that UT San Antonio is unique. Prior to its establishment, San Antonio was the largest city in the nation not served by a public university. Leaders, legislators and the public knew that if the Alamo City was to achieve its full potential, it needed a public university offering access to excellence through a comprehensive slate of courses and degrees.
The Story Behind The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
UT Health San Antonio started with two grain silos and a 100-acre dairy farm that have been transformed over the past six decades to an academic health enterprise of international renown. In 1959, House Bill 9 created the South Texas Medical School. Six years later, a wide expanse of grazing land, cattle pens, milking barns and silos to store cattle feed, was conveyed to the State of Texas to build a School of Medicine.
Our Story
From two great legacies to one ambitious future, the next chapter in UT San Antonio’s history is bright.
