Fall classes begin today for nearly 30,700 UTSA students.
(Aug. 22, 2017) – Class is back in session for the 2017-18 academic year at UTSA. Nearly 31,000 start classes today, including 8,000 new freshmen and transfer students. The new Roadrunners comprise the largest incoming class in university history.
They also have strong academic credentials. In addition to having the highest average SAT scores of any incoming class in UTSA history, 20 percent of the students in the Class of 2021 were ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating classes.
More than 165 degree programs are offered at UTSA. Among them, this fall marks the start of UTSA’s first fully online degree program for undergraduate students. The B.B.A. in Cyber Security, offered through the College of Business, expands UTSA’s nationally recognized offerings in cybersecurity, providing a new option for working professionals, post-bac students, and transfer students.
Additionally, this fall, UTSA’s welcomes its first group of freshmen majoring in chemical engineering. The bachelor’s program will prepare graduates for careers in a wide variety of industries, including oil and gas, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals as well as environmental and materials engineering. As students proceed through the program, they will have the option to specialize in petroleum and energy systems, environmental engineering, materials engineering, bioengineering or technology management.
Other new academic programs beginning this fall include undergraduate minors in jazz studies, music marketing, music technology, and politics and law, an undergraduate certificate in professional writing and rhetoric, and two graduate certificates: one in cloud computing and another in linguistics. Dozens of new courses also will be offered at UTSA this fall.
At the same time, UTSA’s students, faculty and staff are going back to school, the Roadrunner community welcomes its sixth president. Taylor Eighmy begins at UTSA on September 1.
Eighmy joins UTSA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where he has served as the vice chancellor for research and engagement. Trained as a civil and environmental engineer, Eighmy served as senior vice president for research at Texas Tech University, where he was instrumental in working with the community to realize National Research University status for Texas Tech. He also spent several years at the University of New Hampshire in a variety of roles, from professor to director of strategic initiatives to assistant vice president for research and interim vice president for research.
The new academic year also brings with it a new cohort of faculty. More than 30 professors share their diverse expertise in everything from physics to cybersecurity, account and biomedical engineering. They come to UTSA from a host of prestigious institutions, including Columbia University, Rice University and Cairo University in Egypt.
UTSA undergrads and graduate students will have the chance to work alongside these exciting new world-renowned researchers this fall to study some of the most pressing global issues of the 21st century. These types of opportunities are one of the many reasons why UTSA continues to be a destination for top ranked students across Texas and abroad.
New and veteran students will also enjoy many new changes that will enhance campus life. Stylish new furniture fills Sombrilla Plaza. A new parking lot near the Roadrunner Café provides more spaces for the growing Roadrunner Nation. Another parking lot next to the Business Building is almost complete. Construction is also underway on the new Science and Engineering Building. Over the summer, the first phase of the project began with mostly underground work. Mass excavation and deep foundation work is the current focus of construction at the site.
Also, remember that Roadrunner Days is in full swing. From now through Sunday, Aug. 27, UTSA is hosting a variety of back-to-school activities and events designed to start the new academic year off right.
The Student Success Series is from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today in the University Center Retama Auditorium (UC 2.02.02). These engaging sessions will explore student success topics including time and financial management.
Students will wrap up the first day of class at the President's BBQ on the Lawn from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 22. There’s also the President's BBQ on the Plaza at the Downtown Campus from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 23.
UTSA is ranked among the top 400 universities in the world and among the top 100 in the nation, according to Times Higher Education.
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The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event is to achnowlege the graduating seniors and induct the new cohart of scholars to our program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140,) Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
