About the A&M System

The A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a statewide network of nine universities, seven state agencies and a comprehensive health science center.

The A&M System educates more than 105,000 students and reaches another 15 million people through service each year. With nearly 27,000 faculty and staff,  the A&M System has a physical presence in 248 of the state’s 254 counties and a programmatic presence in every Texas county. Externally funded research brings almost $627 million every year to help drive the state’s economy.

Universities
  Established Joined A&M System
Texas A&M 1876 1876
Prairie View A&M 1876 1876
Texas A&M-Commerce 1889 1996
Tarleton 1899 1917
West Texas A&M 1910 1990
Texas A&M-Kingsville 1925 1989
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1947 1989
Texas A&M International 1970 1989
Texas A&M-Texarkana 1971 1996
The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center 1999 1999
Agencies
Texas AgriLife Research 1887  
Texas Engineering Experiment Station 1914  
Texas Forest Service 1915  
Texas AgriLife Extension Service 1915  
Texas Engineering Extension Service 1948  
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory 1967  
Texas Transportation Institute 1950  

Each of the 17 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 received about $247 million in scholarships and grants annually.
  • The A&M System awarded 22,888 degrees in FY 2007
  • The A&M System’s faculty include recipients of the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, Pulitzer Prize, World Food Prize and Wolf Prize, as well as members in the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Institution White African American Hispanic Asian / Pacific Islander Other Grand Total
Prairie View A&M University 333 7,121 257 14 177 8,006
Tarleton State University 7,448 835 811 116 254 9,464
Texas A&M International University 167 35 4,387 33 295 4,917
Texas A&M University 33,386 1,355 4,941 1,702 3,996 45,380
Texas A&M University at Galveston 1,263 40 155 39 56 1,553
Texas A&M University-Commerce 5,606 1,574 670 155 491 8,946
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi 4,546 343 3,291 201 204 8,585
Texas A&M University-Kingsville 1,664 351 4,014 59 611 6,699
Texas A&M University-Texarkana 1,262 253 77 9 24 1,625
West Texas A&M University 5,531 290 1,119 123 349 7,412
Texas A&M Health Science Center 701 75 171 238 127 1,312
Totals 61,907 12,272 19,893 2,779 6,598 103,449

The A&M System encourages innovation and discovery. Faculty in the A&M System had more than $627 million in research expenditures in FY 2007, using funds received from the state and federal governments, industry, foundations and individual donors.

The Office of Technology Commercialization provides revenue to the A&M System through the commercialization of new technologies. In FY 2007, A&M System intellectual property generated $8.5 million in revenue from intellectual property agreements. In FY 2007, the OTC received 153 new disclosures of invention from its faculty, filed 88 U.S. patents, received 25 U.S. patents and executed 57 license and option agreements.