The University of Texas at Arlington has broken ground on a campus in Far West Fort Worth. "UTA West" is near the merge between Interstates 20 and 30, south of Walsh Ranch.
Last year, the University of Texas Board of Regents approved the purchase of 51 acres of land to develop the campus. Fort Worth has agreed to provide up to $4 million from its Economic Development Initiatives Fund to provide infrastructure in the area.
"Our design-build team is already hard at work shaping the infrastructure and plans for our first building," says UT Arlington President Jennifer Crowley.
The campus should open in the fall of 2028 and ultimately serve more than 10,000 students.
"At UTA, we say we dream big," Crowley says, "This is a really big dream."
"This is one of the fastest growing areas of the country, and it's an underserved area for higher education, so it's just a natural fit," says John Hall, UT Arlington's vice president for administration and economic development.
Hall says the campus can serve a growing population and also provide facilities to prepare students for jobs that are in demand. He says UT Arlington works with economic development and industry groups to determine the greatest needs in the workforce.
"We are pivoting to make sure we're providing the programs to meet the talent requirements," he says. "We're going to be offering programs out here that are not offered on the main campus, the programs we understand are needed in business and industry. That will certainly set us apart."
In the fall of 2024, UT Arlington had 41,613 total students. The school's website says the flagship campus covers 420 acres with more than 100 buildings, "some dating from 1919."
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