Discovery Reimagined

Research and Innovation

UTA is an R-1 doctoral research university that fosters innovation, research, and entrepreneurship to drive societal progress. We are committed to fostering an environment of collaboration and excellence, propelling UTA to the forefront of discovery.

We will elevate UTA as an internationally recognized leader in research, scholarship, and innovation.

Our Strategies and Tactics

Drive innovation and growth through expanded support for partnerships, operations, and infrastructure across the University.
  • Position the University as a hub for cutting-edge research by investing in state-of-the-art research infrastructure to enhance innovation and commercialization across the globe.
  • Enhance support for proposal development, submission, and administration through comprehensive support services to researchers throughout the entire grant lifecycle.
  • Grow high-impact interdisciplinary research through establishing research centers or institutes to address real-world problems through collaboration.
  • Foster partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, industry, and foundations, facilitating the transfer of research findings into strategies for patenting, licensing, and technology transfer.
Strengthen UTA's research portfolio, capacity, and impact to drive transformative innovation and scholarship.
  • Recruit and retain top-tier researchers to enhance UTA's footprint globally, and forge new partnerships with research organizations and universities worldwide.
  • Leverage state and federal resources effectively to attract world-class researchers and secure external funding opportunities.
  • Increase postdoctoral appointments through new opportunities that attract and support early-career researchers.
  • Enhance culture of research and innovation to support a growing number of faculty who are recognized with prestigious and highly prestigious awards.
Expand and enhance training and learning opportunities to inspire the next generation of leaders in research.
  • Expand and incorporate undergraduate research experiences across disciplines to prepare students for graduate programs.
  • Increase doctoral program enrollment and financial aid to attract and support top-tier doctoral students.
  • Provide enhanced support and incentives to encourage and increase external graduate fellowships.
Forge strategic partnerships with industry to advance sustainable economic growth and prosperity.
  • Foster a campus-wide environment of entrepreneurship and innovation that encourages the development of new technologies, patents, and business to support economic development.
  • Expand professional development opportunities related to entrepreneurship and technology development opportunities for researchers and students.
  • Increase the number of partnerships related to economic development with businesses and community organizations.
  • Leverage research capacity to attract and grow employers in the region.
  • Develop a comprehensive plan for achieving and maintaining APLU Innovation and Economic Prosperity status.

Strategic Research Areas

UTA's strategic plan, with its five broad research themes, sets a path to unprecedented excellence in research, teaching, and community engagement. We are connecting the themes by embracing innovation across disciplines.

Health and the Human Condition

UTA focuses on health and the human condition through an understanding of complex interactions. We explore health management within physical, mental, emotional, and social contexts. Health innovations will be distinguished by diagnostic, prognostic, and technological advancements. We will explore the effects of transformations in cultural expression, social networks, and the material world on the human condition. Together the focus will help people live healthier and happier lives.

Sustainable Communities

UTA fosters interrelationships between natural, built, economic, cultural, and social environments on community sustainability and works with community partners to implement ideas to improve livability of cities, the metroplex, the state, and beyond. Learning from the past and present to ensure a sustainable future, UTA will understand and interpret demographic change and the broad spectrum of human capital. We will strengthen inter-connectedness between individuals and the community by fostering an appreciation for the varieties of human experience, and through the creation of a vibrant creative and cultural ethos.

Culture & Societal Transformations

UTA encourages the open-ended exploration of the complex interactions that constitute the diversity of human experience: cultural and artistic expressions, social environment, and the physical world.

Data-Driven Discovery

UTA focuses on research that integrates big data from multiple fields and develops data analytics and science that explore data from a wide variety of sources. We use data to discover and share new knowledge, as well as enhance current knowledge.

Global Environmental Impact

UTA addresses critical issues that affect our planet, including climate change, energy, water, disasters, and pollution. By analyzing global population dynamics, we will develop an understanding of our world—and solutions for its problems—through avenues ranging from environmental economics to history.

Current Initiatives

Projects and initiatives to advance our strategies

APLU Equity Roundtable

APLU IEP Designation

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) established the Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) Universities Program to recognize institutions that have demonstrated a substantive, sustainable, and institution-wide commitment to regional economic engagement.

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field research equipment

Investing in Infrastructure

UTA seeks to position itself as a leader in research and innovation, driving advancements in various scientific fields and addressing critical societal challenges.

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Faculty Senate Reception

Accelerating Regional Economic Development

UTA's research activities play a crucial role in driving innovation and technological advancement.

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Staff at a conference

RISE 100: Recruiting Innovative Scholars for Excellence

UTA is investing in its future with RISE 100, a transformative $60 million effort to hire 100 new tenure-stream faculty over the next few years.

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Our Desired Outcomes

  1. Increased visibility of interdisciplinary research, creative work, and scholarship.

  2. Strategic partnerships and alliances to advance scholarship.

  3. Vibrant research and innovation ecosystem within the University.

  4. Improved research grant success rates.

  5. Increased research expenditures.

Measuring Our Success

UTA utilizes a comprehensive and dynamic framework to measure our progress on metrics associated with our strategic plan. We employ a combination of key performance indicators (KPIs) and qualitative assessments to gauge advancements in various areas, including graduation rates, employee engagement, annual fundraising, and total research expenditures.

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See More of the Strategic Plan

People and Culture Alumni and Community Engagement Finance and Infrastructure Student Success