The story
Early years
In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Morrill Act, which auctioned land grants of public lands to establish endowments for colleges at which the "leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanical arts... to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life". In 1871, the Texas Legislature used these funds to establish the state's first public institution of higher education, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, (Texas A.M.C.). Brazos County donated 2,416 acres (10 km2) near Bryan, Texas, for the college's campus. From its beginning until the late 1920s, students were officially nicknamed "Farmers" but the moniker "Aggies"—a common nickname for students at schools focused heavily on agriculture—gained favor and became the official student-body nickname in 1949.
The first day of classes was set for October 2, 1876, but only six students enrolled on the first day. Classes were delayed and officially began on October 4 with six faculty members and forty students at the military school. During the first semester, enrollment increased to 48 students and by the end of the 1877 spring semester, 106 students had enrolled. Admission was limited to white males, who were required to participate in the Corps of Cadets and receive military training. Originally, the college taught no classes in agriculture or engineering, instead concentrating on classical studies, languages, literature, and applied mathematics. After initial resistance from faculty, the college began to focus on degrees in scientific agriculture, and civil and mechanical engineering. In 1881, enrollment grew to 258 but declined to 108 in 1883, the same year the University of Texas opened in Austin. Although originally envisioned and annotated in the Texas Constitution as a branch of the soon-to-begin University of Texas, Texas A.M.C. had a separate Board of Directors from the University of Texas and was never incorporated into the University of Texas System.
In the late 1880s, many Texas residents saw no need for two colleges in Texas and advocated for the elimination of Texas A.M.C. In 1891, the college was saved from closure by its new president Lawrence Sullivan Ross, former Governor of Texas and former Confederate Brigadier General, by demonstrating the college could function and excel in its established form under proper leadership. Ross made many improvements to the campus, installing running water and permanent dormitories. Enrollment doubled under his tenure to 467 cadets as parents sent their sons to Texas A.M.C. to emulate the traits of Ross. Many college traditions began under Ross's presidency, including the creation of the first Aggie Ring, the senior class ring. Ross served until his death in 1898; to honor his contributions to the college, a statue of him was erected in 1918 in front of modern-day Academic Plaza.
Initially, women were permitted to attend classes only as "special students" but were not permitted to seek degrees. In 1893, Ethel Hudson, a daughter of one of the faculty, became the first woman to take classes; in 1899, her sisters Sophie and Mary Hudson did the same. Though not explicitly envisioned as such, over time it became a de facto all-male institution and led to a decades-long debate about the role of women at the college. In 1911, under pressure from the Texas Legislature, the college allowed women to attend classes during the summer semester. A.M.C. expanded its academic offerings with the establishment of the School of Veterinary Medicine in 1915.
World Wars era
Many Texas A&M alumni served during World War I and by 1918, 49% of all Aggies were in military service, a higher proportion than that of any other American college or university. In early September 1918, the entire senior class enlisted, and there were plans to send the younger students at staggered dates throughout the next year. Many of the seniors were fighting in France when the war ended two months later. More than 1,200 alumni served as commissioned officers. After the war, Texas A&M grew rapidly and became nationally recognized for its programs in agriculture, engineering, and military science. The first graduate school was organized in 1924 and the school awarded its first PhD in 1940. In 1925, Mary Evelyn Crawford Locke became the first female student to receive a diploma from Texas A&M but she was not allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. The following month, the Board of Directors officially prohibited all women from enrolling.
Many Texas A&M alumni served in the military during World War II; the college's educational and technical training resulted in 20,229 trained combat troops for U.S. military efforts. Of those, 14,123 alumni served as officers, more than any other school, and more than the combined total of the United States Naval Academy and the United States Military Academy. At the start of World War II, Texas A&M was selected as one of six engineering colleges to participate in the Electronics Training Program, which would train Navy personnel to maintain new radar systems. During the war, 29 Texas A&M graduates reached the rank of general.
After the end of World War II, enrollment rapidly grew as many former soldiers used the G.I. Bill to fund their education; however, enrollment stagnated during the following decade.
University era
In 1948, the state legislature established the Texas A&M College Station campus as the flagship of a new system of universities, the Texas A&M University System. Its goal was to serve as the lead institution to foster the evolution of a statewide educational, research and service system.
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On July 1, 1959, Major General James Earl Rudder, class of 1932, became the 16th president of the college. In 1963, with the backing of State Senator William T. "Bill" Moore, the 58th Legislature of Texas approved Rudder's proposal for a substantial expansion of the college. Over the coming years, Texas A&M augmented and upgraded its physical plant and facilities, and diversified and expanded its student body by admitting women and minorities. Membership in the Corps of Cadets also became voluntary from the start of the fall semester of 1963. Initially, the decision to admit women made the student body very unhappy. The change was initially resisted and some minor efforts to reverse it persisted for several decades. The positive impact of these changes was rapid. By 1972, on-campus housing was dedicated for women and in 1976, the student body elected its first Black student-body president. In the same series of actions, the Texas legislature officially renamed the school "Texas A&M University", specifying the symbolic nature of the letters "A" and "M", which reflect the institution's past, and no longer denote "Agricultural and Mechanical".
By the time of his death in 1970, Rudder had overseen the growth of the college from 7,500 to 14,000 students from all 50 U.S. states and from 75 other nations. In the 35 years following his death, Texas A&M more than tripled its enrollment from 14,000 students to more than 45,000.
Texas A&M became one of the first four universities given the designation sea-grant for its achievements in oceanography and marine resources development in 1971. In 1989, the university earned the title space-grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to recognize its commitment to space research and participation in the Texas Space Grant Consortium. In 1997, the university opened the Bush School of Government and Public Service and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum—one of fifteen American presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush remained actively involved with the university, frequently visiting the campus and participating in special events until his death in 2018. He was buried on campus.
21st century
With strong support from Rice University and the University of Texas, the Association of American Universities inducted Texas A&M in May 2001. On July 12, 2013, Texas A&M Health Science Center was formally merged into the university. On August 12, 2013, the university acquired the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and renamed it the Texas A&M University School of Law.
In 2017, the retention of the statue of Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross was in question after other institutions removed statues of former Confederate officers. The Texas A&M University System Chancellor, John Sharp, and President, Michael Young, announced the statue would remain on campus because it is not based upon his service in the Confederate Army. Amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter riots, attempts in 2020 by a group of students and activists to secure its removal were rebuffed by the university's administration, other students and alumni, and counter-protestors. The university also confirmed that the removal of the statue would require approval from the Texas Legislature.
In 2022, university president M. Katherine Banks implemented university-wide administrative restructuring that involved several changes to academic unit names and branding. The College of Science, the College of Geosciences, and the College of Liberal Arts, were merged to form the Texas A&M University College of Arts & Sciences. Several academic units underwent a change in name including the Texas A&M University Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy. The following year, Banks abruptly resigned in July after her role in the failed attempt to hire Kathleen McElroy via unauthorized means and subsequent cover-up. McElroy's potential hiring was heavily criticized by conservative groups and alumni due to her work on race and gender in newsrooms. After Banks resigned, Mark A. Welsh III, the dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service, was appointed interim president and became the university's president later that year.
Trump administration
In September 2025, the university removed an English professor, Melissa McCoul, following a lecture teaching about transgender people that was in contravention to Trump administration policy on what it termed "gender ideology". A student confronted McCoul during the lecture and was asked to leave the class. The student, who has not been identified publicly, was seen on video telling McCoul that a lesson about gender identity and sexuality was against her religion. The lecture resulted in the university receiving threats from both the State of Texas and the federal government after word was spread via Libs of TikTok. McCoul filed a lawsuit in February 2026, seeking reinstatement and damages.
Following this, University President Mark A. Welsh III resigned. Hundreds of books were found discarded in a university warehouse, including LGBT-related books. The "Surplus Property Office acknowledged that the box of books was from its warehouse but refuted the... claim that the box was full of LGBTQ+ related books. The office said only that the books were 'not for recirculation'." James Hallmark, the system's vice chancellor for academic affairs, wrote "that Dr. McCoul's dismissal was based upon good cause" despite a faculty panel ruling unanimously that the university was not justified.
In November 2025, the "University System Board of Regents unanimously approved policy revisions" which say:No system academic course will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Upon prior written approval of the member CEO after review of the course and relevant course materials, specific non-core curriculum or graduate courses in some disciplines may teach race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Such approval may be granted in limited circumstances upon demonstration of a necessary educational purpose.
In January 2026, the university announced plans to eliminate women's and gender studies degree programs, a class in which sexual orientation was to be discussed was canceled, and a philosophy professor who had included portions of Symposium (Plato) in his syllabus. The professor had previously assigned an excerpt from the supreme court opinion Obergefell v. Hodges. Kristi Sweet emailed:
The college leadership team and I have discussed your syllabus and the Provost office's requirements for compliance with the new system rule 08.01. You have two options going forward: 1. You may mitigate your course content to remove the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, and the Plato readings that may include these. 2. You may be reassigned
From Wikipedia’s article on Texas A&M University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5