The history of the University of Advancing Technology (UAT) has been charted over a course that follows closely the changes in technology since the early 1980s.

See our Milestones

From Conception to Hyperlearning

When the University of Advancing Technology was founded in 1983, it was conceived as a small school focused on training engineers and architects in a completely new field of computer-aided engineering. Its original students came to the CAD Institute seeking professional development training and certifications.

From its beginning as a technical school, the institution was involved with advances in computer graphics and unique approaches to technology education. In 1992, CAD Institute founded an initial research center, the Computer Reality Center. The center performed research for the computer graphics industry primarily, with specific emphasis on the field of virtual reality.

The center's mission changed in 1995 from applied research to leveraging technology for learning. Over time, the center adopted the Hyperlearning learning model and developed the methods associated with UAT's current teaching model, Year-Round Balanced Learning YRBL.

Accreditations and a New Focus

The institution grew in response to an institution of higher learning, a college,offering nationally accredited Associate's and Bachelor's degree's in 1992. To strengthen its program offerings, the university sought to attain vital accreditations which would raise it from a certificate-granting body to an institution of higher learning-a college-offering nationally accredited associate's and bachelor's degrees in 1992. At this point, the university's founders recognized that specialized technologies programs filled a gap in higher education for students wanting technology-intensive programs, but who did not want to attend a "tech school." In order to recruit this type of student, CAD Institute changed its name to the University of Advancing Computer Technology in 1997.

Inherent in this name change was the desire to reflect the broad technology focus of students within a collegiate setting. Associated with the growth in programs and the student body, the institution designed and built a new campus architecture was a reflection of the school's learning methods, and showcased the technology foundational to its programs.

A New Campus and a New Name

Construction of the campus was completed in the spring of 1998, operating in a technology-oriented 50,000-square-foot campus in Tempe, Arizona. The campus is centrally located to metropolitan Phoenix. The building features classrooms, computer labs and computing commons outfitted with approximately 300 computer workstations and an extensive technology infrastructure.

Student and faculty learning and resource areas are designed to foster working in collegial groups, providing flexibility and much needed access to technology. Food services, library and student commons social areas enhance student life and collaborative learning.

Where We Are Now...

Recognizing that technology is not exclusive to computers, the institution made the next incremental change in its name in 2002, when it became the University of Advancing Technology (UAT). By 2002, student recruitment targeted high school students desiring a technologically intensive education. That same year, the University removed the word "computer" from its name as a reflection of the notion that "computer technology" had evolved beyond the personal computer to encompass all devices that communicate, manage information and provide connections through all media, including the Internet.

Currently, the campus has the capacity to serve 2,000 students on the campus in Tempe and 500 students who attend online. Students from all 50 states and from all over the world attend UAT, not only because we are among an elite group of colleges focused on advancing technology, but also because we are one of the most unique universities in the world. Always searching for ways to educate our students in emerging technologies, we offer programs of study in cutting edge technology fields that many colleges have yet to realize are suffering from a dearth of undergraduate research and innovation.

... And Where We're Going

In the fall of 2007, UAT added student housing facilities for 260 students. That same semester, we began offering our first major in Robotics and Embedded Systems. In 2009, new majors will be added that will help carry UAT even further into the future.