— Yuma, AZ —

In a low-slung strip mall in the shadow of Arizona Western College, the University of Arizona Yuma team squeezes every dollar to pursue its mission to strengthen the region’s academic, economic, and cultural life. Campus facilities, which are slowly growing through the team’s persistence and dedication, include technologically equipped classrooms, a nutrition lab, an engineering lab shared on Arizona Western College’s campus, and an agricultural research site available off-campus at the University of Arizona Yuma Agricultural Center.  

U of A Yuma, established in 2009, currently enrolls approximately 130 students. Most students transfer to the university after finishing prerequisites at Arizona Western College or Imperial Valley College, community colleges where credits are more economical. The majority of students are first-generation college students, and more than 85% identify as Hispanic. Many come from families with limited financial resources and work to support their households while attending school. 

Brianna Villa, regional academic programs manager of U of A Yuma and a Yuma native, understands how challenging college can be to a first gen student. “I felt really lost,” she recalls. “I didn’t have counselors or advisors. I just thought I needed to finish something.” 

She emphasizes that student support services—such as academic advising, mentorship, scholarships, and travel assistance—are essential in the Yuma context. These efforts, she says, help demystify the higher education system and increase retention for students who may not otherwise envision themselves completing a degree. 

Undergraduate degrees offered at the U of A Yuma campus include agricultural systems management, sustainable plant systems, engineering (industrial, software, and biosystems), nutrition, human development and family science, and personal and family financial planning. One academic major, agricultural systems management, is offered exclusively at the Yuma location. Instruction is delivered by U of A professors, local experts, and researchers from the Yuma Agricultural Center.  

U of A Yuma offers graduate programs in education, engineering, and agriculture through online cohort learning employing the technology and space at the campus.  

Some students complete their degrees entirely at the Yuma campus through online U of A courses and in-person instruction; others begin their studies at Yuma and transfer to Tucson or another university to pursue majors not currently offered on-site. 

As part of their education, most students at the Yuma campus complete internships with one of the many local businesses that partner with the campus, including Dole, Napa Hospital, Barkley Seed Inc., and Keithly Williams Seed. Internship experiences are integrated into the curriculum, often leading to employment after graduation. Villa says 98% of all Yuma graduates have found jobs in their field within six months. 

98% of all Yuma graduates have found jobs in their field within six months. 

For students and researchers from the U of A main campus, U of A Yuma offers a unique setting for field-based engagement. The region’s agricultural labor force, cross-border context, and rural health disparities provide a foundation for research and applied learning in multiple areas. One example of such collaboration is the work of Dr. Vignesh Subian, who partners with the Regional Center for Border Health on data science approaches to health system delivery. 

U of A Yuma connects with Tucson-based public health students and researchers 

This past spring break, masters and doctoral students participating in the Tucson-based Border Health Service Learning Institute (EPID/PHP 597C) visited the U of A Yuma campus. They toured the facilities and conversed with Villa and other faculty and staff members about potential collaborations in areas such as epidemiology, farmworker health, and maternal and child health in the borderlands. 

Faculty at the Yuma campus shared the enthusiasm for increased collaboration with U of A public health faculty, staff and students. One particular interest of Dr. Villa is pairing Yuma-based undergraduate students with Tucson-based MPH students for mentoring and joint projects.