Texas A&M University-College Station

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 …