Tucson Area

The University of Arizona is located in Tucson, a city of 750,000 inhabitants, 45 miles from the U.S. border with Mexico, a growing economic and recreational center with a multicultural population that reflects the richness of the Southwest. The city shares common borders with the Tohono O'odam and the Pasqua Yaqui Indian Nations, and is surrounded by majestic desert and rugged mountains rising to more than 9,000 feet. Southern Arizona has more than three hundred days of sunshine per year, more than any other region in the U.S.

Tucson offers a variety of urban activities. The city hosts theater, opera, symphony and ballet companies, as well as mariachi music, Indian pow-wows, rodeos and many street and ethnic festivals. UA Presents brings in Broadway theater and internationally renowned companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Buena Vista Social Club. The climate and scenic beauty of Southern Arizona has made tourism a major industry in Tucson, making nightlife, restaurants and shopping opportunities plentiful and varied. The University of Arizona also provides exciting inter-collegiate sports events - our Wildcat basketball, softball, swimming and volleyball teams are famous nationwide - as well as intramural sports and sports clubs. Phoenix, an hour and a half away, is home of the 2001 World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks, the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Suns.

Outdoor buffs will also find many recreational opportunities in Southern Arizona. The Saguaro National Park east and west locations, Catalina State Park, Sabino Canyon and Madera Canyon, as well as the Santa Catalina, Rincon, Santa Rita, and Tucson mountains offer hiking, mountain biking, river rafting, horseback riding, and spectacular bird-watching. Skiing is available on nearby Mt. Lemon, as well as in the Arizona Snowbowl near Flagstaff and the White Mountains, Each less than 4 hours away. Beautiful beaches and pristine desert areas in the Gulf of California are also less than 4 hours away.

The campus also offers many recreational activities and participatory sports. The Campus Recreational Center and related Bear-Down Gymnasium and Field, the Robson Tennis Center and the Rincon Vista Sports Complex offer state-of-the-art fitness and weight equipment; provide classes in fitness, dancing, aquatics (in our year-round Olympic-pool), martial arts, sports, and yoga; sponsors active intramural sports leagues; and offers outdoors adventure trips (backpacking, rock climbing, SCUBA diving). For additional information click here

Many famous worldwide attractions are nearby: the Kartchner Caverns, Biosphere II, the Arizona Desert Museum, Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon to name a few.

The cost of living in Tucson is quite reasonable, especially compared to cities on the West and East Coast. It is estimated that it costs one-third less to live in Tucson than in cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, and less than half of what it costs to live in New York. Tucson costs of living are slightly lower but comparable to the cost of living in Austin, San Antonio, and Albuquerque.