Organized Research and Service Units

Driven by UNT’s mission as a Carnegie-ranked Tier One research university, the following organized research and service units engage in research and/or public service and training to further scientific understanding, drive industry innovation, contribute to the advancement of our increasingly global society and prepare students to become the visionary leaders of tomorrow.

The following centers and institutes are approved and overseen by the Office of the Provost. Centers and institutes indicated with a "+" have been exempted by the provost’s office from periodic review under UNT Policy 06.046.

Division of Research and Innovation

Institutes of Research Excellence and Emerging Research Centers
Advanced Environmental Research Institute

The Advanced Environmental Research Institute (AERI) at UNT touts a multidisciplinary team of researchers committed to collaborating on large research projects with an emphasis on finding solutions to our most pressing environmental issues.

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute

UNT’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute (AMMPI) is focused on testing, developing and processing next-generation structural materials via rapid combinatorial assessment and advanced processing technologies. AAMPI was established as an Institute of Research Excellence in recognition of the university’s strong materials science program, which is part of UNT’s fast-growing College of Engineering.

BioDiscovery Institute

The BioDiscovery Institute delivers research solutions to underpin the utilization of biosystems for production of food/feed, polymers, construction materials, bioactive molecules and biofuels. Operating through a pipeline linking sustainable plant production platforms, metabolic engineering and the development of new materials, the institute touts a multidisciplinary team of researchers committed to collaborating on large research projects with an emphasis on applying findings and solutions to meet market issues and needs.

Jim McNatt Institute for Logistics Research

In 2013, UNT established the Jim McNatt Institute for Logistics Research (McNatt Institute). The McNatt Institute seeks to advance our understanding of how business, government, technology, the environment and the human element interact within complex logistics systems and enterprises to support sustainable and resilient economic growth. The establishment of the McNatt Institute fosters synergy across UNT in strengths such as emergency management, economics, geography, engineering, transportation and planning, digital commerce, arts, strategic sourcing and logistics. This intellectual convergence stimulates collaboration between government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and service providers to examine the integration of people, goods and related information across the entire supply chain.

Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing

UNT’s Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing (CAAAM) is on the forefront of additive manufacturing developing the next generation of manufacturing innovation for U.S. and global markets. The center is poised to forge interdisciplinary collaborations across a multitude of science and engineering aspects of additive manufacturing, including cybersecurity, data and decision sciences, high-performance computing and complex logistics and supply chain. CAAAM also works to address acute shortages in the manufacturing workforce by empowering companies to embark on additive manufacturing innovation and create research partnerships with regional and multinational manufacturing industries.

Center for Integrated Intelligent Mobility Systems

The Center for Integrated Intelligent Mobility Systems (CIIMS) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that connects leading researchers in advanced mobility systems with major corporations, local governments and entrepreneurs throughout the North Texas region to shape the future of transportation and mobility. Researchers and students in disciplines ranging from business and engineering to science, information and health and public service are working together to find solutions to the complexities inherent in the field, including the technology itself, the data collection that drives its development and the policy and business practices necessary to support it.

Center for Microelectronics in Extreme Environments

The Center for Microelectronics in Extreme Environments (CMEE) brings together faculty expertise from materials science, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The multidisciplinary center is dedicated to advancing next-generation semiconductors that are needed for high-power electronic devices for commercial use, but also for more specialized applications needed by government agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy and NASA. It also supports regional and state efforts to grow the industry and train the future semiconductor workforce.

Center for Computational Life Sciences

The Center for Computational Life Sciences (CCLS) brings together researchers from multiple disciplines to work on computational methods to analyze large-scale biological datasets to answer pressing problems in life sciences. The center’s mission is to create a platform for computer scientists, mathematicians, statisticians and biologists who work in bioinformatics-related fields to cultivate new ideas and establish research collaborations. The CCLS also provides training resources for graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty who are interested in bioinformatics.

Center for Plant Lipid Research

The Center for Plant Lipid Research is focused on both basic and applied aspects of research in the regulation of plant lipid metabolism.  Center scientists use contemporary experimental approaches in cell biology, biochemistry and molecular genetics to understand how lipids influence the growth and development of plants.

Center for Remote Sensing

The Center for Remote Sensing was established in 1988 as a means of utilizing the rapidly evolving technology of satellite imaging to contribute to the scientific knowledge of environmental resources, ecosystems and the human communities. The center trains specialists in the theory and techniques of remote sensing and provides scientific advice to local, regional, national and international communities, thereby supporting UNT’s mission of teaching, research and service.

Center for Watershed and Reservoir Assessment and Management

The Center for Watershed and Reservoir Assessment and Management (CWRAM) conducts problem-solving research addressing water/land issues, serves as an information resource on best management practices for addressing watershed and reservoir problems and provides educational programs about water and reservoir assessment and management.

Institute of Applied Science

The mission of the Institute of Applied Science is to foster, facilitate and conduct science-based interdisciplinary environmental research that seeks to understand how human actions impact the environment, and to use that knowledge to suggest scientific, engineering, policy and/or educational solutions to environmental problems. 

G. Brint Ryan College of Business

Center for Energy Accounting and Sustainability

The Center for Energy Accounting and Sustainability, formerly the Institute of Petroleum Accounting, was established in 1980 to advance the future of energy accounting and sustainability, research, education and industry practices for the benefit of our global community. Through its position within the university community, the center has access to research that directly impacts the accounting, finance, tax and economics issues facing the petroleum industry today. The center’s ties to professional accountants, financial managers and executives within the extractive industries enable it to stay abreast of the concerns that industry professionals contend with on a daily basis.

Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Murphy Center is a collaborative environment facilitating new business ventures and strengthening the prospects of early stage companies in the North Texas region. The center is developing several programs and partnerships across the Dallas-Fort Worth area with entrepreneurs, venture funds and service providers to accelerate the success of the ecosystem. 

College of Education

Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education

Named in honor of Bill J. Priest, the founding chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District, the Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education prepares leaders and teachers for specific careers in community colleges. Because of the Priest Center, UNT is able to offer a doctorate in higher education with a specialization in community college education, preparing highly marketable graduates for community college positions.

Center for Play Therapy

The Center for Play Therapy is the result of 25 years of planned development of a play therapy program in UNT’s Department of Counseling and Higher Education. The center’s mission is to encourage the unique development and emotional growth of children through the process of play therapy, a dynamic interpersonal relationship between a child and a therapist trained in play therapy procedures. The therapist provides the child with selected play materials and facilitates a safe relationship to express feelings, thoughts, experiences and behaviors through play, the child's natural medium of communication. 

Counseling and Human Development Center+

The Counseling and Human Development Center contributes to the advancement of education, health and human development through the study of people — how children and adults learn, how teachers teach, how educational leaders lead, how to evaluate and improve programs, how to counsel those in need, how to serve our schools and communities and how to promote wellbeing. The center serves the public by helping them live happier, healthier and more productive lives.

Kristin Farmer Autism Center

The UNT Kristin Farmer Autism Center conducts evidence-based direct services, research and training to positively impact individuals with autism spectrum disorder, their families and the community. The center’s vision is changing lives through comprehensive, collaborative and individualized actions delivered with compassion and excellence. 

College of Engineering

Center for Information and Cyber Security

The Center for Information and Cyber Security is an interdisciplinary center that brings together individuals and organizations with an interest in the areas of information security, computer security, information assurance and cybercrime. The center’s mission is to coordinate and promote educational, research and service projects in information and computer security, with an emphasis on cross-disciplinary initiatives.

UNT Industrial Assessment Center

The Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) is a national program sponsored by the Advanced Manufacturing Office under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy. IACs are located at 37 universities around the country. The mission of the UNT IAC is to help small-to-medium enterprises in the manufacturing sector in North Texas. The IAC conducts no-cost on-site assessments, including technology and processes, to increase energy efficiency, maximize productivity, minimize waste and prevent pollution.

College of Health and Public Service

Center for Public Management

The UNT Center for Public Management (CPM) helps build the capacity and effectiveness of public and nonprofit organizations through training, research and community engagement. Established in 1992 as the professional development arm of UNT’s Department of Public Administration, CPM works with local partners to identify, study and recommend strategies to address community challenges. It has provided state-mandated investment training to hundreds of public finance officers and offers opportunities for applied research among faculty and students.

UNT Speech and Hearing Center+

The University of North Texas Speech and Hearing Center has been serving people with speech, language and hearing disorders since 1967. The center strives to provide superior professional diagnostic and treatment services in speech-language pathology and audiology while providing excellence in clinical education for students in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. The center’s facility includes hearing aid fitting rooms, a preschool language room, numerous therapy and diagnostic rooms, areas for families to observe clinical sessions, and ample parking.

College of Information

Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning

The Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning (IITTL) is chartered by the UNT Council of Deans to conduct research and implement best practices in the area of teaching and learning with technology. IITTL's instruments and online data collection systems have allowed gathering data from thousands of educators in recent years, and the institute has generated dozens of book chapters and refereed journal articles about the impact of information technology in education.

Texas Center for Educational Technology

The Texas Center for Educational Technology (TCET) is a nationally recognized center in research and development of educational technology. Since its founding in 1989, TCET has drawn millions of funds to meet the growing needs of technology support in education and has partnered with state and national agencies, universities, businesses and schools.

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Castleberry Peace Institute

In 2010, UNT became the home of the Castleberry Peace Institute, the first research institute of its kind in the state of Texas. The Castleberry institute is devoted to cutting-edge peace science research that advances our understanding of why conflicts occur, how they can be brought to an earlier and less destructive end and what can be done to build a more durable peace in the aftermath of armed conflict.

Center for Environmental Economic Studies and Research

The primary objective of the Center for Environmental Economic Studies and Research is to promote, conduct and coordinate environmental economics research and complementary activities on the UNT campus. To accomplish this mission, the center focuses on research, education and economic solutions that weigh the cost and benefits to maximize society's welfare

Center for Psychosocial Health Disparities Research

The Center for Psychosocial Health Disparities Research at UNT is a multidisciplinary team dedicated to understanding health disparities in order to promote psychosocial health, with a primary focus on the link between mental and physical health. This includes sponsoring research on causes and remedies, training undergraduate and graduate students to be rigorous researchers, coordinating community services in DFW and neighboring rural counties and pursuing external partnerships and funding to further the center’s mission.

Center for Sport Psychology and Athlete Mental Health

Since its creation in 1998, the UNT Center for Sport Psychology and Athlete Mental Health has become an internationally recognized leader in the field of sport psychology. The multidisciplinary center combines knowledge, skills and expertise from psychology and exercise science to provide comprehensive and individualized sport psychology services, education, training and research.

Economics Research Group

The Economics Research Group (ERG) provides expertise to drive research across multiple sectors. ERG is actively cultivating new georeferenced data sources to support multidisciplinary work and engaging the corporate community to push the envelope at the intersection of research and practice. ERG currently hosts two research initiatives.

Military History Center

The Military History Center (MHC) at UNT offers one of the premier military history programs in the world. Led by accomplished military historians in the forefront of their fields in teaching and research, the center offers a rich course rotation for graduate and undergraduate students on the great conflicts of history as well as war and society, military thought and diplomacy. 

College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism

Center for Consumer Insights and Innovations

The Center for Consumer Insights and Innovations (CCII) is a venue for advancing consumer insights through industry and academic collaboration. The center actively brings together the best minds, ideas and creativity to shape the dialogue in objective thought and inquiry in the science of current and future digital retailing and its impact on consumers. 

College of Music

Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia

The Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) is an interdisciplinary center focused on music and arts technologies, housed within UNT's Division of Composition Studies. CEMI fosters integration of electroacoustic music, live performance, video/film, plastic arts and theater. Since its 1963 inception as the NTSU Electronic Music Center, CEMI has evolved into a unique creative environment, world-renowned for innovative works and musicians.

Center for Schenkerian Studies

The Center for Schenkerian Studies promotes various activities including the typesetting of Schenkerian graphs for publication and dissemination and the preservation and archiving of documents contained in the Reinhard Oppel Memorial Collection housed at UNT's Willis Library.

College of Science

Elm Fork Education Center+

The mission of the Elm Fork Education Center is to develop and implement premier environmental education programs. These programs provide investigative encounters that engage students of all ages in field activities and discovery experiences. These opportunities are designed to encourage sound environmental decision making and responsible environmental stewardship.

Center for Nonlinear Science

The main purpose of the Center for Nonlinear Science (CNS) is to establish a bridge between physics and biology and to move from there to sociology and psychology. CNS is working on a form of spontaneous organization generating crucial events with a form of complexity that fits very well the observation of the dynamics of the brain and physiological processes.

College of Visual Arts and Design

Jo Ann (Jody) and Dr. Charles O. Onstead Institute for Education in the Visual Arts and Design

The institute is housed within UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design (CVAD), one of the most comprehensive arts and design programs at a public university and considered one of the best art schools in the South and Southwest. By partnering with CVAD faculty and students — as well as with schools, museums, galleries, cultural arts organizations and others throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region — the Onstead Institute functions as a platform that fosters programs, collaborative initiatives, research and resources at the leading-edge of K-12 art education.

Division of Digital Strategy and Innovation

Learning Analysis and Digital Research Center

The Learning Analysis and Digital Research Center (LADR) offers opportunities for student internships, faculty training, sponsored research across multiple disciplines, technology development and research on online courses to further enrich student learning experiences. LADR’s research and development activities aim to inform, improve and innovate digital learning and teaching practices in both physical and virtual spaces.