Conceived in Fall 2003 by a group of invited faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Southwest Semester brings together a network of scholars, teachers, classes, and resources related to Southwest studies in an attempt to integrate and consolidate the wealth of southwestern topics that distinguish the University of New Mexico from other campuses across the region.

Thirteen departments in the College of Arts and Sciences will offer Southwest related courses, while ten other departments across the University, including the University Medical Center, will feature Southwestern topics, for an estimated sixty-five classes devoted to Southwestern studies across the University's classrooms, labs, libraries, and museums.

Set geographically in the heart of the U.S. Southwest, the University of New Mexico, which is recognized internationally for its research centers and regional resources, is poised to become a center of Southwest studies in undergraduate and graduate education, mainly because the devotion to Southwest studies cuts across academic disciplines and departments.

The Southwest Semester heralds UNM's emergence as a leading institution of interdisciplinary Southwest scholarship, teaching, events, and resources that reflect the positive cultural interchanges that characterize the New Mexico region.