The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and includes a medical school and a law school. For the 2026-2027 academic year, the university's enrollment was nearly 15,300 students. It offers more than 125 degree programs in 12 academic units and is classified as a "Research 1: Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production" institution. UMKC is also home to the School of Dentistry, Missouri's only public dental school.
History Lincoln and Lee University
The school has its roots in the Lincoln and Lee University movement first put forth by the Methodist Church and its Bishop Ernest Lynn Waldorf in the 1920s. The proposed university (which was to honor Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee) was to be built on the Missouri–Kansas border at 75th and State Line Road. Proponents of the school said it would be a location "where North met South and East met West".
In 1930, after the Methodists had brought the Kansas City Dental School into their fold, the two plans were merged. The new school was to be called "Lincoln and Lee, the University of Kansas City",Link Names for Schools – The Kansas City Star – December 16, 1930 – Page 1 and plans were underway to develop it into a four-year school.
The university was built on a plot, southeast of the Nelson mansion. William Volker had purchased and donated this land for the University of Kansas City. The original Volker purchase did not include the Dickey mansion itself. Dickey died unexpectedly in 1931 and Volker acquired it to be the first building.
University of Kansas City
The two groups were to squabble back and forth, with Ernest H. Newcomb attempting to mediate. The Church did not maintain its ties, and the Lincoln and Lee name was abandoned. The school announced that it would start if 125 students enrolled. The target was met, and the University of Kansas City, or "KCU" for short, held its first classes in October 1933 with a faculty of 17 and a student enrollment of 264.
The campus (now expanded to ) is called the Volker Campus. The Dickey mansion is now Scofield Hall. The second building on the campus, the library, was named for Newcomb. A Carl Milles fountain on Brush Creek opposite the Nelson Gallery is called the Volker Fountain.
The University of Kansas City grew quickly, and soon incorporated other existing local private institutions of higher learning. The Kansas City School of Law, which was founded in the 1890s and located in downtown Kansas City, merged into the university in 1938. The Kansas City-Western Dental College followed in 1941 and the Kansas City College of Pharmacy merged in 1943. This was followed by the Kansas City Conservatory of Music in 1959. During this period, the university also established the School of Administration in 1953, the School of Education in 1954, and the Division for Continuing Education in 1958.
University of Missouri–Kansas City On July 25, 1963, at the urging of alumnus Hilary A. Bush,The Kansas City Star – May 22, 1992 the university became part of the University of Missouri System and $20 million of assets including 23 buildings were transferred to the University of Missouri. At the time, KCU had 3,300 students (2,000 full-time) and 175 full-time faculty.K.C.U., M.U. Plan a Merger – Kansas City Times – February 26, 1963
At the time Missouri already owned the campuses in Columbia and Rolla. Accordingly, the university's name was changed to the University of Missouri–Kansas City. After this, UMKC established the School of Graduate Studies in 1964, the School of Medicine in 1970, the School of Nursing in 1980, the School of Basic Life Sciences in 1985 (which was renamed the School of Biological Sciences in the mid-1990s), and the School of Computing and Engineering in 2001.
In 2012, the school conducted studies on whether to rename the school back to the University of Kansas City (while still remaining in the University of Missouri system). In November 2012, the school decided against the change noting at the time, "while prospective students and the community at large had strong interest in the name change, several other important groups — current students, faculty/staff, and alumni — do not favor a name change at this time."
In the mid and late 2010s, UMKC came under fire for corruption and cover-ups that alleged a pursuit of outside money above all else."After hiding details about student’s death, UMKC needs to change its cover-up culture" Critics highlighted examples in the management school and pharmaceutical school, including a faculty member who required international students to perform personal tasks for him and false information used to rank the business school."UMKC widens investigation after Star found professor used his students as servants""Professor used students as servants""UMKC chancellor apologizes for use of flawed data in pursuit of rankings""Bloch School leader: No. 1 ranking lacked credibility""A deceptive jobs claim keeps cropping up at Bloch School"
In February 2025, UMKC was classified as an R1 doctoral university with very high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. It became the first university in Kansas City to receive the R1 designation.
Academics Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023 Race and ethnicityTotal White Hispanic Black Asian Two or more races International student Unknown Economic diversity Low-income Affluent Today, the academic divisions of UMKC are as follows: the Conservatory the Henry W. Bloch School of Management the School of Science and Engineering the School of Dentistry the School of Education, Social Work and Psychological Sciences the School of Humanities and Social Sciences the School of Education the School of Law the School of Medicine the School of Nursing and Health Studies the School of Pharmacy the School of Graduate Studies
The school of medicine is known for its six-year post-secondary program, wherein a student spends six years obtaining both a Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degree. The school operates two campuses, one in Kansas City, Missouri, and one in St. Joseph, Missouri. The school in Kansas City, Missouri, is known as the Health Sciences District campus or HSD. It is situated away from the main campus on Hospital Hill, where it is connected to University Health Truman Medical Center, an extensive research hospital. The St. Joseph campus (STJ) is based in St. Joseph, Missouri. Students initially trained within Mosaic Life Care hospital facilities, but in August 2025 UMKC opened a new 22,000-square-foot, $14.5 million medical education building. The facility houses classrooms, simulation labs, and clinical training spaces, and serves as a hub for expanding rural health education.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law is one of four law schools in Missouri (St. Louis University School of Law, University of Missouri School of Law, and Washington University School of Law are the others). It is one of only seven American law schools to have educated both a President of the United States (Harry S. Truman) and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (Charles Evans Whittaker). Truman attended but did not graduate from the law school and never practiced law.
The university is the home of New Letters, a literary magazine, as well as the nationally syndicated public radio program New Letters on the Air. For over 50 years, UMKC has broadcast live, taped, and syndicated programming over KCUR, the university's radio station and NPR affiliate.
In 2004, the Fungal Genetics Stock Center moved to UMKC where it is in the School of Biological Sciences. The FGSC was founded in 1960 and is supported by the US National Science Foundation. The FGSC distributes research materials around the world, and is part of the World Federation for Culture Collections. Collaborators include researchers at the Broad Institute and the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute.
The university is the site where the Supplemental Instruction program was established and developed.Burmeister, S. L. (1996). Supplemental Instruction: An interview with Deanna Martin. Journal of Developmental Education, 20(1), 22-24, 26
Research UMKC received the Carnegie R1 classification for institutions with very high research activity in 2025. Under the Carnegie methodology used for the 2025 classification, R1 institutions were required to spend at least $50 million annually on research and development and award at least 70 research doctorates. UMKC was one of 187 institutions receiving the classification and was the first R1 university in Kansas City.
In July 2026, the National Science Foundation (NSF) selected the UMKC-led Critical Materials Crossroads Engine as one of 12 new NSF Regional Innovation Engines. The initiative is intended to develop a regional ecosystem for domestic production and processing of critical materials used in transportation, energy, communications and national security. The project received an initial $15 million for its first two years and may receive up to $160 million over ten years if it meets NSF performance milestones.
Rankings As of the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, the University of Missouri–Kansas City was ranked: #250 (tie) in National Universities #137 (tie) in Top Public Schools #56 (tie) in Nursing
Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
UMKC's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program was also ranked the No. 1 public-university nursing program in Missouri in rankings released in September 2026.
Athletics
UMKC's mascot is Kasey Kangaroo (originally drawn by Walt Disney). Historically, UMKC athletics had used the identity of "UMKC Kangaroos," but the short form "Roos" was widely used both within and outside of the program. On July 1, 2019, the athletic program officially rebranded itself as the Kansas City Roos. The school's colors are old gold and royal blue. It is a member of the NCAA's Division I Summit League, having rejoined that conference on July 1, 2020, after seven years in the Western Athletic Conference.
The men's soccer team won the Summit League men's soccer championships in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2010. The team set an NCAA record on October 12, 2001, with the fastest trio of goals scored in Division I soccer during the MLS era, by scoring three times in 1:46 against Valparaiso University. Notable Roos soccer players have included goalkeepers Kevin Corby and Connor Sparrow, defenders Roberto Albuquerque and Coady Andrews, forwards Levi Coleman, Eric McWoods, and Jordan Rideout, and midfielders Manny Catano, Jony Muñoz, and Bryan Pérez.
UMKC sponsors 16 sports for both men and women at the intercollegiate level. The department sponsors: men's basketball and women's basketball, men's soccer and women's soccer, men's tennis and women's tennis, men's golf and women's golf, men's indoor and outdoor track & field and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's cross country and women's cross country, softball, and volleyball.
Beginning with the 2026–27 season, the men's basketball team plays its full home schedule at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City. The women's basketball team splits its home schedule between Municipal Auditorium and the Swinney Recreation Center on the Volker Campus.
In April 2007, the school dropped its Co-Ed Rifle Program in order to add women's soccer and men's baseball. Women's soccer was added to the institution for the 2009–10 school year.
Campuses