The Massachusetts Agricultural College was established in 1863 under the original Morrill Land Grant act of 1862. Four faculty members and four wooden buildings awaited the first entering class of 56 in 1867. The first graduate degrees were authorized in 1892. "Mass Aggie" became Massachusetts State College in 1931, and the University of Massachusetts in 1947. After World War II, the University of Massachusetts Amherst experienced rapid growth in its physical facilities, enrollment, and programs. A temporary campus opened at Ft. Devens (1946-49) to accommodate the influx of returning veterans. The University's second campus was opened in Boston in 1965, and expanded into the Harbor campus in 1974. A third campus, the University of Massachusetts Medical Center at Worcester, was founded in 1962, and enrolled its first class in 1970. The same year, the President's Office was moved from Amherst to separate offices in Boston, and the Office of Chancellor was established as the chief executive position at each campus. In 1991, Governor William F. Weld signed legislation creating a new five campus University of Massachusetts with a single president and a board of trustees. This legislation consolidated five public university campuses, (the three UMass campuses and the University of Lowell and Southeastern Massachusetts University) into a single university system with an autonomous governing board. The University is one of the founding members of the original Four College Cooperation(1956) and of the Five College Cooperative program established in 1965, offering reciprocal student access among the University and Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges.

This collection of materials consists of official records and unofficial historical files that were brought together as one overall, 'artificial' collection. The wide range of documentation in this record group consists of annual reports, special reports, minutes, directories, catalogs, news clippings, press releases, and memorabilia.

University as a Whole, is arranged into four major subject groups: Official Publications, Founding and Legislation, Official Ceremonies, and University Historical Collection.