Long Term Planning

South Campus Plan

UNM has launched a comprehensive planning study to modernize the University Stadium and revitalize South Campus as a Sports Entertainment district. The study will assess existing conditions, stadium modernization options, parking, access and connectivity, opportunities for year-round events, and mixed-use growth. Findings will guide long-term investments and implementation strategies that strengthen campus life, athletics, and community connections.

Integrated Campus Plan

UNM adopted its Integrated Campus Plan (ICP) that replaces the 2009 Master Plan and addresses all of UNM campuses. It guides the University's decisions on the physical environment, including the character of each campus, safety, access, wayfinding and signage, and sustainability. Click here to view or download the Integrated Campus Plan (ICP).

The ICP is organized into 9 chapters:

1. Executive Summary: An overview of the vision, goals, and recommendations.

2. Introduction: A summary of the purpose, process, engagement, and overview of campus locations, demographics, history, and planning efforts that informed the plan.

3. Albuquerque Campuses Frameworks: An existing conditions assessment of Central, North, and South Campuses’ land use, mobility, character, and landscape. Detailed description of the Framework Vision, Programmatic Framework, Landscape Framework, Mobility Framework and associated recommendations.

4. Design Guidelines: These guidelines inform the work of design teams, University staff, and project stakeholders by providing clear and actionable design direction while allowing for flexibility and innovation that responds to UNM’s evolving needs and unique identity.

5. Main Campus Zones: Urban Design Guidelines for the Albuquerque Campuses, grouped into 21 zones provide design teams, University staff, and project stakeholders detailed access, safety, and sustainability guidance on how campus improvements should be implemented in accordance with the Framework Vision and recommendations.

6. Signage and Wayfinding: An overview of UNM’s current signage and provides a streamlined signage family and recommendations for wayfinding locations that aim to optimize wayfinding on the Albuquerque campuses in alignment with the Framework Vision.

7. Branch & Satellite Campuses Frameworks: The history, existing conditions, and recommendations for each branch campus and satellite sites around the state.

8. Implementation: The strategy to implement the ICP’s Framework Vision and recommendations, with a focus on the initiatives and governing processes needed to realize the plan.

The ICP is the outcome of a multiple year-long process with a focus on the facilities, grounds, and physical assets of the institution, providing a “road map” to fulfill the vision and goals set forth in the University’s Strategic Plan UNM 2040: Opportunity Defined (UNM 2040). 

UNM thanks all of the students, staff, faculty, alumni, community members, and partners who have contributed to the ICP with ideas, feedback, and support!

The Need for Long-Term Planning

Long-term planning gives UNM the framework for moving our great University forward, one step at a time; it opens the doors to newpossibilities. With an institution of the size and complexity of UNM, long-term campus planning is a continual process. Our University faces a major challengeof advancing our mission as a flagship University on five campuses and numerous sites across the state.

The University is comprised of the main campus in Albuquerque; there are branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos, and Valencia County, plus the UNM Health Sciences Rio Rancho campus. Including all five campuses, the University today has more than 23,000 students, nearly 10,000 faculty and staff, more than 200,000 living alumni worldwide, and 14 schools and colleges. UNM is home to the UNM Health Sciences Center (HSC), the largest academic health complex in the state, and UNM Hospital (UNMH).

The University of New Mexico is a  preeminent public research university with locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico—the state’s largest metropolitan area—and branch and satellite campuses across the state. Founded in 1889 as New Mexico’s flagship institution, UNM is now a global community, leading the way in education, innovation, health care, and community service. Its distinct programs and faculty attract students from around the world, representing nearly 100 countries and every state in the nation. As one of the first minority-majority universities, UNM represents a cross-section of cultures and backgrounds.

With an institution of this size and complexity, long-term planning is a necessary and continuous process. In addition to the Integrated Campus Plan, UNM has developed many other topic-specific long-term plans, including the Campus Safety Plan, Strategic Housing Plan, and HSC Facility Master Plan affecting our Albuquerque campuses. The University prioritizes long-term planning for our branches, such as the UNM - Taos Infrastructure Plan.

Other Long-Term Plans

CCSP facilitates framework plans, concept plans, and facility plans for colleges, schools, departments, and the university as a whole that assess how they can better use or renovate their spaces, vacate old spaces, and/or build new spaces to meet their long-term academic, programmatic, and technological needs. These plans are visionary and often incorporate many of the planning services CCSP offers. They typically determine priorities and phasing over a 10-year horizon.