Students from all disciplines and majors have access to the University Libraries' cutting-edge creative spaces, individual quiet study rooms and digital technologies for collaborative and individual learning. CATalyst Studios, a 9,700 square-foot interdisciplinary hub that occupies the entire east wing of the Main Library’s ground floor, inspires formal and informal learning through technologies such as virtual/augmented reality, data visualization, and fabrication equipment.

Students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to engage in workshops, get certified to use equipment and explore the space which includes:

• The Maker Studio, where you can explore creative technologies such as laser and vinyl cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers, sewing machines, and other equipment.
• The Terry Seligman VR Studio and Green Screen Room, which enable you to experience and create virtual and augmented reality content.
• The Data Studio features a high-resolution 20x7 foot visualization wall for image and data processing, teaching, and learning.
• The Sound Studio, where you can record podcasts and audio content with our professional microphones and podcasting equipment.  
• The One Button Studio, where you can record and create professional-quality video presentations, lectures, and instructional videos.
• Three modular learning studios designed for collaborative instruction and learning.

The Main Library's two-floor ecosystem is dedicated to technology, skill development, collaborative research, and experiential learning to elevate the student experience at the University.

The 30x30 foot monumental staircase in the west wing provides a highly visible vertical connection and pathway between the renovated second (ground) floor and first floor where spaces and services are provided. 

Collaborative study areas surrounding the staircase include a large open study space with a variety of seating options and wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows that bring in natural sunlight.

Scholars' Corner offers a comfortable space with large windows and natural light for small group or individual work and an outdoor patio.

Students also enjoy the shaded, landscaped seating areas outside the library with WiFi and access to electrical power.

The first floor of the Main Library is home to the Rhonda G. Tubbs Tech Toolshed has 1,500 pieces of technology that students can borrow, including laptops, cameras, scanners, tablets, and more. 

The University’s IT department operates the Tech Zone, a computer lab that provides video, audio, and design software, and the 24/7 Lounge, which provides in-person tech support for students and University employees.

The library's Learning Studio 112 provides a collaborative instruction and learning space.

Multiple building entrances and exits, along with transformed outdoor study spaces, create more welcoming and integrated facilities that allow students to travel between the library and other buildings within the District.

The 60,000-square-foot Bear Down Building is home to a wide range of services and spaces for students, including: academic support and career services, physical and mental wellness services, and meeting and gathering spaces. 

Modern technology, utility infrastructure updates, and safety and accessibility improvements are installed so this treasured building can continue to serve the University for many years to come. The renovation respected the historic character and fabric of the original building by preserving the iconic elements of the building exterior, maintaining the historic interior volume of space, and retaining essential elements of the bow trusses, suspended mezzanine bleachers, and gym floor. 

The Carranza Healing Garden between the Main Library and Bear Down offer places to sit and relax, and is part of the District’s efforts to support student wellness. The Wildcats Forever Memorial plaque was dedicated in the Garden in 2022 to honor the Wildcats who have passed while at the University.

Built in 1926, Bear Down was called the "Gymnasium and Armory" since it was also housed the Department of Military Science and Tactics. The building continued to serve the department and ROTC cadets for years and even provided dormitory space for military troops and students during and after World War II. In the fall of 1926, quarterback and student body president John Byrd “Button” Salmon – a promising and popular student and athlete – was seriously injured in a car accident. The coach at the time, J.F. "Pop" McKale, regularly visited Salmon in the hospital, said Salmon's last message to the team was, "Tell them, tell the team to bear down." Students embraced those words and memorialized Salmon by painting them on the roof of Bear Down. It wasn't until 1983 that the building was officially named Bear Down Gymnasium.

An 1,800-square-foot fitness room equipped with the latest cardio equipment and gear and a locker room serves our students, as well as faculty and staff who have Campus Recreation memberships.

Other amenities – such as two meditation rooms, cabanas, meeting spaces, and nutritious snacks at the Red & Blue Market – are available when you’re studying, working, or taking a break. Arizona Science, Engineering and Math Scholars Programs (ASEMS) empowers STEM students with the tools necessary to succeed while recognizing their unique backgrounds and assets. ASEMS has a new space in the building, moving to a more centralized space on campus.

The Social & Behavioral Sciences Student Lounge is a space designed to serve our current and prospective students as they navigate their way to and through their Wildcat journeys. Join us and connect, study, and collaborate with other SBS and UA students. We welcome all incoming students and families to get to know the People College.

The university has dedicated a space in Bear Down to house the institution's first interfaith and serenity spaces to support holistic and spiritual wellness. A meditation room will be located on the first floor, and the interfaith room will be on the third floor. 

Health promotion and prevention services, academic advising, programs and workshops are available to engage students to help them feel connected socially and academically. They can also find writing and tutoring support, reserve study spaces, get their questions answered, and explore career coaching throughout the building.

The four-story, 61,619 square foot Bartlett Academic Success Center, which serves as a hub for central and college academic advising, was completed in December 2020.

It houses student support and services programs such as The A Center,  Thrive Center, Student Engagement & Career Development, the Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques Center (SALT), and THINK TANK. Most of these programs are part of Student Success & Retention Innovation, which aims to create a sense of belonging for students, ensure that they feel valued, respected and included, and increase retention and graduation rates for undergraduate students.

Two sky bridges connect the Bartlett Center to Bear Down. Outdoor walkways, shaded patios, and a healing garden for contemplation connect all four buildings in the District. Additional entrances, improved access, more natural light, and a visual connection to nature are features of each building. The TEP (Tucson Electric Power) Sunshade Structure on the west side of the Bartlett building provides a large public open seating space that successfully demonstrates a large-scale renewable energy project on campus. 

The Arizona Stadium, which was originally built in 1928, is just south of the Bartlett Center.

The Bartlett Academic Success Center is a central place for serving and connecting with students.

Support. Outreach. Success. (SOS) supports all University of Arizona community members, with a focus on enhancing the student experience. We know that when students have a central place or simple way to have questions answered and to seek support they are more successful. Each year SOS answers thousands of questions and helps Arizona students and other community members find resources on campus.

Thrive Center’s mission is to advance a community where students successfully navigate through, excel in, and graduate from the University of Arizona prepared for life after college. Thrive Center's work is focused on three distinct areas related to student persistence and degree attainment: building community for students who have been historically underrepresented on college campuses, are low-income, and/or are first generation college students; collaborating across campus to serve students and centering students' wellness in and outside of the classroom.

THINK TANK, which is on the second floor, is the students go-to destination for academic support at the University of Arizona. THINK TANK offers a variety of services in math, writing, science, business, statistics, language, and academic skills. Thanks to the Student Services Fee dollars at work, the majority of our tutoring and academic support services are free.

The Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) Center is a national leader in providing academic support services to those with learning and attention differences, enrolls as many as 700 students each year. Their innovative approach is recognized as one of the most successful at promoting student achievement in the university setting.

Student Engagement & Career Development (SECD) offers meaningful learning experiences and career services and development in collaboration with colleges, departments, student organizations, alumni and employers. SECD collaborates with employers for job recruiting and career information events that will be held inside Bear Down Gym.

On the Bartlett Center’s fourth floor, students have access to academic advising from the A Center, the College of Humanities, the College of Science and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Many University of Arizona students are double and even triple majors. A single visible and accessible location for student services and academic advising from multiple units under one roof will benefit the students greatly.

The renovations at the Albert B. Weaver Science-Engineering Library, which was built in 1963, were completed in 2020 on the second and third floors to create a research and study ecosystem emphasizing collaborative, hands-on learning that students can easily navigate.

Weaver Library is home to the first collaborative classroom on campus. What started as a pilot project is now the collaborative learning classroom model used throughout the university campus.

The renovation design was inspired by the building’s pre-existing 260-seat collaborative classroom that brings in over 1,500 students a day into this library. The renovations facilitate the extension of the classroom’s focus on applied, collaborative pedagogy into the other areas of the second and third floors. 

The new sunlit glass atrium-like lobby entrance on the east side of the building was designed to replace the solid brick wall on the east side, allowing for natural light and views of the Bear Down Building. Before the renovations, the only sunlight inside the library was through the windows located on the north and south sides of the building. The library houses materials in areas such as fine arts, life and physical sciences, engineering and technology, and military sciences.

The new staircase in the Weaver Library's glass lobby entrance connects the second and third floors, improves traffic flow, and a two-floor interconnected ecosystem is dedicated to collaborative learning and research.

The Provost’s Office provided the support to open a Family Study Room on the fourth floor for a family-friendly study space for university student parents/guardians and their children. This initiative was spearheaded by the Graduate and Professional Student Council. We also welcome university post-docs, staff, and faculty accompanied by children.

Weaver Library is also home to the Collaborative Faculty Room on the third floor and the Rehearsal Performance Room on the fifth floor where College of Fine Arts students, faculty, and staff can practice and record musical instruments.

The new open floor plan inspires collaboration and group study with movable, modular furnishings, whiteboards, and new adjacent group study rooms. Students can now easily access computers, printers, scanners, self-check machines, and the service desk in the lobby.

Changes transformed both the second and third floors of the Weaver Library from a “T” layout that caused traffic bottlenecks to an “8” layout that creates more spatial connectivity and continuity. These renovations allow students to travel easily in and out of the collaborative classroom to other areas of the library where computers and a variety of new study spaces are located.