UNT has been a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1924 and is among the twenty-seven universities in Texas at Level VI, the highest level. As of 2020, the university was home to 22 research centers and institutes. In 2007, the university launched four Institutes of Research Excellence: (i) Advanced Environmental Research Institute, (ii) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute, (iii) BioDiscovery Institute, and (iv) Jim McNatt Institute for Logistics Research. In 2019, UNT launched the Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing.