UVI began by offering associate of arts degrees, but in 1967 added four-year bachelor's degree programs in liberal arts and education. The first baccalaureate degrees were awarded in 1970 and in 1976 the University awarded its first master's degree, in education. Two years later, master's degree programs in business administration and public administration were instituted on both campuses.

In 1972, the university was awarded land-grant status by the U.S. Congress. In 1986, the College of the Virgin Islands officially changed its name, to the University of the Virgin Islands, to reflect the growth and diversification of its academic curricula community and research programs. That same year, Congress named UVI one of the nation's 117 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In 1990, Orville E. Kean, a native son of St. Thomas with 30 years of service to the institution, became the third president of the University of the Virgin Islands.

Today, the University of the Virgin Islands is connected to the world through the latest in information technology. On both campuses, computer labs enable students and faculty to access research and other information on the Internet through the World Wide Web: And distance learning facilities merge classrooms separated by 40 miles of the Caribbean Sea. 

UVI received land-grant status in 1972.

The UVI Research and Land-Grant Affairs component consists of: The Agricultural Experiment Station (St. Croix), which provides local producers a vital link to other research institutions in the United States and its territories, and is actively involved in 25 projects in animal science, aquaculture, fruit and vegetable production, forestry and agronomy.

The Cooperative Extension Service (St. Thomas and St. Croix), which assists consumers and farmers in program areas that include home economics, small livestock, 4-H youth camps, parenting, family-youth relationships, natural resources and environmental education.

The Water Resources Research Institute (St. Thomas), conducts research studies on microbiological and chemical contamination of water supplies, among others. Currently, WRRI is developing standardized guidelines for the water quality of the territory’s cisterns and operates a solar-powered meteorological observatory on St. Thomas.

And the Research Publications Center, which publishes "The Caribbean Writer," an annual literary journal featuring award-winning poetry, fiction, book reviews and essays from the Virgin Islands and the rest of the Caribbean. The Research Publications Center also publishes "Community Research Highlights" among other publications and brochures. 

Whether you like to be on the stage performing, or in the audience watching the performers on stage, the Reichhold Center for the Arts offers the consummate regional theater-going experience.

Since its premiere season in 1978, the Reichhold Center has showcased such international talent as Marcel Marceau, Bill Cosby, the Vienna Boys Choir, Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble Company, Itzhak Perlman, Roberta Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, the Russian Circus, Nobel laureate Derek Walcott and the Trinidad Theater Workshop, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the New York Theatre Ballet, among many others. The Reichhold is also home of the Caribbean Repertory Theater Company, a performing theater workshop comprised of students, faculty and members of the community. The Caribbean Repertory Theater Company showcases works by renowned regional playwrights, including Reichhold's own director, David Edgecombe.
The 1,196 seat amphitheater nestles in a natural valley overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The lobby includes a museum that houses UVI's African art and artifact collection, and a gallery where local artists display their work. Friends of the Reichhold Center, an auxiliary group of volunteers, assists the center in planning and implementing activities in support of each season's performances.
The center was made possible through the generosity of the late Henry H. Reichhold of Reichhold Chemicals Inc. The mission of the Reichhold Center is threefold: