• Advance transportation expertise and technology in the many disciplines that comprise transportation through research, education and workforce development, and technology transfer;
• Provide a critical transportation knowledge base outside the US DOT; and
• Address vital workforce needs and educate the next generation of transportation leaders.

In addition, the UTC Program and each individual Center share the following objectives:

• Research:  To conduct basic, advanced, and applied research, the products of which are judged by peers or other experts in the field of transportation to advance the body of knowledge in transportation.
• Education and Workforce Development:  To provide an education program relating to transportation that includes multidisciplinary course work, participation in research, and workforce development activities and programs to expand the workforce of transportation professionals.
• Technology Transfer:  To deliver an ongoing program of technology transfer that makes transportation research results available to potential users in a form that can be implemented, utilized, commercialized, or otherwise applied.

 
Although every Center has the same broad objectives, US DOT encourages diversity in the program participants and in the approaches individual Centers take to achieve the program objectives.  US DOT encourages unique approaches to research, education, workforce development and technology transfer, building on or reflecting institutional expertise, facilities, and partnerships.  Finally, in order to achieve its vision of a truly multimodal integrated system,  US DOT encourages UTCs to engage in research, education and workforce development, and technology transfer activities that cut across disciplines and span multiple modes of transportation, enabling improvements to the Nation’s surface transportation system, inclusive of rail, maritime, highway, pipelines, transit, and any links to aviation.