[9] It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

The Lumberjacks basketball team has made five appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, with two upset first-round wins in 2014 and 2016.

[13] Stephen F. Austin offers more than 120 areas of study, including more than 80 undergraduate majors, nearly 60 graduate degrees, and four doctoral programs.

It was responsible for mapping and recovery of debris and remains from Space Shuttle Columbia that fell on its premises in 2003.

It is also the home of the National Center for Pharmaceutical Crops, which in 2011 discovered a potential cancer-fighting agent from the extract of giant salvinia, one of the world's most notorious invasive species.

[17] In addition to the main campus which encompasses 430 acres, the university maintains a 642-acre (2.60 km2) agricultural research center for beef, poultry, and swine production and an equine center; an observatory for astronomy research, a 2,650-acre experimental forest in southwestern Nacogdoches County and a 25.3-acre (102,000 m2) forestry field station on the Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

The choice was made given the university's location in the Piney Woods, where forestry and timber products are a major part of the area's economy.

In July 2024, SFA will re-join the Southland Conference[20] Men's NCAA sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor & outdoor track and field.

In July 2024, SFA left the WAC and joined the Southland Conference along with another Texas school, the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.