UTPA is the 10th largest university in the state and the fifth largest in the UT System.
UTPA is 2nd in the nation in the number of bachelor’s degrees, 4th in the number of master’s degrees awarded to Hispanics, and 77th in the number of doctoral degrees awarded to Hispanics (Hispanic Outlook 2008).
The national rankings for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics at UTPA by academic program are as follows (Hispanic Outlook 2008):
1st in English Literature
1st in Foreign Language
1st in Mathematics
2nd in Biological and Biomedical Sciences
2nd in Health Sciences
2nd in Multi-interdisciplinary Studies
4th in Business and Marketing
4th in Protective Services
7th in Communications
8th in Visual and Performing Arts
11th in Engineering
11th in Public Administration
According to the Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education UTPA is among the top 100 best U.S. colleges for Hispanics.
UTPA educates the most Mexican-American students in the nation.
UTPA has a diverse faculty with the most Hispanic full-time faculty among the state’s universities. Thirty-five percent of the faculty is Hispanic and 54% are minority (including international).
UTPA is second only to UT Austin in receiving Advanced Placement Credits from entering students compared to other universities in the UT System.
UTPA is seventh in Texas in receiving the greatest number of Advanced Placement Credits from entering students.
In Fall 2007, 94 percent of incoming freshmen had taken the ‘recommended or higher’ high school program.
The Student Computing Laboratories at UTPA consist of over 800 computers in locations all over campus. Any UTPA student may use these Windows, UNIX, and Macintosh computers, over half of which are available 24 hours a day, five days a week.
UTPA has received over $18.8 million in fiscal year 2008, the second largest allocation in the state, for the TEXAS Grant program which assists economically disadvantaged students that have completed the Recommended or Distinguished Achievement High School Program.
The UTPA Student Loan Cohort Default Rate, at 2.1%, continues to remain significantly below the national average of 4.6% and the state average of 5.9%.
Ninety five percent of students in the UTPA Law School Preparation Institute who have applied to law school have been accepted to at least one.
UTPA has the only Physician Assistant Program in Texas outside a medical school.
Two Physician Assistant Students received first place in national competition at the American Academy of Physician Assistant Annual Conference in Philadelphia in May 2007.
Since its inception in 2001, the Clinical Lab Sciences’ Regional Biotech Program has instructed over 20,000 students and over 400 teachers from 10 school districts in the cutting-edge field of biotechnology. The Program operates a Mobile Lab, the only one in the State of Texas and only one of three in the nation.
Approximately 28% of the graduating class for UTPA’s Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing are males compared to the national average of 10%.
Over the past five years, on average, sixty two percent of UTPA students who apply to medical schools are accepted as compared to the state’s average over the same time period of 35 percent.
Students enrolled in the Baylor premedical honors program at UTPA receive conditional admission to medical school and 87 percent are admitted upon graduation. Ninety-eight percent of the premedical honors program students graduating in the last three years have matriculated to medical school.
UTPA offers a Ph.D. in Business Administration with an emphasis in International Business, one of half a dozen such degree programs in the United States.
Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology Week (HESTEC) – a nationally recognized effort to steer minorities into hi-tech jobs – attracts 80,000 students, teachers and families to campus yearly.
The UTPA Mechanical Engineering students have been competing at the National Mini Baja Design Competition since 1999 and have ranked among the top 15 percent in the International SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) competition.
HESTEC College Student Career Expo has continued to see an increase in student participation; surpassing any other recruitment activities becoming a regional event.
74 out of 100 Top entry-level college recruiting corporations and agencies recruit UTPA students.
The Office of Career Services places an average of 200 students in internships every school year locally and nationally.
Since Raytheon began recruiting at UTPA in 2000, it has had a 100% retention rate.
Since 2005, The Office of Career Services has teamed with The Archer Center to place 12 outstanding students within internships in high profile government agencies in Washington, DC.
The internationally renowned UTPA Mariachi holds the title of "Outstanding College/University Mariachi" for winning ten first place awards at national mariachi competitions.
The UTPA Mariachi has been recognized by the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate for promoting the music and traditions of the Hispanic culture.
UTPA has an all female Mariachi, one of only a handful of such groups in the country.
The Office of Center Operations and Community Services (CoSERVE) assists over 2,000 South Texas businesses per year. These businesses have acquired more than $130 million in capital resources for start-ups and expansions and created over 15,000 jobs.
UTPA is the only institution in the United States with direct access to the Mexico Border Census Data.
The UTPA Rio Grande Valley Folklore Archive has one of the world’s largest computerized collections of Mexican-American folklore.
UTPA has two galleries on its main campus. These galleries are used to showcase the work of our art students, art faculty, alumni, and locally and nationally renowned artists.
