TEXAS BORDER BUSINESS
EDINBURG-May 26, 2015-The University of Texas-Pan American ranks No. 3 in the nation in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to Hispanic students, according to the May 2015 edition of the Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine.
The university also ranked No. 4 in the number of Hispanic students enrolled in graduate school, topping all other Texas institutions of higher education.
In the lists of degrees awarded to Hispanics in 12 special academic programs, UTPA ranked in the top 10 in six programs:
- 3 in Homeland Security, Law Enforcement.
- 4 in Mathematics and Statistics.
- 5 in Psychology.
- 7 in Visual and Performing Arts.
- 8 in Engineering.
- 10 in Communication Journalism.
This is the 14th year UTPA has been highlighted in Hispanic Outlook‘s annual Top 100 Colleges for Hispanics. The rankings are based on surveys of 100 predominantly Hispanic-serving institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico and use 2013 data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.
“UT Pan American is excited to once again be among the leaders in the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded to Hispanic students across the country,” said Dr. Cynthia Brown, UTPA provost and vice president for Academic Affairs and deputy provost for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which will open in fall 2015. “We are pleased to play an important role in educating the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. The contributions of our graduates will be important to the local, regional and national economies.”
Brown said this is a transformational time for the Rio Grande Valley community, as UTPA joins The University of Texas at Brownsville to become UTRGV. With the addition of the UTRGV School of Medicine, which is pending accreditation, the institution soon will be one of the largest Hispanic-serving institutions in the country, she said.
According to the Top 100 rankings released on May 18, 2,446 or 89 percent of all undergraduate degrees awarded by UTPA went to Hispanics (940 to Latinos, 1,506 to Latinas). The graduate school enrollment survey, ranking UTPA No. 4, showed 2,196 or 78 percent enrolled were Hispanic (837 Latinos, 1,359 Latinas).
The survey also ranked UTPA No. 10 in undergraduate enrollment of Hispanics among both two- and four-year schools. Among The University of Texas System academic institutions, only The University of Texas at El Paso ranked higher in that category, at No. 9.
Other UT System academic institutions ranked among the top 100 for total bachelor’s degrees awarded Hispanics were UT El Paso (No. 2), The University of Texas at San Antonio (6), The University of Texas at Austin (9), The University of Texas at Arlington (30), UTB (39), and The University of Texas at Dallas (88).
In graduate school enrollment by Hispanics, other UT System schools ranking in the top 100 were UT El Paso (6), UT San Antonio (11), UT Austin (15), UT Arlington (40), UTB (45), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (90) and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (92).
The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education website states that for the past 25 years it has been a top information news source and the sole Hispanic educational magazine for the higher education community. It is published biweekly except in June, July and August.
