Points of Excellence UTPA

Points of Pride

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 and 5th in the number of master’s degrees awarded to Hispanics.
The rankings for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics at UTPA by academic program are as follows (Hispanic Outlook 2007):
- 1st in Biological and BioMedical Sciences
- 1st in English Literature
- 1st in Foreign Language
- 1st in Multi-interdisciplinary Studies
- 2nd in Health Sciences
- 3rd in Social Services
- 3rd in Business and Marketing
- 3rd in Visual and Performing Arts
- 4th in Protective Services
- 7th in Mathematics
- 7th in Communications
- 10th in Engineering
The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education lists UTPA among its top 100 best U.S. colleges for Hispanics.
UTPA offers 55 bachelor’s degree programs, 50 master’s, 2 doctoral, and one cooperative doctoral pharmacy program.
UTPA educates the most Mexican-American students in the nation.
UTPA has the most Hispanic full-time faculty among the state’s universities. According to the State Board for Educator Certification, UTPA ranks fifth in the number of teacherTexas.
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 is second only to UT Austin in receiving Advanced Placement Credits from entering students compared to other universities in the UT System.
UTPA is sixth in Texas in receiving the greatest number of Advanced Placement Credits from entering students.
UTPA has the only Physician Assistant Program in Texas outside a medical school.
The Regional Biotech Program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences operates the only Mobile Biotechnology Laboratory in the State of Texas. It is only one of three in the United States.
Approximately 25% of the graduating class for UTPA’s Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing are males compared to the national average of 10%.
Sixty percent of UTPA students who apply to medical schools are accepted as compared to the state average of 36 percent.
Students enrolled in the Baylor premedical honors program at UTPA receive conditional admission to medical school and 85 percent are admitted upon graduation.
In Fall 2006, 93 percent of incoming freshmen had taken the ‘recommended or higher’ high school program.
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 40,000 students, teachers and families to campus yearly.
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 $17.1 million in fiscal year 2006, 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 2.6%, continues to remain significantly below the national average of 5.1% and the state average of 6.7 %.
The Office of Career Placement Services places an average of 200 students in internships every school year locally and nationally.
Since 1998 more than 500 computer science and engineering graduates have been placed in permanent jobs with Fortune 500 companies.
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 internationally renowned UTPA Mariachi holds the title of "Outstanding College/University Mariachi" for winning eight first place awards at annual 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 American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded first place to an all female team from UTPA for a manufacturing engineering design competition.
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.
The Office of Center Operations and Community Services (CoSERVE) assists over 2,000 South Texas businesses per year. These businesses have acquired more than $100 million in capital resources for start-ups and expansions and created over 12,000 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.

Source: UTPA website.