heading the class
Houston university named among best schools in U.S. for Hispanic students
Hardly surprising in the most diverse city in the nation, a local college is among the tops in serving the educational needs for Hispanic students.
The University of Houston has been ranked among the top 100 Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the nation by Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine, the school announced.
This is the second consecutive year that UH landed on the list, a press release notes.
Data for the national magazine’s annual list is collected from the Department of Education. The 2019-2020 rankings will be published in the October edition of Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine.
Notably, UH became the first public research university in Texas to receive the designation a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in 2011, and has continued on with that distinction since then, a release adds.
Last fall, the UH served more than 15,600 Hispanic students. Meanwhile, in the latest ranking by Hispanic Outlook on Education, UH was named in the top 100 in multiple categories based on data from 2019-2020, including:
- No.14 for the number of bachelor’s degrees granted to Hispanic students
- No. 25 for total enrollment of Hispanic students
- No. 48 for total master’s degrees awarded to Hispanic students
UH’s Hispanic student population earned more degrees than any other student population served, with more than 3,000 degrees earned in the fall of 2020, the schools reports. Four majors rank in the top 10 in the nation for the number of degrees these programs award to Hispanic students, including:
- No. 4 human/consumer sciences
- No. 5 business
- No. 8 architecture
- No. 8 computer and information sciences
According to population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, most of Harris County’s growth has come from the Hispanic population, and Texas’ Hispanic population has grown by more than 2 million since 2010.
“Not only are we serving a high number of Hispanic students but they are leaving UH with a Tier One degree in hand and limitless opportunity ahead of them,” said Paula Myrick Short, UH senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, in a statement. “The success of all of our students— including Hispanic students who make up a third of our student body— is paramount to the success of the University of Houston and the Gulf Coast regional economy.”
