Points of Pride

• According to Forbes rankings of America’s Best Public Colleges, UTPA is ranked third highest within The University of Texas System, fifth-highest public school in Texas, and 14th out of all 29 Texas institutions of higher education on the list (Forbes, August 2011).
• UTPA is the 10th largest of 38 public universities in the state and the 5th largest of nine academic institutions in the UT System (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Fall 2010).
• According to The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education 2011, UTPA is among the top 100 best U.S. colleges for Hispanics including:
• 3rd in the nation in the number of bachelor’s degrees, and 3rd in the number of master’s degrees awarded to Hispanics.
• The national rankings for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics at UTPA by academic program are as follows:
• 1st in English Literature
• 1st in Foreign Languages
• 1st in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
• 1st in Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• 3rd in Mathematics/Statistics
• 3rd in Homeland Security
• 4th in Business and Marketing
• 4th in Psychology
• 5th in Visual and Performing Arts
• 6th in Nursing
• 6th in Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness
• 6th in Public Administration and Public Service
• 7th in Communications
• 8th in Engineering
• UTPA ranks 1st in the nation for awarding degrees to Hispanics in Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, June 06, 2011).
• UTPA ranks 9th in the nation for providing Hispanic applicants to Medical Schools in 2009 (Diverse Issues in Higher Education, October 28, 2010).
• For Allied Health degrees awarded at all senior academic institutions in Texas, UTPA ranks 3rd for total degrees, 2nd for bachelor’s degrees, and 3rd for master's degrees (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, FY 2010).
• The MBA program in the UTPA College of Business Administration is ranked as one of “The Best 301 Business Schools” by the Princeton Review (Princeton Review, 2010 Edition).
• UTPA has the only Physician Assistant Program outside a medical school and the only Bridge program for bachelor’s to master’s degrees for previous undergraduate Physician Assistant students in Texas (UTPA College of Health Sciences and Human Services, 2010).
• The Rehabilitation Counseling program ranks 17th of 98 in the nation for quality of program and faculty tied with UT Austin (U.S. News and World Report, 2010 Edition).
• Approximately 24% of the graduating class for UTPA’s Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing are males compared to the national average of 10.8% (UTPA College of Health Sciences and Human Services, 2010).
• Over the past five years, on average, 64% of UTPA students who apply to medical schools are accepted as compared to the state’s average of 33 % over the same time period (UTPA Department of Biology, 2010).
• Students enrolled in the Baylor premedical honors program at UTPA receive conditional admission to medical school and 89% are admitted upon graduation (UTPA Baylor Medical Program, 2010).
• The Family Nurse Practitioner average certification pass rate is 95% in the 10 years of the program’s existence (UTPA College of Health Sciences and Human Services, 2010).
• Ninety percent of students in the UTPA Law School Preparation Institute who have applied to law school have been accepted to at least one (UTPA Department of Political Science, 2010).
• Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week – the nationally recognized effort to steer minorities into high-tech jobs – attracts 80,000 students, teachers and family members to campus yearly (UTPA Department of Community Engagement).
• Festival of International Books and Arts (FESTIBA), a yearly weeklong event brings to the forefront the important role of early literacy for not only the Rio Grande Valley but for the nation by celebrating the arts and humanities as well as showcasing activities to promote an interest in and love for reading, particularly by children (UTPA College of Arts and Humanities, 2010).
• In August 2011, two faculty members, Dr. Linda Belau, associate professor in English, and Dr. Theron Francis, lecturer in English, joined the ranks of faculty members who received the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards, the Board of Regents' highest honor for faculty who demonstrate extraordinary classroom performance and innovation in undergraduate instruction. Fourteen (14) UTPA faculty have received this award since its inception in 2008. (UT System, August 2011).
• FibeRio Technology Corporation, the first company formed by The University of Texas-Pan American emanating from the discoveries of its faculty, won the Silver Award March 17 at the World’s Best Technology (WBT) Showcase in Arlington, Texas (Los Arcos, Spring 2010).

STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• UTPA mechanical engineering students have been competing at the National Mini Baja Design Competition since 1999 and have ranked among the top 15 % in the International SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) competition (UTPA College of Science and Engineering, 2010).
• For two years in a row, a robotics team from the UTPA Student Branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), an organization in the Department of Electrical Engineering, finished in first place in their competition to remain the defending champs at the 2008 IEEE Region 5 Conference in Kansas City, Mo. (UTPA College of Science and Engineering, 2010).
• Accounting students from the UTPA College of Business Administration have won the National Championship in the KPMG & ALPFA National Case Study Competition in 2004, 2005 and 2008, and placed 2nd in 2009 (UTPA College of Business Administration, 2010).
• The internationally renowned UTPA Mariachi holds the title "Outstanding College/University Mariachi" for winning over 10 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 (UTPA College of Arts and Humanities, 2010).
• Student publications and media at The University of Texas-Pan American – The Panorama Magazine, The Pan American Newspaper, and Bronc Radio and TV – won 31 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Awards in 2009 (UTPA College of Arts and Humanities, 2010).
• The University of Texas-Pan American’s Reel to Red Productions won the Webby’s People's Voice Award in the student category in the 14th annual Webby Awards and was voted the No. 1 student Web site (UTPA University Relations, May 2010).