The largest institution of higher learning in the Brownwood area is Howard Payne University. Howard Payne University is the only four-year college in the area, offering over 50 degree programs, both bachelor's and associate, to its 1,400 students. The school was founded in 1889 in order to provide a Baptist affiliated institution in the Brown County area and was named after Edward Howard Payne, brother-in-law of school founder John D. Robnett, who provided the money to start the college. The school operated as a Baptist junior college from 1900 to 1914 after which it regained its status as a four-year university. In 1953 Howard Payne University merged with local Daniel Baker College. Howard Payne University is currently affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The school's mascot is a yellowjacket, and the school is known for its Christian Studies program, a public policy honors program called the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom, and its music degree program.
Brownwood is home to the Brownwood campus of the West Texas arm of the Texas State Technical College system. The Texas State Technical College was originally part of the Texas A&M University school system and was founded in 1965 as the James Connally Technical Institute in Waco, Texas. After expanding to include a campus in Harlingen in 1967, the school became independent of Texas A&M University and was renamed the Texas State Technical Institute. In 1991 the school changed its name to the Texas State Technical College System, and, as of 2011, the school has four campuses: TSTC Marshall, TSTC Waco, TSTC Harlingen and TSTC West Texas. The Brownwood campus is part of the TSTC West Texas system, which also has campuses in Sweetwater, Breckenridge and Abilene. Texas State Technical College is the only state-supported two-year institution in Texas and it offers a variety of two-year associate degrees to the Brownwood area.
Ranger College is a two-year institution located in Ranger, Texas, about an hour and a half from Brownwood, that offers some degree programs and courses in Brownwood and Brownwood's sister town of Early. Early is about 10 minutes from Brownwood, and there Ranger College offers what they call "comprehensive course offerings," which includes a Commercial Truck Driving Program. In Brownwood, Ranger College offers a cosmetology program, an associate degree in nursing, and a vocational nursing program, also in Brown County.
Concerning institutions of higher learning, the area immediately around Brownwood is also notable, especially due to the proximity of the town of Abilene. Abilene is home to Hardin-Simmons University, McMurry University, a Texas State Technical College campus, a Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy campus, Abilene Christian University, a Cisco Junior College campus and the American Commercial College. Also in the area are Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Central Texas College in Killeen and Temple College in Temple.