Rice University, located in central Houston near the Texas Medical Center, is the oldest university in Houston. Established in 1912, the university is renowned for the quality of its research and professors, with two of its professors winning the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Rice University awards bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 66 departments and programs. The university has one of the largest endowments in the nation and is consistently ranked among the top 20 national universities by "U.S. News & World Report."
Founded in 1947 by the Basilian Fathers, the University of St. Thomas is Houston's first and only Catholic university. Located in the city's Museum District, the university welcomes students of all faiths. It offers 30 undergraduate majors and pre-professional programs as well as eight master's degree programs. Notable is the university's doctorate in philosophy from its Center for Thomistic Studies, the only graduate philosophy program in the United States focused on the thoughts and writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Since 1994, "U.S. News & World Report" has named the University of St. Thomas to the top tier of Western mid-size comprehensive universities.
The University of Houston System consists of four separate universities, though only two -- the University of Houston and the University of Houston-Downtown -- are located in the city proper.
The University of Houston is the largest and oldest institution in the UH System. Founded in 1927, it's the leading public research university in the city. Amid Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning faculty, UH grants bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in more than 300 academic programs. The university is home to the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, with the only space architecture graduate program of its kind, and the C. T. Bauer College of Business, named the number one entrepreneurship program by "The Princeton Review/Entrepreneur" magazine.
The University of Houston-Downtown is located in a historic building in downtown Houston and is an open-admission undergraduate university. The university's programs are designed to prepare its graduates for immediate entry into Houston's thriving business community.
Texas Southern University, in Houston's historic Third Ward, is the city's third largest public university. Founded in 1947 as an African-American school, today TSU has a diverse student body and faculty, with over 80 undergraduate degree programs and around 40 master's degree programs, including advanced degrees in law, pharmacy and education. TSU is the only university in the area to offer an Urban Planning degree and possesses one of only two flight simulators in the nation, supporting its airway sciences program. For three consecutive years, "U.S. News & World Report" named the university's Thurgood Marshall School of Law the most diverse law school in the nation.
Houston Baptist University's 100-acre campus is located in southwest Houston. Established in 1960, HBU offers a wide range of bachelor's degrees as well as a pre-engineering program and a number of health profession programs for students interested in applying to medical, dental, optometry or pharmacy schools. The university also offers nine graduate degree programs as well as a teacher certification program for those who already hold bachelor's degrees.