The University of Texas in Austin was established on September 15, 1883. Its most notable landmark is "The Tower," which is 27 stories high and can be seen from almost anywhere in Austin. According to the "US News & World Report," the graduate programs of the Business, Engineering, Law, and Education schools of the University of Texas are some of the top ranking programs in the country. In 2007, the university ranked sixth in undergraduate degrees for minorities. Also, in 2009, the university proved its web presence by ranking tenth on the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.
The Texas A&M University was established in 1876 and it was Texas' first public institution on higher learning. A&M stood for "agricultural and mechanical," but this only referred to the past focus of the university. Today, it offers over 250 degree programs and has an enrollment of around 38,000 undergraduates and 9,000 graduate students. Texas A&M boasts an average of 1210 average SAT score for its freshmen and is consistently ranking high in attracting National Merit Scholars. As a research institution, it has the highest invested research, amounting to $652 million, making it a worldwide leader in breakthroughs for new technologies and patents.
Texas Tech was founded on the South Plains of West Texas in 1923. It is known to be the largest institution in the western part of Texas. Texas Tech positions itself as a research university that researches technologies to promote a sustainable society. In July 2010, The National Institute for Renewable Energy awarded the university a $6.4 million grant to assist in the research and development of the wind power industry. It also receives various national and international grants in support of computational and theoretical sciences, advanced electronics and materials, and interactive biosciences.
In the United States, the Texas Women's University is the largest higher learning institution primarily for women. It was founded in 1901 as the "Girls Industrial College." In 1994, the institution became co-ed with the admittance of men into the university's degree programs. TWU offers the largest nursing doctoral program in the world. In 2009, "US News and World Report" ranked the graduate programs for occupational therapy as one of the best in the United States. In 2006, TWU offered the "Specialist in School Psychology" program, making it one of the first universities in the county to offer this degree.