The University of Texas at El Paso has been ranked among the top universities for Hispanic students in two recent publications.
In a report released May 18, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine ranked UTEP No. 2 in the nation for total number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics. The University moved up from No. 4 in 2014.
UTEP granted 3,194 total bachelor’s degrees in 2013 – the year reflected in the report – 80 percent of which were awarded to Hispanics.
The magazine also listed UTEP among the top 10 in several bachelor’s degree program categories. The University took top honors as the No. 1 institution in awarding bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics in the fields of education and mathematics and statistics; No. 3 in undergraduate engineering degrees; No. 5 in homeland security, law enforcement or firefighting degrees; No. 9 in communication and journalism; and No. 10 in the visual and performing arts.
The University ranked No. 6 in Hispanic graduate student enrollment overall in 2013, and No. 9 in Hispanic undergraduate enrollment.
In a separate ranking, nonprofit organization Excelencia in Education listed UTEP as No. 1 in the country for awarding doctoral degrees to Latinos in health professions or related programs. Of the 13 doctoral degrees awarded by the College of Health Sciences and School of Nursing in 2012-13, 10 were earned by Hispanics, according to the report “Finding Your Workforce: Latinos in Health” published in April 2015.
The Excelencia ranking is of particular note because across the country that same year, fewer than 10 percent of the degrees conferred to Latinos in health professions were at the graduate level.
In addition, the University’s Medical Professions Institute (MPI) was highlighted in Excelencia’s report on “What works for Latino students in health programs.” Established in 2002, the MPI works with students who are interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree in medical, dental, veterinarian, optometry or physician assistant school. The institute boasts a 48 percent acceptance rate for MPI students to medical professions schools and programs in 2014.
“We are pleased to be recognized for successfully providing access to excellent higher education opportunities for students in this Paso del Norte region,” UTEP President Diana Natalicio said about the latest university rankings. “These rankings confirm that UTEP is not only providing accessibility to large numbers of Hispanic students, but is fostering achievement of their highest aspirations as they complete their degrees.”
UTEP offers 72 bachelor’s, 73 master’s and 20 doctoral degree programs and boasts the lowest out-of-pocket cost among all research universities in the U.S. UTEP not only redefines public higher education regionally and throughout Texas; with these top rankings, UTEP can confidently say its impact is strongly validated across the nation.