Higher Education

With well over 70,000 students, and enrollment growing with each semeseter, the Rio South Texas region is rapidly emerging as the center for higher education along the U.S.-Mexico border. Several higher educational institutions serve the region’s growing workforce.

	University of Texas-Pan American: Part of the University of Texas system, UTPA in Edinburg serves more than 18,500 students. This four-year university offers undergraduate degrees in numerous subject areas. The university also has two Ph.D. programs, as well as several graduate programs. For more information on one of the best ranked public universities, visit http://www.utpa.edu/about/overview/

	University of Brownsville-Texas Southmost College: Situated right along the shared border with Mexico, UTB-TSC is one of the most historic campuses in Texas. However, UTB-TSC offers students in the Rio South Texas region access to some of the most modern technologies and programs. Here, students can receive two or four-year degrees, as well as Masters and doctoral programs. To learn more, visit http://www.utb.edu/Pages/default.aspx.

	South Texas College: This growing college campus offers two-year and four-year degrees to more than 20,000 students in the Rio South Texas region. STC offers technical programs and partners with local industry to ensure the regional workforce meets the needs of businesses today, and tomorrow. STC has campuses in McAllen, Rio Grande City and Weslaco. For more information on one of the fastest growing college centers along the border, visit www.southtexascollege.edu

	Texas State Technical College: TSTC provides students in the Rio South Texas with a variety of options for Associates degrees. TSTC makes it easy for students to either pursue a career after two years through a variety of campus services, but also courses are readily transferable to most universities in Texas. Visit http://harlingen.tstc.edu/ to learn more.

4-Year Universities and Colleges
Institution	Location	FTE Enrollment	Public / Private
University of Texas at Brownsville	Brownsville	17,151	Public
University of Texas-Pan American	Edinburg	18,337	Public
South Texas College	McAllen	26,338	Public
Source: National Center for Education Statistics ( www.nces.ed.gov) (as of Fall 2009)
2-Year Colleges
Institution	Location	FTE Enrollment	Public / Private
Texas State Technical College	Harlingen	5,988	Public
Texas Southmost College	Brownsville	N/A	Public
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (www.nces.ed.gov) (as of Fall 2009)

Vocational Training
Provider	Location	Enrollement	Programs
Career Centers of Texas	Brownsville	628	Computer & Info Sciences Engineering Technologies Health & Related Sciences
South Texas Vo-Tech Institute	Weslaco	818	Business Health & Related Sciences Legal Professions
Valley Grande Institute	Weslaco	454	Health & Related Sciences
Southern Careers Institute	Pharr	245	Health & Related Sciences
South Texas Vocational Technical Institute	McAllen	474	Business Health & Related Sciences Legal Professions
San Antonio College of Medical & Dental Assistants	McAllen	1,015	Computer & Info Sciences Construction Trades Health & Related Sciences
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (www.nces.ed.gov) (as of Fall 2009)

Regional Profile