UTEP Ranks No. 2 in Texas for Graduating Latino Students
Last Updated on August 28, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Originally published August 28, 2020
By UC Staff
UTEP Communications
The University of Texas at El Paso is ranked No. 2 in Texas for awarding bachelor’s degrees to Latino students, according to Excelencia in Education, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to ensuring and accelerating the success of Latino students.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization’s report, “Latino College Completion: United States,” highlights the top institutions nationally and by state for enrolling and graduating Latino students.
“We appreciate this recognition as one of the top universities not only in Texas, but in the country in serving Hispanic students,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson.
For bachelor’s degrees in Texas, the report ranked UTEP second with 3,429 students receiving their undergraduate degree in 2017–18. According to the report, of those students, 83% (2,847) were Hispanic.
Latinos make up 80% of UTEP’s student body.
“The top 5 institutions enrolling and graduating Hispanic students nationally and by state show a balance between access and completion by size and then effectiveness for Hispanic students,” said Deborah Santiago, Excelencia in Education cofounder and CEO. “The institutions that are in the top 5 at the state level are making significant contributions to the state’s needs for access to higher education and to ensuring Latinos have the opportunity to earn degrees.”
The University of Texas at El Paso is one of the largest and most successful Hispanic-serving institutions in the country, with a student body that is over 80% Hispanic. It enrolls more than 25,000 students in 166 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in 10 colleges and schools. With more than $100 million in total annual research expenditures, UTEP is ranked in the top 5% of research institutions nationally and fifth in Texas for federal research expenditures at public universities.
