Texas Tech University

History, Affiliations, and Rankings

Texas Tech University (TTU) is a public research university located in Lubbock, Texas. It is the major institution of the five-campus Texas Tech University System, which was founded on February 10, 1923 and was known as Texas Technological College until 1969. As of the Fall 2018 semester, the university has the seventh-largest student enrollment in Texas. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has granted Texas Tech University accreditation. Texas Tech University's foreign mission is supported and facilitated through the Office of International Affairs. It supports staff and students, provides foreign educational and cultural experiences for the school and community, and contributes to the university's globalization efforts and efforts to become a worldwide educational and research center. The university has been ranked as 450th according to the US News and World Report under the Best Global Universities category 2022. 

Infrastructure, Campuses, and Courses

In its early years, Texas Tech progressed slowly. In addition to the main campus in Lubbock, it has sites in four other Texas cities. The main academic university, law school, and medical school are all located on the Lubbock campus (Health Sciences Center). It is one of only two Texas universities with a graduate school, law school, and medical school on the main campus (the other being UT Austin). The university has 13 schools that provide degrees in more than 150 fields of study, as well as 60 research centers and institutes. Since its founding in 1927, Texas Tech University has conferred over 200,000 degrees, including over 40,000 graduate and professional degrees. Texas Tech University has grown from four colleges to 10 colleges and two schools.

Accomplishments and Alumni

Texas Tech is one of the "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity" universities. Epidemiology, pulsed power, grid computing, nanophononics, atmospheric sciences, and wind energy are among the university's most prominent research initiatives. As of the Fall 2018 semester, the university has the seventh-largest student enrollment in Texas. Texas Tech has 40,322 students (33,269 undergraduates and 7,053 graduate students) enrolled as of Fall 2020. With over 27,000 members, the Texas Tech Alumni Association maintains over 120 chapters in places across the United States and around the world. Faculty, alumni, and former students have played important roles in a variety of professions throughout Texas Tech's history. Demetrio B. Lakas, President of the Republic of Panama from 1969 to 1978, is among its Distinguished Alumni. Three US Governors attended the university: Daniel I. J. Thornton, Governor of Colorado from 1951 to 1955, John Burroughs, Governor of New Mexico from 1959 to 1961, and Preston Smith, Governor of Texas from 1968 to 1972.

Student Diversity and Visiting Companies

Texas Tech University is a recognized Hispanic-serving university, with approximately 25% of its undergraduate student body identifying as Hispanic (HSI) Despite the fact that the bulk of the university's students are from the Southwest, it has had students from all 50 states and over 100 countries. Texas Tech is the seventh-biggest university in Texas and the largest higher education school in the state's western two-thirds. Texas Tech had a record enrollment of 35,134 students in the Fall 2014 semester. The majority of students (95.17 percent) came from Texas in 2014, followed by New Mexico, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Florida. The institution has educated students from all 50 states in the United States as well as more than 100 nations across the world. Enrollment has risen steadily in recent years, and the school is on course to reach its goal of 40,000 students by 2020. The institution granted 173,551 bachelor's degrees, 34,541 master's degrees, 5,906 doctorate degrees, and 7,092 law degrees between 1927 and 2011.