Founded in 1927 and led by President Renu Khator, the University of Houston is the leading public research university in Houston and the third largest university in Texas.  This year UH will educate 40,747 students in 300 undergraduate and graduate academic programs - both on campus and online. UH awards more than 8,200 degrees annually and has over 221,000 alumni.  The student body at UH ranks second in the nation among research universities for its ethnic diversity and is also very international.  Students come to UH from more than 122 nations.  With more than 300 student organizations and 16 intercollegiate sports teams, campus life at UH is vibrant.  Approximately 5,500 students live on campus - in residence halls, apartments and townhouses.

The University of Houston is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award baccalaureate, master's, professional and doctoral degrees.  Classified as a very high research university by the Carnegie Foundation, UH is also one of 296 institutions nationwide to receive the Foundation's highest designation as a community-engaged university.  The University's distinguished faculty includes a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Pulitzer Prize winners, and several members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering.  As a member of the Association of Research Libraries, UH is distinguished by the breadth and quality of its collections and services.

Undergraduate Education

The University of Houston has the most competitive admissions standards within the University of Houston System.  Beginning in fall 2011, only freshmen who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class received automatic admission to the University.  Once admitted, undergraduates at UH choose from 109 majors and minors housed in 12 academic colleges and an interdisciplinary Honors College, which is a nationally recognized community of the university's most talented students.  The University of Houston values undergraduate research as an important educational experience for students and as an essential skill for graduates seeking employment.  UH facilitates opportunities for all undergraduates to participate in research through multiple avenues, including a senior honors thesis program, an undergraduate research scholarship program, a 10-week summer undergraduate research fellowship program, and assistance in applying for nationally competitive scholarships.

Graduate Education

The University of Houston offers 128 master's, 50 doctoral, and three professional degree programs (in Law, Optometry and Pharmacy).  Many of these programs are nationally ranked including the entrepreneurship program in the college of Business ranked number one by Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review.  Additionally, the Law Center and the Graduate School of Social Work are ranked in the top tier nationally.

Research

With over $116 million in research expenditures in FY 2012, the University of Houston is home to over 40 research labs, centers and institutes.  In order to enable scholars to explore emerging research areas and work more effectively with industry, other research organizations and the community, the University has established six interdisciplinary research clusters.  These clusters are powerful centers of creativity where teams of researchers from a wide range of disciplines collaborate across traditional boundaries to bring research knowledge to bear on issues of intellectual, scientific, social, economic, environmental and cultural importance.  UH research clusters include:

• Arts & Human Enrichment--Providing an understanding of different cultures and histories of the world and on human enrichment through the arts, media, and literature
• Bio-Med Sciences & Engineering--Improving human health through such fields as visual system development and treatment of eye diseases; chronic and infectious diseases; cancer; neurocognitive networks; bio-imaging, bio-materials, bio-molecular design and simulation; and genetics
• Community Advancement & Education--Improving well-being within communities through economic development, education and social work and fostering cultural sensitivity and diversity
• Complex Systems/Space Exploration--Concentrating on complex systems, such as human development disabilities; complex networks, such as information systems and artificial intelligence; and space exploration
• Energy & Natural Resources--Focusing on environmental issues, such as ecology and conservation, through discovery and recovery of fuels and alternative fuels and through particle physics and space radiation
• Nano-Materials--Exploring advanced materials - such as applied electromagnetics, superconducting materials and devices, semiconductors, and advanced oxide films; nano-materials - such as nano-thin films, nano-mechanics, nano-magnetic materials and nano-system manufacturing; and structural materials - such as ceramics, composites, well logging, roads, and subsurface sensing.