Undergraduate Enrollment

9,535

Points of Distinction

• Inclusion of the Jesse H. Jones School of Business in the Princeton Review’s Best 290 Business Schools: 2008 Edition
• Will be home to National Transportation Security Center of Excellence (NTSCE), bringing together leading experts and researchers to conduct research and education of transportation professionals for homeland security solutions
• New master’s and doctoral program in urban planning and environmental policy, one of the few programs in the country that combine the study of environment issues with planning for urban communities

Texas Southern University was the first historically black college to have a law school, and today it continues to make news through its academics. The university is known for training skilled pharmacists, and it offers the only urban planning degree in the area. Its debate team enjoys a national reputation, and the university has one of only two flight simulators in the nation as part of its airway sciences program. Located near downtown Houston, TSU specializes in preparing students to give back to urban communities. In fact, approximately 40 percent of the teachers working in the Houston Independent School District are TSU graduates. More than 9,500 students attend TSU, which has 50-plus bachelor’s degree programs, including a new degree in entertainment management. The Barbara Jordan—Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs is named for two of the university’s most esteemed alumni.

TSU sponsors more than 80 student organizations, and many students take part in sports and music programs. Fourteen men’s and women’s teams compete at the NCAA Division I level. The Ocean of Soul marching band has many fans, and TSU’s jazz ensembles are nationally known.

TSU’s 150-acre campus is in Houston’s Third Ward, and the university actively cultivates its relationship with this historic community. The Third Ward’s well-known Alabama Garden is a 56-bed community vegetable garden on land owned by TSU.