University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
IC-1: Institutional Boundary

History and Characteristics The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions. UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016. The Rio Grande Valley, with close proximity to the Gulf Coast, provides unparalleled opportunities to study in areas ranging from international business and cultural border issues to marine biology and environmental science. With the SpaceX launch site planned in Brownsville, the region is also an emerging global hub for the aerospace industry. Faculty and student researchers and members of UTRGV’s Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, opened a new window to the universe as key contributors to the first direct detection of gravitational waves in September 2015. The University of Texas Board Of Regents has approved UTRGV’s a mission statement which is based on the U. T. System Board of Regents Guiding Principles. Mission statement: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s (UTRGV) mission is to transform the Rio Grande Valley, the Americas, and the world through an innovative and accessible educational environment that promotes student success, research, creative works, health and well-being, community engagement, and sustainable development. With more than 120 programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, we are driven by visionary thinking, the most modern technology, internationally acclaimed faculty, and offerings necessary for students to achieve career success and make a difference in the Valley, the Americas, and the world. UTRGV offers 59 Bachelor’s degrees, 53 Master’s degrees, 4 doctoral degrees, 2 cooperative doctoral programs (Pharm. D. in cooperation with the University of Texas at Austin, and a cooperate doctoral (physics phD) with the University of Arlington), 28 Certificates, 19 Online Programs, and 20 Accelerated Online Programs. The University has a selective admissions policy. It primarily serves the southernmost four counties of Texas which are referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. Over 88 percent of the students are Hispanic, reflecting the demographic characteristics of the immediate region, the Rio Grande Valley. The Students: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s fall 2015 enrollment of 28,584 students makes it the ninth-largest four-year public university in Texas, and the fourth-largest within The University of Texas System. The enrollment figures, made available from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Fall 2015 Online Accountability System, also shows that UTRGV ranks No. 1 in total Hispanic enrollment among all four-year, public higher education institutions in Texas. UTRGV is also the second largest Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) in the nation, with an emphasis on educating 21st-century leaders and professionals who are culturally fluent and have a deep understanding of the perspectives, languages, and values of different cultures. UTRGV ranked third-highest in awarding bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees awarded to Hispanics during the 2014-2015 school year, according to the higher education news platform and magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Peer Institutions: Our current peers are: Texas A & M International U, Texas A & M U-Kingsville, Texas A & M U-Corpus Christi, Stephen F Austin State U, Tennessee State U, South Carolina State U, CUNY Lehman College, California State U-Bakersfield, California State U-San Bernardino, and California State U-Los Angeles. Our aspirational peers are: Portland State University, U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Middle Tennessee State University, CUNY Hunter College, Indiana State University, Western Kentucky U, Marshall U, U of North Carolina at Charlotte, San Diego State U, and Missouri State U.