Colleges and Universities in Houston: A Campus-by-Campus Guide
Date Published
Here's a Houston campus fact most people miss: when President Kennedy stood in Rice's football stadium on September 12, 1962, and said "we choose to go to the moon," he slipped a college football jab into the middle of it. Right after asking why anyone would climb the highest mountain, he asked: "Why does Rice play Texas?" It's still there in the transcript Rice keeps online.
That's Houston higher education in one moment: serious ambition, hometown loyalty, and a little swagger. The universities in Houston range from a small private research school with a free light-art pyramid to a community college system with campuses all over town, plus a cluster of medical and health schools inside the Texas Medical Center.
Here's what each school is known for, where it sits, and what's worth seeing even if you never enroll. If you're new to town, pair it with our moving to Houston guide.
How we chose
We focused on the colleges and universities with a main campus inside Houston or its closest suburbs: the big research universities, the University of Houston System campuses, the two large community college systems, and the health and professional schools in the Texas Medical Center and downtown. Every school on this list was checked against its own official website in October 2026.
Numbers come from each school's site and change yearly, so treat them as a snapshot. This is a map of the landscape, not a ranking.
The quick list
- Research universities: Rice, the University of Houston, Texas Southern.
- Private: University of St. Thomas, Houston Christian University.
- UH System campuses: UH-Downtown, UH-Clear Lake.
- Community colleges: Houston City College (formerly Houston Community College), Lone Star College.
- Health and law: Baylor College of Medicine, UTHealth Houston, TWU Houston, South Texas College of Law Houston.
The research universities
Rice University
Near Rice Village and the Museum District · private research university · founded on a merchant's bequest
Rice opened in 1912, funded by the estate of merchant William Marsh Rice, and it still feels like a private park in the middle of the city: a 300-acre, tree-lined campus between the Museum District and Rice Village. It's small for its reputation, with an undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio the university puts at about 6 to 1, and every undergraduate belongs to one of 11 residential colleges for their whole time at Rice.
It's known for engineering, natural sciences, architecture, music at the Shepherd School, and the Jones Graduate School of Business. Read more in our Rice University hub.
Don't miss: James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyspace, a pyramid-shaped pavilion next to the Shepherd School of Music. It's free, open to the public, and needs no reservation. At sunrise and sunset a roughly 40-minute light sequence plays across the open sky above you, rain or shine. For the sunset show, Rice's Moody Center suggests arriving about 15 minutes early. Details are on the Skyspace page.
Make a day of it: dinner after the Skyspace is easy with our Rice Village restaurant guide.
University of Houston
Southeast of downtown, next to Third Ward · public research university · home of the Cougars
UH started in 1927 as Houston Junior College, holding classes at San Jacinto High School, and became the University of Houston in 1934. Today it describes itself as the largest public research university in Houston, with nearly 49,000 students and 289 degree programs. Top majors include business, computer science, engineering, architecture, nursing and entrepreneurship, and UH says its undergraduate entrepreneurship program consistently ranks first in the nation.
Game days are serious. Before games, fans rub the paws of the bronze cougar statues in Cullen Family Plaza for luck. Every Friday is Cougar Red Friday. More on the school in our University of Houston hub.
I didn't know that: in 1966 UH set aside one percent of construction costs on new buildings for art, which the UH System calls the first percent-for-art program at a public university in Texas. The collection now has more than 800 objects across the UH campuses, including works by Andy Warhol, Frank Stella and John Biggers, and it's on view to everyone. Start at the Public Art UHS page.
Texas Southern University
Third Ward, 3100 Cleburne Street · public HBCU · home of the Tigers
TSU began in 1927 as a junior college for Black students, became Houston College for Negroes in 1934, and was rebuilt as a state university in 1947 around a new law school. It took the name Texas Southern University in 1951. It describes itself as one of the nation's largest historically Black universities, on a 150-acre campus with more than 100 degree programs across ten colleges and schools.
It's known for the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, its College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Barbara Jordan–Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. Its alumni list includes Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Congressman Mickey Leland, Michael Strahan and Megan Thee Stallion. Football Saturdays come with the Ocean of Soul marching band.
Explore nearby: UH and TSU sit side by side, so it's worth pairing a campus walk with our things to do in Third Ward guide.
Private universities
University of St. Thomas
Montrose · Catholic liberal arts university · founded 1947
UST has been Houston's Catholic university since 1947, run in the tradition of its founders, the Basilian Fathers. The campus is 33 acres across 18 blocks of Montrose, mixing historic homes with a modernist core. It's known for its Cameron School of Business, the Peavy School of Nursing, education, and theology through its School of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary.
Worth a look: the Chapel of St. Basil, designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1997. It's three shapes: a 50-foot white stucco cube, a dome, and a black granite plane slicing through both. It faces the Doherty Library across an academic mall that Johnson also designed, about 40 years earlier, which UST says symbolizes the relationship between faith and reason. Mass is celebrated daily; see the chapel page.
Houston Christian University
Southwest Houston · private Christian university · home of the Huskies
If you knew it as HBU, you're not wrong. The school was created in 1960 as Houston Baptist College, became Houston Baptist University in 1973, and changed its name to Houston Christian University in 2022. The campus covers 173 acres.
Free to visit: the campus museums. HCU says the Dunham Bible Museum and its fine arts museums are free to the public. The Dunham's collection began in 1997 with rare American Bibles, including first editions of significant 18th- and 19th-century American printings. Check hours on the HCU museums page.
The University of Houston System campuses
University of Houston-Downtown
Downtown, One Main Street · four-year university · career-focused
UHD opened in 1974 at One Main Street in downtown Houston. Its first four-year degree was in criminal justice, and back then students paid $4 per credit hour. Today it offers bachelor's degrees in 47 areas and 12 master's degrees through colleges of business, humanities and social sciences, public service, and sciences and technology. UHD says it has the lowest tuition of any public university in Houston and an 18-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.
UHD also teaches at Lone Star College campuses and online, which makes it popular with working adults and transfer students.
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Clear Lake, near NASA · upper-level and graduate focus · home of the Hawks
UHCL's origin story is pure Space City. In 1965, Robert Gilruth, director of NASA's spaceflight center in Clear Lake, wrote to the UH chancellor proposing a local school to train people for the space program. UHCL opened in 1974 with more than 1,000 students.
Today the main campus covers 524 acres on a wildlife and nature preserve in the Clear Lake area, with more locations in Pearland and the Texas Medical Center.
Community colleges
Houston City College
Citywide · open-admission community college · formerly Houston Community College
Yes, HCC changed its name: Houston Community College became Houston City College in 2025, keeping the HCC initials. It was created in 1971 under the Houston Independent School District and became its own system in 1989. It now has seven colleges and 19 campuses, plus fully online programs.
HCC is open-admission and covers academic transfer, workforce training, and adult education including GED and ESL. Its service area includes Houston ISD, Katy, Spring Branch and Alief ISDs. Details are on HCC's site.
Lone Star College
North and northwest suburbs · community college system
Lone Star College calls itself the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, serving more than 100,000 students each semester. Its eight colleges are LSC-CyFair, LSC-Houston North, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball, LSC-University Park and LSC-Online. If you live in Cypress, Kingwood, Tomball, Spring or The Woodlands, this is likely your community college. See Lone Star's site.
Insider tip: UHD also teaches at LSC-CyFair and LSC-Kingwood, so you may be able to finish a four-year degree without driving downtown.
Medical and health schools in the Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center describes itself as the largest medical complex in the world, and several of its members are degree-granting schools. If you're relocating for one, see our guide to living near the Texas Medical Center.
Baylor College of Medicine
Texas Medical Center, 1 Baylor Plaza · health sciences university
Baylor moved from Dallas to Houston in 1943 and joined the then-new Texas Medical Center. It describes itself as a health sciences university, with a medical school, a Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and a National School of Tropical Medicine. It's independent of Baylor University in Waco.
UTHealth Houston
Texas Medical Center · six health schools
UTHealth Houston was established in 1972 to bring the University of Texas health schools in Houston under one roof. Its six schools are dentistry (founded in 1905 as the Texas Dental College), the MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, public health, McGovern Medical School, Cizik School of Nursing, and biomedical informatics.
Texas Woman's University, Houston Center
Texas Medical Center, 6700 Fannin · graduate health sciences
TWU has been in Houston since 1960. Its Houston Center, in the Texas Medical Center, offers advanced degrees in health sciences, including nursing. TWU describes itself as the largest public university in the nation primarily for women.
Law school downtown
South Texas College of Law Houston
Downtown · private, independent law school · founded 1923
STCL Houston calls itself Houston's first law school, founded in 1923. It offers the ABA-accredited J.D. on full-time and part-time schedules and has long served working professionals. Its alumni community tops 16,000.
Save this: a free campus culture crawl
You don't need a student ID to enjoy Houston's campuses. Here's a free day built from what the schools themselves open to the public:
- Morning at Houston Christian University: the Dunham Bible Museum and the fine arts museums (free; check hours first).
- Midday at UST in Montrose: walk the Johnson-designed academic mall to the Chapel of St. Basil. Be respectful; it's an active chapel.
- Afternoon at UH: hunt down the public art collection, then rub a cougar paw in Cullen Family Plaza for luck.
- Sunset at Rice: grab a bench inside the Turrell Skyspace about 15 minutes before sunset and watch the sky change color.
Tips before you visit a campus
- Book an official campus tour through each school's admissions page; drop-in visitors can usually walk the grounds but not enter every building.
- Campus parking is mostly permit-based. Look for visitor lots on the school's map before you go.
- Several campuses are close to METRORail and bus lines. Plan the trip with our METRO Houston guide.
Last verified: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main universities in Houston?
The main four-year universities in the city are Rice University, the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, the University of St. Thomas, Houston Christian University, the University of Houston-Downtown and the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Is Houston Baptist University the same as Houston Christian University?
Yes. The school was founded as Houston Baptist College, became Houston Baptist University in 1973 and changed its name to Houston Christian University in 2022.
Did Houston Community College change its name?
Yes. Houston Community College became Houston City College in 2025 and still goes by HCC.
Which medical schools are in the Texas Medical Center?
Baylor College of Medicine and UTHealth Houston's McGovern Medical School both have campuses there. TWU's Houston Center and UTHealth's nursing, dentistry and public health schools are also in the Texas Medical Center.
Can you visit the Rice Skyspace for free?
Yes. Rice says the Twilight Epiphany Skyspace is free and open to the public every day, with no reservation needed. Light sequences run at sunrise and sunset.
Where did JFK give the moon speech in Houston?
President Kennedy gave his "We choose to go to the moon" speech in Rice University's football stadium on September 12, 1962.