UTSA is ranked among national leaders in degrees awarded to Hispanics

Richard Diem, dean of the UTSA Honors College, (left) congratulates graduate Daniela Hernandez at a Commencement ceremony.

By Kris Rodriguez
Public Affairs Specialist

(May 20, 2011)--The University of Texas at San Antonio is No. 4 in the nation in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to Hispanic students and No. 11 nationally in the number of master's degrees awarded to Hispanics, according to the May 2011 edition of The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. The magazine surveyed the 2010 academic year of the Top 100 predominantly Hispanic-serving colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico.

UTSA earned a No. 4 ranking for awarding undergraduate degrees to 1,779 Hispanic students of 3,881, representing 46 percent of the graduating class. UTSA earned a No. 11 ranking for awarding master's degrees to 332 Hispanic students of 879, representing 38 percent of the class.

Each year, the magazine also includes Hispanic student participation across all major fields of study.

"We are proud to see a record 12 UTSA academic programs listed among the Top 10 Hispanic-serving institutions in the country including new entries in homeland security, computer science and health services sciences," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. "As we continue to build a Tier One university for San Antonio and the region, these rankings point to our equally important success to be an institution that serves the people of our communities."

For the third consecutive year, the UTSA School of Architecture ranked first with 87 undergraduate degrees awarded to Hispanics. UTSA also received a top ranking in the recreation, leisure and fitness studies category, awarding 89 undergraduate degrees to Hispanics.

The UTSA undergraduate degree rankings include:

• No. 1 -- Architecture: 87 (55 male and 32 female)
• No. 1 -- Parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies: 89 (56 male and 33 female)
• No. 2 -- Business and marketing: 439 (233 male and 206 female)
• No. 3 -- Multi/interdisciplinary studies: 220 (18 male and 202 female)
• No. 4 -- Biological sciences: 174 (63 male and 84 female)
• No. 5 -- English literature: 81 (30 male and 51 female)
• No. 5 -- Mathematics: 81 (30 male and 51 female)
• No. 6 -- Psychology: 133 (28 male and 105 female)
• No. 9 -- Computer Science: 27 (23 male and 4 female)
• No. 9 -- Engineering: 90 (78 male and 12 female)
• No. 9 -- Homeland Security: 104 (46 male and 68 female)
• No. 10 -- Health Services/Sciences: 21 (4 male and 17 female)

UTSA is one of more than 200 Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) in the United States, accredited with a full-time Hispanic enrollment of 25 percent or greater. In 2010, HSIs received more than $117.4 million in federal funding.

Overall, the University of Texas System dominated the first tier of the Top 100 institutions with UT El Paso, UT Pan American, UT San Antonio and UT Austin placing among the Top 10.