Rankings | About Texas Tech University (2023)

Academic

• Texas Tech conferred nearly 9,000 degrees during the 2020-21 academic year. The university is home to 13 colleges and schools and offers more than 150 undergraduate degrees, 100 graduate degrees and 50 doctoral degrees.
• The Center for Measuring University Performance ranks Texas Tech No. 62 overall and No. 46 among public research institutions with 340 doctoral degrees conferred in 2019. That number was 382 during the 2020-21 academic year.
• In Newsweek's inaugural “Best Online Learning Schools 2022” list, Texas Tech ranked the No. 1 school for an online education.
• Texas Tech offers one of the best courses of study for students aspiring to become entrepreneurs, according to The Princeton Review® and Entrepreneur magazine.
• Texas Tech students have won numerous national championships, including more than 100 in the College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources and more than 30 in the School of Law.
• Texas Tech has had 164 Fulbright Scholars selected from its faculty.

Alumni

• Ed Whitacre (1964) is the only person to lead two Fortune Top 10 companies, as he was a long-time CEO of AT&T and served in the same role at General Motors.
• Susan Graham (1983) is an accomplished mezzo-soprano, who has performed in operas around the world. She also performed at President George W. Bush's second inauguration and Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral.
• Ginger Kerrick (1993) was the first Hispanic female NASA Flight Director.
• Space Shuttle Columbia commander Rick Husband (1980) is one of three astronauts to attend Texas Tech.
• Daniel I.J. Thornton (1932) of Colorado, John Burroughs (1929) of New Mexico, and Preston Smith (1934) of Texas all served their states as governor.
• Lauro Cavazos (1949, 51) was the first Hispanic Secretary of Education under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. His brother, Richard, is the U.S.'s first Hispanic four-star general and brother, Bobby, was a second-team All-American running back at Texas Tech.
• Angela Braley (1982), former President and CEO for WellPoint, Inc.

Athletics

• Texas Tech boasts 17 athletic programs, including women's soccer, volleyball, basketball, golf, tennis, track & field, cross country, softball, and men's golf, tennis, basketball, track & field, cross country and football.
• The Red Raider football program ranks in the top 25 nationally all-time in bowl appearances. Two of the largest investments in the history of Texas Tech Athletics were made in 2021 and will lead to state-of-the-art facilities for the program.
• The baseball program has appeared in four College World Series, including three of the last five. Texas Tech is the only school to host an NCAA Regional every year since 2016 and to earn National Seed status in each of those five years. The Red Raiders have also won three of the last five Big 12 regular season titles.
• The men's outdoor track & field team brought home the program's first NCAA National Championship in 2019. That same year, the Red Raider basketball team made its first appearance in the National Championship and Final Four and Texas Tech baseball advanced to the College World Series for the fourth time in six years.
• The Lady Raiders women's basketball program brought home the 1993 NCAA National Championship. Sheryl Swoopes garnered National Player of the Year honors, while head coach Marsha Sharp was twice named National Coach of the Year. Both are now members of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Texas Tech joined the Southwest Conference in 1956, following 24 years as a member of the Border Conference. The teams competed in the SWC until 1996, when the league merged with the Big Eight Conference to form the Big 12 Conference.
• Texas Tech began intercollegiate athletic competition in football, men's basketball and baseball during the inaugural academic year of classes in 1925-26.

Campus Life

• More than 500 organizations are available to students. Everything from religious to service to Greek organizations and more offer ample opportunity for student involvement.
• Intramurals are active at Texas Tech and the facilities at which students participate are second-to-none.
• A model feature for many universities around the country, the Leisure Pool at the Student Recreation Center has often been cited as one of the top reasons students choose Texas Tech…in addition to the academic offerings, of course.
• Students are entertained throughout the academic year with concerts, movies, performances, and much more in the Allen Theatre in the Student Union Building. Events like the Presidential Lecture and Performance Series bring to campus the very best of local, national, and international talent, including Cheech Marin, Cokie Roberts, The Manhattan Transfer, and Garrison Keillor.
• The university strives to do its part in supporting and providing opportunities for military personnel, veterans, and their families. Texas Tech has received many accolades for its efforts, including being designated the first Purple Heart University in Texas. The Office of Military and Veterans Programs (MVP) plays an important role as a valuable resource.

Enrollment

• Texas Tech has set enrollment records each of the last 13 years. With 40,666 students recorded in Fall 2021, the university continues to be one of the fastest-growing institutions of higher education in the U.S. in the last 10 years.
• Texas Tech has continued to raise the academic profile of its student body, aided by ever-increasing awards of scholarship support.
• More than 24% of incoming first-year students in 2021 finished in the top 10 of their high school class, a 6% increase over 2020.
• Texas Tech's growth over the last decade in ensuring opportunities for underrepresented students seeking a college degree has led to numerous designations and achievements. One of the most prestigious is being named a top university in the U.S. for diversity and inclusion efforts. For the 10th straight year, INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine has named Texas Tech a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) winner, and for the sixth time Texas Tech was named a Diversity Champion.

History

• When Texas Technological College was being established, among the locations for the campus were Lubbock, Floydada, Plainview, Big Spring and Sweetwater.
• When the doors opened in 1925, four schools composed the university – agriculture, engineering, home economics, and liberal arts.
• The establishment of the University was originally vetoed by the governor in 1921. The people of West Texas were so outraged, it was reported they recommended West Texas secede from the state.
• The University's name was changed to Texas Tech University in 1969.
• The award-winning Goin' Band from Raiderland was established in 1925, and it has been widely noted Will Rogers purchased uniforms for the band and financed its trip to Fort Worth, so the band could perform at a game against TCU. A great distinction of the Goin' Band is it's never lost a halftime.
• The National Ranching Heritage Center takes visitors back in time to the days of the covered wagon and life on the range. The NRHC features nearly 50 ranch buildings, some dating back to the 18th century. Visitors can view the exhibits through a self-guided walking tour.

Research

• Texas Tech's research award value has reached the highest in university history at $91 million, and for the first time in school history, the total award value of Texas Tech's sponsored projects has surpassed $100 million, with a total of $105.2 million.
• Proposal submissions have continued to break records in 2021 with the highest proposal value on record at $583.2 million.
• Texas Tech's first National Academy of Sciences member, Dr. Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella, is a world-renowned researcher in plant stress and cotton genomics. His hire was supported by a $5 million grant from the Governor's Research University Fund and a match by the university.
• The Innovation Hub at Research Park is a state-of-the-art center for innovation and entrepreneurialism. It supports the economic growth of the state and region fostering public-private partnership and providing a place for the campus entrepreneur community to learn and launch a startup.
• The Biological Threat Research Laboratory, a BSL-3 lab, is housed at The Institute for Environmental and Human Health at the former Reese Air Force Base and gives the university the ability to perform both basic and applied research related to biological agents and toxins that have the potential to impact human and animal health. The lab was the first in the state of Texas to begin testing samples for the novel coronavirus in February 2020.
• The WildWind Performance Lab in the School of Theatre & Dance focuses on more than performance and explores the processes, forms, ideas and techniques of performance. The lab gives students an opportunity to learn and grow by encouraging a different point of view toward theatre and dance and brings in nationally recognized guest artists to work directly with TTU theatre and dance students.
• Five National Academy of Engineering (NAE) members reside in the Whitacre College of Engineering. Membership in the NAE is one of the most distinguished honors engineering researchers and faculty can receive.
• The TrUE Scholars program supports first-year and current students through the entire continuum of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) during their time at Texas Tech. The program recruits, trains and launches talented students into marquee experiences designed to set them apart.

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