Founded in 1947, Texas Southern University (TSU) has a history that stretches many years back during which many names were used to describe this institution. Most of the names that were used to describe the institution are a clear indicator of the racial divide that existed in the U.S. in past years.
TSU traces its roots to the Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, which, in 1925 started extension classes for African-Americans in the Houston area who desired to obtain a teaching certification. This extension led to the establishment of the Houston Colored Junior College in 1927 and the college used that name until 1934 when it was renamed Houston College for Negroes.
The college was later elevated to university status and renamed Texas State University for Negroes in 1947 – the University of Texas then would not admit African-Americans. This name remained in use until 1951 when the students at the university petitioned the Texas legislature to remove the offensive “for Negroes” from the university’s name and since then it has been known as Texas Southern University.
As the names of this institution indicate, it is a historically black university located in the heart of Houston, Texas. At its founding, this university had only one permanent building and various temporary structures. From 1947 to date, the university has made enormous strides in both student enrollment and capital investment so that today, its campus is home to more than 40 modern buildings built on 150 acres of land.
Texas Southern University
Academics
TSU is a public co-educational institution that offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees in more than 100 programs. The university has more than 10 different colleges and schools covering most of the programs that a modern university should have. These include the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs (BJML), the College of Continuing Education, the College of Education, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science and Technology, the School of Communication and the Graduate School.
At BJML, both undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered to students preparing for careers in the public service. Undergraduate programs offered in this school include Administration of Justice, Political Science, Public Affairs and Military Science courses. Some graduate degrees that the school offers include Administration of justice, Public Administration and Urban Planning.
The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences offers certificate, undergraduate and graduate programs in diverse areas such as environmental health, clinical laboratory science, pharmacy, health information management, respiratory therapy and pre-health sciences among others.
The College of Science and Technology is divided into over ten departments covering such diverse areas as aviation science and technology, chemistry, biology, computer science, engineering technology, transportation, mathematics and physics.
The diversity of the programs offered at TSU is also seen in the university’s School of Communication which is divided into four departments – communication arts and sciences, entertainment and recording, journalism and radio, TV and film. The school offers education leading to the award of B.A., M.A. and M.S. Students enrolled in this school have first-hand experience with the tools of the trade courtesy of the university’s own radio station, KTSU 90.9 FM, a TV station, electronic classrooms and research media labs.
Law degrees are offered by the university’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
In summary, the range of graduate and undergraduate programs at TSU is truly diverse and caters for most academic needs.
Most Popular Fields of Study
The top 5 fields of study completed at Texas Southern University.
To obtain admission into TSU, the applicant is required to provide official high school transcripts showing graduation date or, in their place, a GED Test report. Applicants must have obtained a minimum grade point average of 2.0 and they should also present their SAT or ACT scores.
Applicants without a high school diploma could also get admitted on production of a GED report from a private or public high school in the State of Texas. Such applicants must show evidence of having resided in Texas for a minimum of three consecutive years before their date of graduation and must sign an affidavit stating that at the earliest possible opportunity, they will apply to become permanent residents.
Transfer students are required to submit official transcripts from all schools and colleges or universities previously attended. Transcripts must show grades for all courses attended, the date of issue and the seal of the issuing institution. Transfer applicants are required to have completed at least 15 semester hours and to have obtained a GPA of 2.0 or higher, an ACT score of 17 and a SAT score of 820 (composite of math and reading). TSU does not accept transfer applicants who are on academic probation or suspension from another institution.
International students seeking admission into TSU are required to submit original official records of all their academic work (the college does not accept duplicates). Where the documents are not in English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation. Applicants who are non-native speakers of English are required to pass their Test of English as a foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 500 (paper-based version) or a score of 173 (computer-based version). The university also requires such applicants to have a SAT score of 820 or a composite ACT score of 17.
Financial Aid
The sources of financial aid available to students attending TSU are many and include many state, departmental and outside scholarships and grants.
The Teach for Texas Conditional Grant is a $5,000 grant awarded each year to students who are studying to become certified teachers. This State grant is meant to encourage more Texans to become teachers and an applicant stands a good chance of winning it when his or her field of study is one that has an acute shortage of teachers. Applicants must be resident in Texas and must maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Students who are members of the Texas National Guard could apply for the Texas National Guard Tuition Assistance Program (TXNG-TAP). The program assists applicants meet some of their tuition expenses.
Texas high school students with good academic records could also apply for the Early High School Graduation Scholarship which is awarded to students who have completed the requirements of high school graduation in a period of 36 months or less. The scholarship provides for a $1,000 exemption from paying tuition fees and is only open to residents of Texas who have attended public high schools in the State.
Other State scholarships and grants include the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship, the Fifth-Year Accounting Student Scholarship, the License Plate Insignia Scholarship and the Top 10% Scholarship among many others.
Many of the departments at TSU have departmental scholarships. The Computer Science, Mathematics and Engineering Program awards over $3,000 per year to a student majoring in computer science, mathematics or engineering. The business department has three scholarships – gold ($6,000), silver ($3,000) and bronze ($1,000). Very substantial amounts are also offered by the President’s Award, the Provost’s Award and the Dean’s Award.
Other sources of financial aid for students attending TSU include student employment, federal grants (such as Pell grants and SEOG) and federal student loans.
Student Financial Aid Details
How many students use Financial Aid, and how much do they use?
Texas Southern University 1857th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best Texas scholarships and financial aid
The student population at TSU today is a mixture of youthful high school graduates and returning students old enough to be the parents of the freshmen. With close to 10,000 students and nearly 1,500 faculty, TSU is big community representing people from all U.S. states and over 50 nations. This is a multi-racial community and, while the majority of the students are natives of Texas, some come from such far away places as Africa, Europe, China and the Caribbean.
Student activities at TSU are coordinated by the Student Government Association (SGA) which also provides a forum for students to air their opinions, aspirations and views. It is also the objective of SGA to protect the welfare of the students and to enable them achieve their full potential.
Student Enrollment Demographics
How many students are enrolled at Texas Southern University?
Both male and female students at TSU have a wide range of athletic activities to participate in. These include baseball, basketball, football, golf, cross country, volleyball, soccer and track and field. In total, there are seven men’s athletic teams and nine women’s teams. The university’s athletic teams are known as the Tigers and are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The performance of the Tiger teams has been wanting in the past but they seem to have been recently rejuvenated. In 2010, the university’s softball and baseball teams won the SWAC’s Western Conference Division titles. In the same season, the men’s basketball team reached the SWAC tournament championship after more than seven years while the women’s basketball team reached the semi-finals – a feat it had not achieved for close to twenty years.
Bibliography
“About TSU”. Texas Southern University. 14th May 2011
http://www.tsu.edu/About/default.php
“Texas Southern University”. Chicago Tribune (May 15, 2011). 15th May 2011
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/texas-southern-university—OREDU0000479.topic
“Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law”. Top.Law.Schools.com. 14th May 2011
http://www.top-law-schools.com/texas-southern-university.html
Campus Crime Statistics
Ranks 66th in Texas and
546th overall
on StateUniversity.com‘s Safe School Index
Feel free to add comments or additional information regarding Texas Southern University, or discuss this school in the University Discussion Forum
24 days agocarl smith sr csmith ((at)) plastipak dot com
My wife and i tried to get our son enrolled in Texas Southern University because this is where he wanted to go. We traveled to the university to weekends to get this completed. The second weekend was his move in date. As we arrived, his room was not ready. An hour later he was told where his room would be. This was supposed to be a special day for my son and his family. As we walked into the apartment, you had guys laying around, marijuana was being smoked, and the whole apartment was a complete mess. This was a total disappointment and embarrasment. Do not even think about this university.
25 days agoRobert" Bobby" Baker jstatebob ((at)) gmail dot com
your main websiteTSu is o.k.,but isn`t kept up to date.I would like to congraulate TSU for hiring one of our great quarterbacks as head coach.I know that you have a winner in Coach Darell Ashbury.The Family(J-STATE) wanted him very bad,the deals were made on our present Coach.WE are going to get a new 50-60 thousend seat stadium soon,that will marvel the nation.GOD will bless you Coach Ashbury.We do not like being beaten by one of our owm but if we have to I`ll rather it be by Coach Ashbury.we`ll be in the big "H" sept.15 2012,still getting readdddy.
6 months agoWilliams
Rachael, I seriously doubt anyone from TSU yelled "You're ugly!" to you. More than likely they yelled "you ugly" or maybe "you's ugly", but certainly not anything as proper as "you're ugly."
6 months agodoug kenney
In my humble opinion, every school will have issues. I went to UT and no one ever attacked my skin color... well, at least not to my face. I am not saying that UT was heaven -- it was not, but it was/is a great educational institution and there are plenty of others out there. If you want to see how TSU currently stands up to other universities, just use this website to compare:
* state ranking -- 50th... Rice is #1 and Texas A&M is #2 and UT is #5
* overall score -- 71.6... UT is 93.6 and Texas A&M is 95.8
* ACT/SAT scores -- 17/860... really? Univ. in Tyler has 26/1170
* admission rate -- 99%... what? nearly everyone that applies gets in!
* retention (FT and PT) -- 59% and 37%... sigh, that's pretty low
People, the numbers don't lie. Of course there are subtle nuances, positive and negative, at each institution, so we all must make the choice based on what information is important to us.
about 1 year agoRachael
I was excited to attend TSU. I had been at HCC for a few years, changing my major and once I settled on psychology I was ready to start at the university. As a black woman I was proud to attend a HBCU and I was even more proud to find out many of my relatives have attended this very school. I parked my car and walked the Tiger walk to the administration office and was quickly met with insults and harassment. I am very light skinned, daily mistaken for white or Hispanic. The students made fun of me from head to toe, nothing was left including my slightly turned in right foot. I was pointed at and yelled at across the yard "You're ugly!" along with many other horrible insults. Staff and professors passed and said and did nothing. I still enrolled because it is my right to do so. I was met with the same welcome the first half of the semester, until midterms when I am assuming these children failed out of their classes. If anyone who is not obviously black is considering going here I would not deter them, but I would tell them to be prepared. As far as classes, the rumors were not true and they were not a breeze. These children have given this school a bad name, my professors did not allow you to enter the classroom one minute late. You were expected to dress like a lady/gentleman with your pants pulled up, your bra not showing as this is not a club. Late papers or assignments were not accepted. I believe there is such a low graduation rate because these children do not know what they are getting themselves into. This is not a place to come play, if that is your intention do not register, just come hang out on the Tiger walk, don't waste your money. I made a 3.75 this semester with lots of hard work and I am planning on doing my Masters here also. Despite the issues, I love this school.
over 2 years agoDonovan Boson
Well all considering, I was once a doubter of Texas Southern University until i registered and became a Tiger and graced the beautiful tree lined 50 acres of the wonderful institution known as Texas Southern University. I admonish persons such as Terry, Tiffiny, and Chris to put things in perspective and turn away from their apparent ignorance. TSU is only 62 years old and by comparrison to other institutions of higher learning at the same stage, TSU is doing and has done quite well. Texas Southern is not on probation for any academic reasons and to imply that is not only a disservice to the university but a great disservice to yourself. Why would you want to attend a school that you knowingly believe to be unqualified?? Ignorance! Texas Southern IS NOT OPEN ADMISSIONS! Ignorance! We have programs that are highly regarded and go beyond the more known programs of law and pharmacology i.e. nano technology and aero/space engineering! To imply that a four year degree from TSU is worthless makes you worthless, self loathing, and un-canty to the true value of a four year degree. Why would you go to Duke, Princeton, South Cal or what have you for a bachelorate degree and spend countless figures for a degree valued the same at Texas Southern or any other school for that matter? Ignorance! Under grad degrees count as much as high school diplomas just because you spend more at one place doesnt mean its worth more. Now addmittingly, graduate degrees matter! Where you get your degree from will determine your salary (at least figuratively) but in essence there are other determining factors including where you fell in ranking and how well you interview. TSU is a great school that offers people opportunities to do well...is everyone not entitled to an advanced education? Shame on you to discredit TSU for simply trying to help those who others said where incapable or unworthy of help. Shame on you to consider TSU a bad school simply based on biased unfounded opinions, i implore you to seek out the facts because what you state is ignorance. Ignorance because you do not know. If you knew that TSU has historically been underfunded by the state since its inception then maybe you might know something! If you knew that TSU has historically overcame underfunding and still manages to run rings around other HBCU's and even some white colleges, then you might know something! If you looked on TSU's campus, went inside our buildings, and looked at our alumnae, who put shame to schools who've been around since the 1800s then you might know something! If you knew that every school has problems, including Stanford (yes the ivy league) who's president did the same thing as dear Pricilla Slade then you might know something! If you'd begin to realize that just because its black doesnt mean its not as valuable or is not as good but quite the contrary...then my friends you might know something! TSU is a great school and like anywhere white or black it is what you make it! The score above does not represent TSU nor me because I attend there and because I am great TSU is great. And when I excel TSU excels. How many current city councilmen are graduates from TSU...the majority! How many many minority educators in TX are TSU alumnae...a stricking 1/4! What about black piolots...hmm...half? I dont have to tell you about law or pharmacy...so lets talk business school. The only HBCU to have an Alumnus entered into the Forbes Fortune 500 graduated from where...TSU! If you think greatness does not exude from the shady acres along cleburne street in the historic 3rd ward of Houston, Texas you are misinformed, you are Ignorant!
almost 3 years agoTerry xoxo95 ((at)) yahoo dot com
I attend TSU with Tiffiny and she is a great friend of mine and I am proud to say that she is a 3.66 Dean Listed student at TSU with a full academic scholarship given to her from TSU’s business’s school. Tiffiny posted the message listed below about five months ago and in January she showed me an email that John Shaw who is listed below had sent. Within the email which was sent from John’s job’s email account he badger and belittled her for voicing her opinion about TSU which was uncalled for. The 54.3 overall score listed at the top of this page is over exaggerated because I believe this site is actually giving the school more credit than it deserves. If you go on TSU’s website there is a link beneath the main photograph entitled Texas Southern, Optimistic About SACS when you can click on it you are directed to a page that will inform you that the school is on probation and is facing losing their accreditation. If you google “Texas Southern University in trouble” several links will appear that will guide you to websites that will further go into details about how horrible the school is and what the previous president did while in office. Tiffiny and I have received several scholarships to other universities and colleges throughout the U.S. and will be leaving and this Spring 09 semester.
almost 3 years agoChris Archer chrisarcher2008 ((at)) yahoo dot com
Im going to have to disagree with you Mr.Shaw. TSU has a very bad program and there are very so much out of the door with there accreditation. The school is falling apart as far as there Pharmacy and Law programs those are really good but as far as your 4 year degree i wouldnt reccomend that school to anybody. First off all the kids who barely made it to college go there because its open admission so your attending school with mostly D students. I am an African American student and i know everybody loves HBCU but in this day and age they are really starting to look bad, i advise all my fellow african americans to go to schools like Duke, South Cal, Princeton, or even Harvard there are way better programs out there that are just waiting for you as far as TSU they are just waiting for your money. I respect everybody that has been there before and i know that you can make some moves there but it is just really hard to.
about 3 years agoJohn Shaw tsujusticeshaw ((at)) yahoo dot com
Ms Adams,
The Ocean of Soul is waiting for you! Take your musical talents and teaching aspirations to Dr. Ward,Dean of Education and tell Mr. Shaw sent you.
You couldn't pick a better program and university.
Good Luck!
about 3 years agoJohn Shaw tsujusticeshaw ((at)) yahoo dot com
Hello Tiffiny,
I am a former student and graduate of Texas Southern University. I am, without a doubt, very proud of being a “Tiger”. However, it is unfortunate and alarming when I hear individuals such as you receive negative experiences when attending TSU. Let me offer some information;
College is what YOU make it. No one is perfect. Texas Southern is not closing nor did Dr Priscilla Slade, former President, steal “millions” from the school. Students, who fight in classrooms or on campus, are not welcomed at Texas Southern University. And professors of most universities and colleges are completely in-charge of their class rooms and reserve the right, with proper notification to campus administrators and students, to hold classes when and where he/she deems fit.
As a former Student Government Association Official of Texas Southern University, I find your comments similar to other students whom are not prepared for the demands of higher education and the expectations of success. Posting of your comment by Texas Southern University demonstrates the administrations willingness to fair exposure, yet you lack substance and originality. Your allegations lack neither merit nor do you mention any resolves that might help Texas Southern, if your accusations were true. If you experienced at least ONE negative issue while attending TSU, it was your responsibility Ms Tiffiny, to see that issue exposed and terminated so that future students can gain from your contribution. Complaints are good only if resolved.
I don’t know when you attended TSU and I’m not sure if your degreed professional. And thought I’ve graduated and moved on, I apply all that I’ve learned in life and from Texas Southern University to everything that’s handed to me. I would ask that you do the same and fight for this HBCU as opposed to make stabs at it when your contribution has been short and insignificant.
I find people like you, Ms Tiffiny, annoying and ignorant. Your willingness to expose nothing but conjecture and innuendo; Texas Southern University is governed by the state of Texas and any liability you accuse the leadership of this great university of sits on the shoulders of the state of Texas. However, it is people like you that give fire to people like me and motivate others to say “Enough of the BS…Lets Work Together to Resolve the Issue”!!
Sincerely,
John E. Shaw
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about 3 years agoTiffiny tiffiny02 ((at)) hotmail dot com
I would not advise anyone to attend TSU the teachers don't come to class and on multiple occasions there has been fighting within the class room with the students and teachers. The old president stole millions of dollars and went through a long court battle because of it. She got off but her administration did not and went to prison. They often loose important paper work at the school such as transcripts and military documents that are crucial for enrollment. TSU is facing losing their accreditation and might not remain open because of all its misfortunate behavior. Just this week someone cut the wires to the school's electric system then set them on fire! I am serious this school is a major nightmare.
almost 5 years agomartina adams martinaadams2003 ((at)) yahoo dot com
I would like to master in education and teaching. I would also like to be apart of your dance line at Texas Southern University. I am currently a dance for Eastside High school Trojan Exploison Band.
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csmith ((at)) plastipak dot com
My wife and i tried to get our son enrolled in Texas Southern University because this is where he wanted to go. We traveled to the university to weekends to get this completed. The second weekend was his move in date. As we arrived, his room was not ready. An hour later he was told where his room would be. This was supposed to be a special day for my son and his family. As we walked into the apartment, you had guys laying around, marijuana was being smoked, and the whole apartment was a complete mess. This was a total disappointment and embarrasment. Do not even think about this university.