Did you know: In January 2020, UTRGV was one of just 119 colleges and universities in the United States to receive this year’s Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. This was UTRGV’s first time receiving the designation, which honors an institution’s commitment to community engagement and its collaborations with local, regional, state, national, and global partners.

Did you know: UTRGV, in partnership with the City of Harlingen and the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, broke ground in September 2020 on a new UTRGV Early College High School. The campus will be a 64,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility on 6.3 acres gifted by the City of Harlingen. The early college high school, expected to open Fall 2021, will offer students a direct path to a bachelor’s degree with a focus on academic core, engineering, computer science, or education.

Did you know: UTRGV’s fall enrollment has increased for four straight years, with 2020’s enrollment surpassing 30,000 for the first time in school history. UTRGV is now 1 of 9 Texas four-year public institutions with an enrollment of over 30,000, joining Texas A&M, UT Austin, Houston, UT Arlington, Texas State, North Texas, Texas Tech, and UT San Antonio.

Did you know: In November 2020,  UTRGV broke ground on the new UTRGV Institute for Neuroscience, a $30 million, world-class clinical and research site within the School of Medicine. The building is funded by the Permanent University Fund, with the interdisciplinary work that will be conducted there to be funded in part by a $15 million gift from the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation, announced in February 2017.

Did you know: In February 2020, UTRGV received the largest single donation in the history of higher education in South Texas. The $38 million gift from the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation will establish a unique medical hub for scientific discovery focused on improving health in the Rio Grande Valley. With the assistance of this gift, UTRGV should move into the top 200 American Universities in both philanthropic giving and total research expenditures.

Did you know: UTRGV continues to encourage students to take 15 hours per semester by capping in-state tuition and fees at 12 hours per semester. Under the program, a freshman who starts Fall 2020 and takes 15 hours per semester (excluding summer school) is more likely to graduate in four years and save more than $7,000 compared to a student taking 12 hours.

Did you know: The UTRGV School of Medicine, through UT Health RGV, continues to play a major role in the state and regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the school launched the first of what would eventually be four drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites across the Rio Grande Valley. By April, the SOM developed an in-house diagnostic lab specifically for COVID-19 testing. By the end of October, more than 65,000 samples had been processed, including over 25,000 from the drive-thru testing sites.

Did you know: U.S. News & World Report ranked UTRGV 1st among public universities in the nation for the least student debt upon graduation. The data showed that UTRGV students who graduated in 2017 incurred an average debt of $10,054, compared to that year's national average of $30,000. Overall, among public and private universities, UTRGV ranks fourth behind Harvard ($6,100), Princeton ($7,500), and Duke ($9,200).

Did you know: In October 2020, UTRGV received a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help determine how on-farm conservation can be applied to reduce environmental impact and study the social and economic implications for area farmers. The project is a collaborative effort between UTRGV, Texas State University, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and Texas producers.

Did you know: In March 2020, UTRGV announced an expansion of its Tuition Advantage program, which now covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for eligible students with a family income of $95,000 or less. This $20,000 increase from the original plan will help students who have been affected by the unprecedented economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

New degrees added since 2015

• Ph.D. in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Science
• Ph.D. in Human Genetics
• Ph.D. in Mathematics and Statistics with Interdisciplinary Applications
• Ph.D. in Physics
• BAT Respiratory Therapy

• Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
• Doctor of Physical Therapy
• MS Pharmaceutical Sciences
• MS Medical Sciences
• MS Biomedical Engineering

New Degrees Currently Under Review

Bachelor's: 8       Master's: 12       Doctoral: 1       Professional: 1

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