Texas's third-largest university, a major R1 research institution with 48,950 students and 310 degree programs.
The University of Houston comprises fifteen colleges and an interdisciplinary honors college offering 310 degree programs across engineering, business, medicine, law, pharmacy, nursing, optometry, architecture, design, education, and liberal arts. The university is classified as an R1 research institution with very high research activity and operates more than 35 research centers and institutes in areas including superconductivity, space commercialization, biomedical sciences, energy, and artificial intelligence. Faculty numbers 3,517 as of fall 2025.
The main campus spans 894 acres in southeast Houston, organized into five core districts: Central, Arts, Professional, Residential, and Athletics. Notable facilities include the M.D. Anderson Library, Cullen Performance Hall, Moores School of Music, and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Performing Arts. The university hosts more than 500 student organizations and maintains traditions including Frontier Fiesta (since 1939), Cougar Red Friday, and the Cougar Sign. Housing options are available, with students more likely to graduate when living on campus.
Houston Cougars compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Big 12 Conference (joined 2021), fielding 17 intercollegiate sports teams. The men's golf team has won 16 NCAA national championships—the most in NCAA history. The men's basketball team has made 26 NCAA tournament appearances including eight Elite Eight and Final Four appearances. The university mascot is Shasta (a live cougar), with bronze cougar statues in Cullen Family Plaza that fans rub for good luck before games.
Founded in 1927 as Houston Junior College with 232 students, UH became a four-year institution in 1934 and moved to its permanent campus in 1939 with the Roy G. Cullen Building—the first air-conditioned college building on a U.S. campus. The university became state-funded in 1963 and founded the University of Houston System in 1977. Under President Renu Khator (since 2008), UH has grown to become Texas's third-largest university with a worldwide alumni base of 331,672.