Baptist university in Plainview, Texas with 11 campuses and a legendary women's basketball program.
Wayland Baptist offers more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs across eight schools: Mathematics and Sciences, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Business, Christian Studies, Education, Creative Arts, Humanities and Leadership, and Nursing. The School of Mathematics and Sciences serves over 400 students per semester with degrees in math, biology, chemistry, geology, and preprofessional tracks. Graduate programs include Master of Arts in Creative Leadership and Strategic Leadership (37 credit hours, 100% online). The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Texas Education Agency for teacher education.
The main Plainview campus spans 155 acres in a suburban setting. Wayland competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports through the NAIA, primarily in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The university's women's basketball program, the Hutcherson Flying Queens, is the winningest team in collegiate basketball history with a 131-game consecutive winning streak (1953–1958) and 19 national championships. Men's and women's cross country and track and field teams have won 14 national championships combined. The university offers housing and dining, student activities, and a close-knit, faith-centered community environment.
Wayland Baptist accepts transfer students and international students. The university offers a 3-week Summer Bridge program for first-time, first-generation, and financially limited students, providing preparatory English and Math workshops, the BASC1200 course, and college credits tuition-free (limited to 35 students). Academic coaching and student mentor/tutor support are available. Graduate programs require a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution; the MA in Creative Leadership also requires three hours of foreign language or demonstrated competency.
Chartered in 1908 by James Henry Wayland and his wife, the university is the oldest institution of higher education in continuous existence on the High Plains of Texas. In 1951, Wayland became the first four-year liberal arts college in the former Confederate states to voluntarily integrate, admitting Annie Taylor as its first Black student—three years before Brown v. Board of Education. The university survived the Great Depression when faculty and administration forfeited pay to keep the school operating. Donna Hedgepath became the fourteenth president and first woman president on July 1, 2024.