University of Houston

By James A. Barham, PhD

In brief

The University of Houston (UH), established in 1927, is a public research university with more than 46,000 students in 14 academic colleges. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #93 in the United States and #268 in the world. It admitted 73.9% of applicants for fall 2024; admitted students had a median SAT score of 1250 and a median ACT score of 26.

Its best-known professional programs include engineering, architecture, optometry, pharmacy, and law. The UH System also has campuses in downtown Houston, in Clear Lake next to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and in Victoria.

Where UH’s influence is strongest

UH’s influence is led by social work, where it ranks in the US top 25. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Social work: #23 in the US (#30 in the world)
• Nursing and business: #46 each
• Medicine and engineering: #59 each

Within those fields, UH is a national leader in several specialties:

• #3 in the US: optometry (behind Midwestern University and Indiana University)
• #4: system administration
• #10: petroleum engineering
• #13: tax law

By comparison, UH sits further back in philosophy (#127), psychology (#137), and sociology (#157).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

UH’s Nobel laureate is Jody Williams, who won the Peace Prize. Its faculty and alumni include the poets Mark Strand, Charles Wright, and Philip Levine, the novelist Donald Barthelme, the playwright Edward Albee, the physicist Paul Chu, the actor Jim Parsons, the singer Lizzo, the journalist Dan Rather, and Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Our full lists of UH’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is UH hard to get into? No. It admitted 73.9% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 590–670 on the SAT reading section and 570–670 on math.

What does UH cost after financial aid? Tuition is $9,717 for Texas residents and $22,427 for out-of-state students in 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $8,529 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $8,468 for incomes below $30,000 to $21,065 for incomes above $110,000.

How do UH graduates do? 65.7% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 87% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $68,423.

What is UH best known for academically? By our influence data: social work, nursing, and business, plus optometry, where it ranks third in the country.