Education
There are more than 55 colleges and universities and dozens of institutions engaged in research and development in Houston. The city is home to Rice University, one of the United States's leading teaching and research universities and ranked the nation's 17th-best overall university by U.S. News & World Report. The University of Houston (UH) is Texas's third-largest public research university with more than 36,000 students from 130 countries, making it one of the most diverse campuses in the country. UH is a doctoral degree granting comprehensive research institution with more than 40 research centers and institutes. South Texas College of Law, Houston's oldest law school founded in 1923, has one of the nation's top programs for trial advocacy.
Other institutions of higher learning in the city include University of St. Thomas, Houston Baptist University, and Texas Southern University, a historically black university. The Houston Community College System serves most of Houston and is the fourth-largest community college system in the United States.
There are 16 school districts serving the city. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the seventh-largest in the United States. HISD has 112 campuses that serve as magnet or vanguard schools—specializing in such disciplines as health professions, visual and performing arts, and the sciences. There are also many charter schools that are run separately from school districts. In addition, some public school districts also have their own charter schools.
The Houston area is home to more than 300 private schools, many of which are accredited by Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) recognized agencies. The Houston Area Independent Schools, or HAIS, offer education from a variety of different religious as well as secular viewpoints. The Houston area Catholic schools are operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
