El Paso outpaces the nation in its successful efforts to expand economic opportunities to Hispanics, women, residents of limited means and from all zip codes. El Paso’s border location results in a fluid student community, many whom regularly cross state and international borders to attend class. El Paso’s higher education institutions have achieved noteworthy success enrolling and graduating first generation college students, Hispanic and minority students along with a high volume of graduate and doctoral degrees awarded in Engineering and other critical STEM areas. Overall, education is a driving force in El Paso's economy. El Paso's three large school districts are among the largest employers in the area.
Source: US Census (US Decennial Survey) and Lightcast analytics.
There are ten higher education institutions in the Borderplex region: three in El Paso, two in Las Cruces, and five in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. El Paso Higher Education Institutions include:
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP): UTEP is a large public research university enrolling approximately 24,000 students as of 2021. UTEP‘s eight colleges and schools include 82 Bachelor‘s, 92 Master‘s, 16 Doctoral degrees and 3 combined degrees. In 2020, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities named UTEP a 2020 Innovation and Economic Prosperity designee in recognition of the University’s commitment to regional economic development.
El Paso Community College (EPCC): EPCC has five campuses and offers over 130 two-year programs and a wide variety of continuing education programs. With a Hispanic enrollment consistently over 80%, the College has been certified by the Department of Education as a Hispanic Serving College. EPCC serves as the primary gateway to higher education for low-income, educationally disadvantaged minority students residing in El Paso County.
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center / Paul L. Foster Medical School – Texas Tech Heal Sciences educates medical students and resident physicians and is home to a large multispecialty practice of physicians with a medical center located in Central El Paso. The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine is a 4-year MD-granting program and the only four-year medical school on an international border.
Source: National Center for Educational Statistics.
2021 College Degree includes all higher education degree types, including Associates degrees.
Source: National Center for Educational Statistics
Source: National IPEDS database published by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.
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