Southern Dallas County enjoys easy access to more than 70 accredited universities and colleges covering the Dallas-Fort Worth landscape. In 2019, Dallas-area colleges and universities awarded nearly 54,000 bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degress. Students, faculty and other academics are engaged in a wide range of work, from tackling core curricula to developing nanotechnology.
The University of North Texas at Denton, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington are among Texas’ eight “emerging research” universities, expanding program capabilities and funding in pursuit of remaining at the top end of research institutions as defined by the Carnegie Classification methodology. UT Southwestern Medical Center, meanwhile, is among the nation’s best in biology and biochemistry research, boasting countless clinical breakthroughs and innovations, as well as six Nobel Laureates.
Expanding the geographic boundaries a little wider provides Southern Dallas County employers with access to recruitment of graduates from the 150+ universities within Texas and adjacent states, offering a highly educated pipeline of talent. In 2019 alone, nearly 320,000 bachelor’s, master’s, Ph.D.s and advanced certificates were awarded from the largest 4+ year degree granting institutions in Texas and adjacent states.
Within Southern Dallas County there are 6 major private and public colleges and universities and several satellite campuses.
Named the fastest-growing public university in Texas and the only public, accredited four-year university in the City of Dallas. UNT Dallas has served as a pathway to social mobility since its establishment in 2010. UNT Dallas has increased its enrollment every semester since opening.
UNT Dallas has focused on serving local underserved populations, concentrating recruiting efforts in southern Dallas communities. The student population is around 85% minority, and most are first generation college students.
2023 student enrollment was 1,982. The school offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in law degrees. UNT Dallas offers 38 majors in the School of Business, School of Education, School of Human Services, and School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, plus eight graduate degree programs. The College of Law is also located in downtown Dallas.
The tree-lined, 264-acre campus is evolving physically, as a thoughtfully-designed campus master plan fills out to accommodate more trail-blazing students. The university’s first residence hall opened in 2017 and a new $63 million student center opened in 2019. The 180-foot Ryan Tower is visible for miles in each direction, a beacon to celebrate the transformation of an entire region and completed in 2022. Read the UNT Dallas Master Plan here.
Southwest of the UNT Dallas campus, a new mixed use development is planned. University Hills, from Hoque Global will sit on 274 acres and will include townhomes, lake views, multifamily units, and retail and restaurant space. Read about the development announcement here.
Dallas Baptist University is a nationally ranked, comprehensive, global Christ-centered university, with a mission to produce servant leaders through the integration of faith and learning. Dallas Baptist University was originally founded as Decatur Baptist College in 1898 and was the first two-year institution of higher education in Texas. After moving to Dallas in 1965, DBU has maintained its roots to Decatur and its commitment to a Baptist heritage. Dallas Baptist University sits atop 368 acres on the hills of Southwest Dallas overlooking Mountain Creek Lake.
2023 student enrollment was 4,487. Dallas Baptist University offers seven Associate degrees and 86 undergraduate majors as well as 33 master’s programs, including 70 Dual Master’s Degree Programs, two Doctoral Degree Programs, and 68 Accelerated Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs and encompasses the following academic divisions: College of Business, Mary C. Crowley College of Christian Faith, Dorothy M. Bush College of Education, College of Fine Arts, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Gary Cook School of Leadership, and Graduate School of Ministry. The Gary Cook School of Leadership offers doctoral degrees in Leadership Studies and Educational Leadership.
Paul Quinn College, one of the most innovative small colleges in America, is a private, faith-based, four-year, liberal arts-inspired college that was founded on April 4, 1872 by a group of African Methodist Episcopal Church preachers in Austin, Texas. The school’s original purpose was to educate freed slaves and their offspring. The College proudly educates students of all races and socio-economic classes under the banner of its institutional ethos, WE over Me. Its mission is to provide a quality, faith-based education that addresses the academic, social, and Christian development of its students.
Beginning in the Fall of 2015, Paul Quinn College adopted a new student financial structure called the “New Urban College Model” which, among other characteristics, reduced student tuition and fees and provides students with the ability to graduate with less than $10,000 of student loan debt. The centerpiece of the New Urban College Model is Paul Quinn’s decision to become the country’s only urban Work College. There are currently eight work colleges in the nation. Paul Quinn is the ninth federally funded work college in the United States, the first Minority Serving Institution (“MSI”) in the Work College Consortium, and the first work college in Texas.
Paul Quinn offers bachelor’s across 20 majors in the Schools off Business Administration, Health & Wellness, Liberal Arts, Legal Studies & Criminology, Religious Studies, Path to Teacher Certification.
Dallas College Mountain View Campus has served Oak Cliff and southwestern Dallas County since 1970. The campus sits on both sides of a limestone canyon, connected by glass pedestrian bridges. Signature programs include Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Welding, and Mechatronics. The Mountain View campus also features a Bilingual Education Center dedicated to training bilingual teachers for elementary and secondary school classrooms and Trinidad Garza Early College High School, a national award-winning dual and college credit program for high schoolers.
Dallas College Cedar Valley Campus covers 300 acres and is located in Lancaster, Texas, serving southern Dallas and northern Ellis counties. Cedar Valley opened in the summer of 1977, becoming the fifth of seven campuses. Signature programs include Veterinary Technology (Onsite and via distance education), Automotive Technology (with a partnership with Snap-On and Fiat-Chrysler), Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology, Commercial Music, Law Enforcement Academy, Logistics, Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing Technology (in partnership with Lamar University via transfer pathway to Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology).
Dallas College’s Bill J. Priest Institute’s mission is to help small businesses grow revenue, increase jobs and contribute to the economic growth of Dallas County. Led by its Small Business Innovation Cultivator, the institute brings together resources and assets that make it a “one-stop shop” for small business services.
The Dallas College Pleasant Grove Center (formerly Eastfield College Pleasant Grove Campus) is a student-centered learning community adding value to the lives of students and a community comprising more than 148,000 residents and 3,600 businesses. The campus features state-of-the-art technology and student-centered classrooms enabling an environment conducive to educational success. The Pleasant Grove Center is designed as a satellite campus connecting the neighborhood to the Eastfield Campus in Mesquite and other Dallas College campuses.
The Dallas College Workforce Center at RedBird offers career training services to help residents develop skills needed for high-demand jobs — such as for heavy equipment operators, avionics maintenance technicians, logistics and mechatronics. The additions will make high-valued, credentialed training opportunities accessible to southern Dallas residents while meeting the demands of employers through a center that is equipped with flexible classroom space, workstations and computer labs.
The Dallas College West Dallas Center (formerly El Centro College West Campus) offers a variety of classes for students pursuing a degree and/or seeking to enhance workforce skills through continuing education. At the West Dallas Center, students can take classes they need for an Associate in Arts degree and transfer to a university.
The Dallas College Lancaster Workforce Development Center, along with other select community-focused organizations, will share the 4315 Lancaster facility and provide industrial trade training in construction, mechatronics, logistics and digital literacy. The 7,000 square foot facility is dedicated to hands-on training programs in construction and robotics, combined with a mobile training lab to provide high school equivalency education and job training.
As part of the Texas State Technical College system, this campus is one of 10 across the State. This 100,000-square foot campus houses many of TSTC’s high-tech, advanced workforce programs with state-of-the-art labs. Programs offered at the campus include Diesel Equipment Technology, Electrical Power & Controls, HVAC Manufacturing, Industrial Systems, Precision Machining Technology, and Welding Technology.
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