The University of Houston is the flagship public metropolitan research and teaching institution in Texas, distinguished by nationally recognized faculty and programs and the most ethnically diverse student body of any research university in the country. This diversity reflects the demographics of Houston, the fourth most populous city in the nation. Vitally connected to its urban environment since its founding in 1927, the University has awarded more than 200,000 degrees. Seventy-five percent of alumni remain in the Houston metropolitan area to live and work, making a substantial impact on the socio-economic life of the city. Currently, more than 46,000 students attend UH in fifteen academic colleges and an interdisciplinary Honors College. And these Colleges offer 281 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. The University of Houston pursues an ambitious agenda to become one of the nation’s leading Tier One research universities and a model for the public metropolitan universities of this century.