The University of St. Thomas (UST) is Houston's Catholic University, committed to Catholic higher education's religious, ethical, and intellectual traditions. For more than 70 years, we have been graduating students like you into successful careers in medicine, education, business, public administration, and more – throughout Houston and across the globe. Our student body reflects the rich diversity of the city itself. We welcome undergraduate and graduate students of all faiths and no faith.
The campus is located in Houston's Museum District and Innovation Corridor, a diverse and vibrant urban environment with professional opportunities. We are just steps from downtown and the famed Texas Medical Center, where many students perform prestigious internships.
We are the University of St. Thomas, the Catholic University in the heart of Houston. We are committed to the Catholic intellectual tradition and the dialogue between faith and reason. By pursuing excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, we embody and instill in our students the core values of our founders, the Basilian Fathers: goodness, discipline, and knowledge. We foster engagement in a diverse, collaborative community. As a comprehensive university grounded in the liberal arts, we educate students to think critically, communicate effectively, succeed professionally, and lead ethically.
UST's core curriculum for undergraduates helps you enhance skills employers demand, including communication, collaboration, and strategic thinking. It can also help you determine the major that is best for you.
The University of St. Thomas is dedicated to becoming a greener, more eco-friendly campus. The UST Sustainability Committee supports this mission by evaluating and improving the University's green policies. Part of the sustainability mission lies in educating students, faculty, and staff on sustainable practices that transcend the classroom and can be taken home and applied to daily life.
The University of St. Thomas Career Services Center has a licensed professional counselor on staff who works closely with students and alumni to facilitate career development and support students in securing meaningful employment.
Students are encouraged to participate in field experiences, whether through volunteer opportunities or internships. Being a service-oriented campus, UST offers its students opportunities to participate in Service-Learning projects via the classroom, on-campus "days of service," and various community volunteer projects. Participating in internships affords students opportunities to gain valuable experiences in their central area of study and insight into their potential career field. Career counselors work with students individually to find positions and opportunities suitable to their interests and career goals. All students are encouraged to utilize the Career Center as early as possible in their college careers.
Campus Ministry serves students of all faiths and facilitates the growth of the campus community's spiritual life through the sacraments, spiritual guidance, and Christian counseling. It is an outreach of evangelization to all.
UST has a partnership with over 120 nonprofit organizations in and around the Houston community. Working hand-in-hand with our community partners, service-learning faculty, staff, and students can creatively respond to the challenges caused by poverty, globalization, limited economic resources, and changing demographics of Houston. Service-Learning provides students with experiences to apply their theoretical and classroom learning to the real world of educational practice.
The Research Symposium promotes undergraduate and graduates research at the University of St. Thomas. Involvement in research teaches students respect for the precepts of honesty and professional ethics. The Committee on Student Research solicits and screens projects, conducts the annual Research Symposium in the spring, and identifies potential grant sources for undergraduate research. Involving close faculty collaboration, undergraduate student research teaches students to be critical thinkers in interpreting and applying the results of their inquiries. Students learn to analyze outcomes as relevant or faulty and approach all knowledge with a purposeful skepticism until the facts are determined.
Students who receive funding from the Committee on Student Research will present their research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Several students will pursue the opportunity to present their work in other venues regionally and nationally. Finally, undergraduate research's underlying purpose is to prepare students for the professional world — public, private, or academic. Experience with the research tools and practice of their discipline gives UST graduates firsthand knowledge and makes our alumni more competitive in the marketplace.
The University of St. Thomas derives many advantages from being located in a city with a strong international focus. The University is continuously increasing opportunities for its students to develop a global perspective. Knowledge of different peoples and cultures through study and internships in foreign countries is valuable for participating in the emerging global economy and culture.
As many as 10 percent of UST's full-time undergraduate students study abroad annually. UST offers students various ways to study outside of the United States on an individual, semester-long basis. This may be done through student exchange with sister universities or on a non-exchange basis elsewhere.
UST also offers faculty-led (group) study abroad programs by UST faculty during winter break and summer. Popular past locations include the following countries: Ireland, England, Italy, Spain, France, China, Taiwan, Greece, Israel, Czech Republic, Hungary, Chile, and Jamaica. Part-time and graduate students are also eligible to participate in these programs.
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