Texas Southern University

Houston, TX · Public · 6,844 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

HBCU
86% Black undergrads
Test-optional
$42 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$16,437
$30,000 – $48,000	$21,115
$48,000 – $75,000	$21,280
$75,000 – $110,000	$22,698
Over $110,000	$21,610
All incomes (average)	$16,590

Sticker tuition and fees: $9,173 in-state, $21,473 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Texas Southern University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$12,800
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$18,670
Books and supplies	$1,654
Other expenses, on campus	$6,028
Other expenses, off campus	$6,028

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (2,139 of them) in 2022–23; 98% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	97%	$9,437
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	80%	$5,577
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	84%	$3,186
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	70%	$5,917

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 97%
Average SAT: 914
Median ACT: 17
Students with Pell grants: 72%
Graduation rate (6yr): 22%
Freshman retention: 66%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $38,924
Median debt at graduation: $29,000
International undergrads: 78 (1.2%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $42
Students per faculty member: 19 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 59%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 420–520
SAT Math: 380–480
ACT composite: 15–19

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Required
High school record	Considered if submitted
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 7,867
Admitted: 7,344
Enrolled: 1,657

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business19%

Communications & Media8%

Health & Nursing8%

Psychology8%

Criminal Justice8%

Biology & Life Sciences7%

Kinesiology & Sports Science7%

Education4%

Social Sciences3%

Computer Science3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (20)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Biology, General	95	$36,049	$55,321national $57,214	$26,955
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	86	$41,921	$44,953national $53,072	$27,750
Business Administration, Management and Operations	80	$44,748	$53,203national $68,257	$31,000
Criminal Justice and Corrections	73	$38,260	$45,961national $55,378	$30,749
Psychology, General	65	$38,468	$47,185national $50,706	$28,003
Health and Medical Administrative Services	60	$40,682	$48,426national $58,716	$27,030
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	41	—	$56,482national $54,562	$24,500
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	39	$38,080	$51,195national $50,497	$26,125
Marketing	39	$38,946	$41,768national $69,303	$30,187
Communication and Media Studies	38	$27,784	$40,687national $56,359	$34,625
Finance and Financial Management Services	31	$64,065	$70,201national $83,343	$25,000
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	27	$33,508	$44,612national $61,296	$25,405
Journalism	25	$30,938	$45,152national $56,278	$27,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General	25	$74,170	—national $92,374	$25,000
Accounting and Related Services	24	$48,496	$59,386national $76,194	$27,574
Political Science and Government	20	$33,224	—national $63,293	$23,250
Air Transportation	20	—	—national $85,825	$23,493
Civil Engineering	16	—	$71,595national $86,517	$31,000
Social Work	16	$38,931	$49,871national $51,790	$27,467
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	13	$58,277	$62,728national $55,693	$31,999

Master's degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	65	$71,089	$76,981national $103,485	$54,974
Public Administration	41	$56,673	$64,662national $81,408	$55,460
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	21	$38,650	—national $62,033	$35,700
Communication and Media Studies	19	$37,191	$62,147national $71,953	$55,914
Psychology, General	14	—	—national $64,711	$42,500
Criminal Justice and Corrections	14	$67,066	—national $66,714	$57,518
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	13	—	—national $60,111	$90,135

First professional degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	185	$66,184	—national $107,773	$119,956
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	62	$115,070	$141,000national $138,348	$82,000

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 55 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 3100 Cleburne St, Houston, TX 77004
Phone: (713) 313-7011
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Is Texas Southern University a reach, target, or safety for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see how it stacks up against 1,595 other colleges — ranked by fit and by what your family would actually pay.

Find my matches →

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

Similar colleges in the United States

Picked by control, selectivity, mix of majors, location and size, from the same data as this page — not a judgement of quality.