Huston-Tillotson University
Check out the most popular majors and specific degrees students have earned at Huston-Tillotson University.
*Sources for school statistics and data include the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Data may vary depending on school and academic year.Put your body and mind in motion in the kinesiology program at Huston-Tillotson University (HT). If you want to be a coach, personal trainer, or physical education teacher, this program will get you there. You’ll learn about topics like human movement and injury prevention through lab activities and lectures. And you’ll even get your own body moving. HT kinesiology students take activity courses, so your schedule might include aquatics, yoga, weight training, or martial arts. Don’t worry, you’ll scan a long list of available activities and choose the ones that best fit your lifestyle! And you can get hands-on experience if you participate in the Student Athletic Trainer program. Student athletic trainers work directly with HT student-athletes, treating injuries and offering advice for avoiding them. Students also head out into the field for internships or student teaching, so you’ll practice your skills out in the real world too—and graduate with experience. If you’re thinking about a career in health and wellness, don’t sweat it: HT’s got you covered.
As a chemistry major at Huston-Tillotson I was forced to think critically about real world issues and how to develop research plans to solve those problems efficiently in respects of time and cost. Although HT wasn't a research based institution, the curriculum and degree requirements insured that we learned how to think like chemists. Each year we were required to create research projects to solve issues important to our immediate communities or to the world in general. Much of our "how to" knowledge came from extensive literature searches and from that knowledge we were encouraged to develop an intelligent action plan to solve the problem. Initially, I was apprehensive before I began my graduate studies in 2014 at Fisk University, but I soon learned that HT had given me all the tools I needed to not only be effective as a graduate researcher but to thrive. I'm glad to say that next fall I'll be attending Vanderbilt University to obtain my Ph.D. and I know that I owe my current success to HT.
Growing up in the small Texas city of Lakeway, Huston-Tillotson University was just the shock of urban culture I needed. HT has tremendous history as an HBCU, and with its history and location in Austin, Texas, why not?! At HT I learned the valuable real-world lesson that you get out what you put in. The staff dedicated time and resources to those who really cared. Dr. Golden and Dr. Davis gave me my greatest preparation for the business world. Dr. Golden taught us to develop apps and gave us an assignment that exposed us to the system development life cycle, which also required technical writing (a critical skill if you ever draft business proposals). And Dr. Davis was an engaging professor who taught us how to manage our time and stay organized. I now work two jobs while maintaining an entrepreneurial effort in addition, and it’s going well. I was promoted at one and crowned employee of the month at the other all in one day!
A baseball scholarship led me to Huston-Tillotson. However, the School of Business is the reason I stayed. The intimate classroom settings allowed me to meet my marketing professor and current mentor Kathryn Davis. Dr. Davis advised me to consider marketing as my major, advice I followed and have never regretted. My most cherished memory was being able to compete and win the 2013 BEEP Sodexo Case Study Competition. We were tasked with developing a business strategy to help position Sodexo as the global leader in the health and wellness industry within the University campus segment. The Sodexo case study allowed me to incorporate my skills, knowledge and teamwork from my previous marketing courses into an unforgettable project. Our performance led to a standing ovation and countless networking opportunities.
One of my favorite courses was African American literature with Dr. Hudson. This course helped me find myself as an African American woman and it helped me to appreciate who I am. I also found my required sociology internship to be really valuable. I interned with child protective services at the Department of Family and Protective Services, and I was able to see and experience a lot. I got to sit in on family meetings, take many case notes, and review confidential documents. I knew right then I wanted a career that involved working with children and youth. I now work with the Department of Family and Protective Services on the adult side but I hope to work with child protective services one day.
In the Kinesiology-Human Performance program not only did we learn theory, we were able to physically perform the movements and exercises of what we were learning. It was a more hands-on approach to the usual textbook teaching. We took classes like Aerobics, Team Sports, and Individual Sports, so we were exposed to sports and activities for all ages and for the inclusion of all students. A lot of us continued on to the field of education and could really relate with students and engage them on a greater level. My program track specialized in athletic training, and I got to do an internship with HT's Athletic Director as well as an internship at another school. I traveled to all volleyball games, basketball games, and track meets to help during practices. I learned all types of ways to tape ankles, wrists, shoulders and do stretches. It was an amazing experience!
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Remember learning about the periodic table of elements in history class? If it weren’t for Nuclear Chemist James A. Harris, you might have had two fewer elements to memorize—Rutherfordium and Hahnium—which he helped to discover in 1969 and 1970. Harris rocked that HT chemistry degree! Alum Dr. Herman A. Barnett III became the first African American to be accepted to the University of Texas Medical School. And, political science graduate Ron Givens was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1984. This made him the first African American republican to join the ranks in a century. Civil Rights Activist Volma Overton spent his life helping to make achievements like these possible. Overton fought for the desegregation of schools in Austin, Texas and served as president of NAACP’s Austin chapter for more than 20 years. It’s easy to see graduates live out the school’s mission of leadership and excellence.
From the center of campus in Union Plaza you have a great view of your new second home. You can see the university’s landmark bell tower in the distance plus many campus buildings, including the library, student union, and residence halls. The residence halls got a new look in 2014 so you’ll room in modern style. Health resources are embedded right into on-campus housing. In Beard-Burrowes you can quickly access the tennis and basketball courts, and in Allen-Frazier you’ll find the Health Services office. Here you can receive basic medical care and banish your mid-semester cold by receiving over-the-counter medications free of charge. The residence halls aren’t the only spots on campus that recently got a facelift. The Downs-Jones Library had its grand reopening in 2013 following major renovations. You can pick up a snack from the library’s Ram Café before heading to one of the many workspaces the library offers. By the way, you might have sensed a theme among the campus building names: they’re hyphenated. That’s not a coincidence. Huston-Tillotson University (there it is again) grew into the unified historically black university we know it to be today after two separate schools, Samuel Huston College and Tillotson College, merged in 1952. The buildings are named to honor people who made major contributions to these two colleges over its 135-year history. HT (established in 1881) is the oldest higher education institution in Austin. Maybe you will make your own major contribution to HT in its next 135 years.
HT does not currently offer online programs. But if you can make the trip by car, bus, or bike to campus in East Austin, the university offers adult degree programs. They are designed for working professionals, or any adult with a hectic schedule. Each class takes place once per week instead of the two or three weekly meetings that most undergraduate college classes require. You can choose from five undergraduate programs: liberal arts, education, business administration, criminal justice, and psychology. The program encourages a sense of community as you and your classmates start and finish the program as a group and take every class together. Plus, you only have to register for classes once at the beginning of your program. Forget about dealing with the daunting registration process every semester like most college students. You won’t have to!
Does the name Jackie Robinson ring a bell? He was the first African American to play major league baseball when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. But before that, Robinson was basketball coach and athletic director at Samuel Huston College (before the HT merger happened a few years later). Jackie Robinson is in good company. Thirteen students have been drafted by major and minor league baseball teams, including Texas Rangers Pitcher Carl Randle. Today, the Mighty Rams count several Red River Athletic Conference championships among their accomplishments. The men’s basketball team became conference tournament champions in 2002. The ladies did it again in 2014. Not to mention women’s track and field took back-to-back conference championships in 2003 and 2004. When it comes to being champions, the Rams are also champions of character. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized HT as a five-star institution in its Champions of Character program four years in a row. Student-athletes have served Thanksgiving dinner to community members in need and engaged school children in community cleanup projects. HT student-athletes serve up healthy competition and community involvement in equal measure.
HT’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs have been getting a big boost lately. In 2015 the National Science Foundation granted nearly $400,000 to the university to expand student research opportunities and purchase lab equipment. Also in 2015, the Tom Joyner Foundation partnered with HT to offer scholarships to students pursuing STEM careers in teaching. But even before HT received grants and scholarships students were making waves in the science community. In 2011 chemistry and biology student Sikhongi Solomon Phungwayo took first place for his research on neutron activation analysis at the Annual Joint Meeting of Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society and the National Science Institute competition. That’s a big win for Phungwayo and the HT community! In other news, future students can now pursue a graduate degree at the university: the master’s in educational leadership. It became the university’s first graduate program in 2015. But if you’re a traditional undergrad you’ll have your own exciting opportunities to dive into. Education As The Practice of Freedom (EPF) is a first-year experience program where students have real talks about society and culture. Students also get out of the classroom to hear from speakers, attend scholarship workshops, go to the annual Hip Hop Summit, and get together for karaoke events. Huston-Tillotson will challenge you, change you, and shape the way you view the world.
