Houston Baptist University

Welcome. This is an exciting time in the life of HBU. Since its founding in 1960, the University has grown into a thriving community of faith and scholarship offering students “A Higher Education” that prepares them not only to excel in their careers, but also to succeed at life. Our website is designed to provide you with a variety of information and a glimpse into the steps we are taking to make HBU a leading institution for Christian higher education in America.

From its home in the heart of Houston, Texas, one of the nation’s largest and most diverse metropolitan areas, HBU provides a learning experience that instills in students a passion for academic, spiritual and professional excellence.This mission serves as the driving force behind our continued efforts to enrich the total student life experience.

By enhancing our campus facilities, strengthening our rigorous liberal arts core curriculum, expanding our graduate program offerings, and competing in NCAA Division I athletics, HBU is uniquely positioned to serve both undergraduate and graduate students seeking an excellent education.

As envisioned by its founders and constituents, HBU is growing into a national metropolitan university that emphasizes the integration of faith and learning and a strong liberal arts foundation. HBU’s new vision document, The Ten Pillars: Faith and Reason in a Great City, may be found on the University’s website at HBU.edu/TenPillars.The mission of Houston Baptist University is to provide a learning experience that instills in students a passion for academic, spiritual, and professional excellence as a result of our central confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord”.

The University offers a broad range of programs and services committed to liberal arts education that are designed to promote the growth of the whole person. The undergraduate programs familiarize students with the principal bodies of knowledge, cultural viewpoints, belief systems, and aesthetic perspectives that affect them and their world. The graduate programs provide advanced educational opportunities to develop ethical and capable scholars and practitioners who can contribute to their academic disciplines and to society. The integration of scholarship, service, and spirituality essential to liberal arts education is nurtured in an environment of open inquiry.

The University enrolls men and women of diverse talents and abilities. Students are encouraged to think critically, to assess information from a Christian perspective, to arrive at informed and reasoned conclusions, and to become lifelong learners. The University prepares its graduates to enter the work force of the twenty-first century, to pursue advanced study, to assume leadership roles, and to be competitive in a global society.

The University faculty, staff and administrators promote learning, scholarship, creative endeavor, and service. These leaders are committed to the Preamble to the By-laws and to the fulfillment of the vision and mission of the University.

HBU is committed to both academic excellence and our Christian mission to impact the lives of our students and change the world! Our deeply established tradition of philanthropy from alumni and friends makes this possible. The generous support of our donors is changing lives every day.

The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness is the University’s official source for institutional research and information. Our primary mission is to collect data, conduct research, and analyze information in order to provide guidance that supports policy formulation, institutional planning, decision-making, and institutional effectiveness.

Information Technology Services (ITS) provides reliable and effective technology to empower faculty, staff and students at Houston Baptist University in their pursuit of superior teaching, research, creative and integrated learning activities, and to facilitate the efficient administration of the university.

Our core curriculum and major programs are designed from the ground up to help you think, speak and write with clarity and effectiveness.The classroom is not only a place to explore the best available knowledge, but also a place to ask how we use that knowledge ethically.At HBU, you’re more than a face in the crowd. We keep our classes small and assign every student an advisor to help them every step of the way.We believe the best learning environment includes a broad diversity of cultural, professional and relational opportunities—all offered by our great city and on-campus programming.

Houston Baptist College was created by action of the Baptist General Convention of Texas on November 15, 1960 culminating many years of work and study. The aim of the College founders was the establishment of a Christian College of the highest order in the city of Houston that stressed quality of life as well as quality of learning. In 1952, the Union Baptist Association authorized a committee to study the possibility of locating a Baptist College in Houston.

With the assistance and encouragement of the Education Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the committee conducted a survey in 1955. Acting upon information obtained with the endorsement of the Education Commission, the Association approved the concept of establishing a new College. In 1956, the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas approved a recommendation that Houston Baptists be given assurance that the Convention would support such a College when the College Committee of the Union Baptist Association had succeeded in acquiring both (1) a satisfactory site for a campus of at least one hundred acres, and (2) a minimum corpus of at least three million dollars. Of this sum, one and one-half million dollars would constitute a nucleus endowment fund; one and one-half million dollars would be designated for a physical plant.