Top Ranked Programs
The University of Texas Permian Basin's program mix is anchored in Business, with secondary concentrations in Engineering and Social Sciences. The largest programs by graduate count are Psychology, General (125 graduates), Business Administration (113 graduates), Interdisciplinary Studies (90 graduates), Nursing (65 graduates), and Kinesiology (62 graduates). Business accounts for 21% of degree output, followed by Engineering at 8% and Social Sciences at 6%, a distribution that reflects the university's applied, career-oriented identity in the Permian Basin region. The strongest national ranking in the University of Texas Permian Basin program portfolio belongs to Communication and Media Studies, where Azimuth ranks the program #24 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning median earnings of $60,805 four years after enrollment. Communication and Media Studies represents the highest aggregate return program at the institution, combining cohort scale with solid earnings outcomes to anchor the university's overall financial profile. These programs reflect the institution's alignment with regional labor-market demand, particularly in energy, business services, and applied technical fields that define the West Texas economy. For context on how Azimuth evaluates program rankings, see [how Azimuth evaluates programs](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/). Across 30 programs serving roughly 961 students annually, University of Texas Permian Basin concentrates its degree output in fields with direct workforce pathways rather than graduate-school-dependent tracks. Business and applied professional programs are high-mobility pathways where graduates enter the regional and national labor market directly, and four-year earnings reflect actual labor-market outcomes rather than an undercount from continued schooling. The [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how the institution's dominant program families align with national and regional labor-market demand.