Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas’s two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learning in the state. It offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through eight colleges and the School of Architecture. PVAMU is the largest HBCU in the state of Texas and the third largest HBCU in the United States. PVAMU is a member of the Texas A&M University System and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Prairie View A&M fields 18 intercollegiate sports team, commonly known by their Prairie View A&M Panthers nickname. Prairie View A&M competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Prairie View A&M is the only charter member remaining in the conference. The university was established as Alta Vista Agriculture & Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth The Sixteenth Legislature April 19, 1879 by Article 7 of the Texas Constitution of 1876, created near the end of the Reconstruction Era after the American Civil War. In that year, State Senator Matthew Gaines, State Senator Walter Moses Burton, and State Representative William H. Holland – all former slaves who became leading political figures – crafted legislation for the creation of a state-supported “Agricultural and Mechanical” college. In the article, the constitution stated that “Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored children, and impartial provisions shall be made for both.” The legislation made Prairie A&M the first state supported institution of higher learning for African Americans in Texas.
In an effort to comply with these constitutional provisions, the Fifteenth Texas Legislature, consistent with terms of the federal Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act – which provided public lands for the establishment of colleges – authorized the “Alta Vista Agriculture and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth” as part of the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). It was established on the former Alta Vista Plantation.
In 1945, the name of the institution was changed from Prairie View Normal and Industrial College to Prairie View University, and the school was authorized to offer, “as need arises,” all courses offered at the University of Texas. In 1947, the Texas Legislature changed the name to Prairie View A&M College of Texas and provided that “courses be offered in agriculture, the mechanics arts, engineering, and the natural sciences connected therewith, together with any other courses authorized at Prairie View at the time of passage of this act, all of which shall be equivalent to those offered at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas at Bryan.” And finally in 1973, the legislature changed the name of the institution to Prairie View Agricultural & Mechanical University (Prairie View A&M University).
In 1983, the Texas Legislature proposed a constitutional amendment to restructure the Permanent University Fund (PUF) to include Prairie View A&M University as a beneficiary of its proceeds. The 1983 amendment also dedicated the university to more enhancements as an “institution of the first class” under the governing board of the Texas A&M University System. The constitutional amendment was approved by the voters on November 6, 1984.
In 2000, the Governor of Texas signed the Priority Plan, an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to establish Prairie View A&M University as an educational asset accessible by all Texans. The Priority Plan mandates creation of many new educational programs and facilities. It also requires removing language from the Institutional Mission Statement which might give the impression of excluding any Texan from attending Prairie View A&M University.
In December 2020, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $50 million to Prairie View A&M. The donation is the largest single gift in its history and one of the largest ever to a HBCU.
In 2021, Prairie View A&M attained the R2 Carnegie Classification (Doctoral University; High Research Activity). Prairie View A&M is one of only 11 HBCUs to be granted R2 status and one of only four Texas A&M University System members in this category.
Prairie View A&M University offers academic programs through the following administrative units:
- Marvin and June Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences
- School of Architecture
- Don K. Clark building (left) and Agriculture & Business building (right)
- College of Agriculture and Human Sciences
- College of Business
- Whitlow R. Green College of Education
- Roy G. Perry College of Engineering
- College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology
- College of Nursing
- School of Public and Allied Health
- Office of Graduate Studies
Prairie View A&M established the Texas Undergraduate Medical Academy (UMA) in 2004 which is a highly selective and rigorous pre-medical program designed to uniquely prepare academically talented undergraduates for success in medical, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary school. UMA began due to a Texas legislative mandate in 2003 and is state funded with a mission to increase minority representation in the medical field and redress statewide healthcare professional shortages.
Prairie View A&M established a highly selective honors program for academically exceptional undergraduates who meet the specified criteria.
Prairie View A&M is consistently recognized as one of the top institutions in the country for producing the highest number of African-American architects and engineers by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
Prairie View A&M annually awards the second most STEM degrees in the Texas A&M University System.
Prairie View A&M academic programs are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and each college within the university holds additional accreditation or certifications.
For 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Prairie View A&M #331-440 in National Universities, #154 in Top Performers on Social Mobility (tie), #169-227 in Top Public Schools, #26 in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (tie), #196-212 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, and #293 in Nursing.
