The University of Texas Permian Basin Online

About UT Permian Basin Online

Discover what sets UT Permian Basin’s online programs apart from others.

UT Permian Basin understands the challenges facing students today. As a result, the university has become a leader in online education, known for inspiring student success through accredited online programs, cost-effective tuition, and a collaborative online learning environment where students can earn a UT Permian Basin degree from anywhere in the world.

UT Permian Basin Online provides you with a competitive advantage:

• Convenient – Programs are 100% online and can be completed at your own pace.
• Affordable – Our programs are cost-effective, with lower costs per credit than other similar programs around the country.
• Flexible – Program-specific courses are as little as eight weeks long with six start dates throughout the year.
• Reputation – Our online programs are fully accredited.
• Accessible – The faculty is made up of acclaimed business professionals and PhDs.

About the Permian Basin

Where the old west meets the new century.

There’s no place quite like the Permian Basin—a wild, untouched beauty dotted with pockets of modern development. Rugged meets West Texas chic.

We love our endless blue skies, but we know that West Texas is so much more than a picture-perfect sunset. The Permian Basin is home to kind, hard-working, optimistic people who have never met a stranger.

If you’re looking to create your own future, this is where you belong.

About the Basin

A “basin” is a simple geological term for a dip or depression in the earth’s surface—usually caused by erosion aboveground and earthquakes deep underneath.

Stretching from eastern New Mexico and covering most of West Texas (Lubbock to the north, the Rio Grande Valley to the south), the Permian Basin is actually a collection of smaller basins. In all, the Permian Basin covers 75,000 square miles, making it one of the larger basins in North America.

But that’s geology. From the layperson’s perspective, the Permian Basin is actually a stunning stretch of American land with a unique beauty all its own. You feel like you can actually see the earth meet the sky in the distance.

The Permian Basin has something for everyone.

Odessa & Midland: Urban Country

For generations, people from around the world have made their way to West Texas seeking freedom, adventure, and fortune in the oil fields. The cities they built have grown upward and outward, creating modern urban centers dotted across the Permian Basin—including the two that UTPB calls home.

Home of UT Permian Basin’s main campus, Odessa is one of the largest cities in West Texas. A diverse city with a rich history dating back to the 1880s, Odessa has undergone major transformations over the last two decades. Not long ago, Forbes magazine ranked Odessa as one of the fastest-growing small cities in the United States.

And just 15 minutes down I-20 sits Midland. UTPB’s Midland campus houses our music and engineering schools and the Center for Energy and Economic Diversification. As the home to former President George H. W. Bush and major global corporations like Chevron and Concho, Odessa offers a depth of prestige and opportunity that few cities like it can match.

Every day, the culture of these special cities grows deeper.

Sitting Atop the Future of Energy

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Permian Basin—which had once been the source of vast oil supplies—seemed to be fading in importance.

But new technologies revealed just the opposite: There was more petroleum trapped in the ground beneath the Permian Basin than anyone could’ve guessed. Thanks to advancements in energy exploration, the Permian Basin was quickly named the largest oil reserve on the planet. Our backyard is expected to fuel the American and global economies for at least the next two decades.

With this discovery, our neck of the woods has seen an explosion in economic activity. Because, as more and more energy is sourced, other industries have appeared alongside it—including business and finance, healthcare, education, construction, digital technology, transportation, and public sector jobs.

In other words, the latest “oil boom” has spurred a larger “economic boom” that is already paying major dividends to the students and professionals who are seizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

The Academic Heart of West Texas

We aren’t bragging when we call UT Permian Basin the “academic heart of West Texas.” But we sure are proud of the work we get to do every day.

Because every day, we get to help some of the world’s finest students tap into their passions and plan their lucrative careers. We get to deliver a modern education at an affordable cost. And we get to find innovative ways to deliver the most complete, diverse, and downright fun college experience anywhere.

We hope you’ll join us.

Mission, Vision & History

Where we’ve come from, where we’re going.

Our Mission

As a regional, comprehensive institution, The University of Texas Permian Basin serves a diverse community of students from the region, the state, and beyond. Through excellence in student-centered teaching, learning, research, and public service, the University cultivates engaged citizens and impacts lives while advancing the technology and public interests of West Texas.

The History of UT Permian Basin

We began as an experiment. In 1969, the Texas Legislature decided to create an “upper-level” university in Odessa—i.e., a college that accepted only juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

But before construction on the new school could get fully underway, a lawsuit interrupted things. The plaintiff challenged the validity of the University’s property deeds. Work halted.

Eventually, the Texas Supreme Court intervened, ruling in the University’s favor. The bulldozers fired back up, and in April of 1972, UT Permian Basin’s new campus broke ground.

Little more than a year later—on September 4, 1973—the University opened for classes. Construction wasn’t complete, though, so the 1,112 students in that first class studied in temporary buildings and trailers. It would take almost another year before UT Permian Basin’s permanent facilities were complete.

Fast forward 18 years: The Texas Legislature decided once again to change UTPB’s trajectory by passing a bill that turned the school into a four-year institution. The first freshman class—known in campus lore as the Pioneer Freshmen—joined in the fall of 1991.

From our humble, experimental beginnings, UT Permian Basin has grown in nearly every direction.

No school is like UT Permian Basin. Maybe that’s why no school has a story quite like ours.

Together, we are Falcons.