Prairie View A&M University
52%
Acceptance rate
~1%
Intl. students
$26,874
Tuition/yr
8,700
Enrollment
About Prairie View A&M University
HBCU in Texas. Strong engineering, agriculture, and business programs.
Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) is a public historically Black land-grant university founded in 1876 in Prairie View, Texas, about 49 miles northwest of Houston. It is the oldest public HBCU in Texas and the second-oldest public institution of higher education in the state. As of fall 2025, total enrollment stands at 10,085 students.
PVAMU offers 50 undergraduate majors, 37 master's programs, and four doctoral programs across eight colleges and a School of Architecture. The Roy G. Perry College of Engineering and the College of Nursing are among its most prominent units; the university consistently ranks among the top U.S. institutions for producing African American architects, engineers, and nurses. The College of Nursing provides clinical training at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, one of the world's largest medical complexes.
The campus sits on a compact residential campus in the small city of Prairie View, with Houston's job market, hospitals, and international airport accessible within an hour. PVAMU achieved Carnegie R2 (High Research Activity) classification in 2021 and was ranked No. 18 among HBCUs in U.S. News & World Report's 2026 edition, its highest-ever HBCU ranking and the top position among Texas HBCUs.
World University Rankings
Campus & Location
TX
Suburban
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
All graduates qualify for 12-month OPT. STEM-designated programs (CS, Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, Sciences) qualify for 24-month STEM OPT extension — 36 months total work authorisation.
For Nepali students
- PVAMU's engineering and nursing programs have strong industry ties to Houston's energy, healthcare, and aerospace sectors, offering practical pathways for Nepali students in STEM fields, which also qualify for a 24-month STEM OPT extension after graduation, giving up to three years of US work authorisation.
- Out-of-state tuition is approximately $26,874 per year, placing PVAMU in a lower cost tier than most US research universities, and the university operates an International Student Donations scholarship open to F-1 students maintaining a 3.0 GPA, with additional merit scholarships available through the Office of Scholarship Services.
- The Office of International Student Services supports the full F-1 lifecycle including OPT filing, mandatory health insurance guidance, and tax assistance through Sprintax, reducing administrative burden for first-time international students from Nepal.
- The proximity to Houston, home to a growing South Asian community and major employers in energy, healthcare, and technology, provides networking and part-time work opportunities that are directly relevant to Nepali graduates building careers in the US.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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