Sam Houston State University
64%
Acceptance rate
1%
Intl. students
$13,650
Tuition/yr
19,000
Enrollment
About Sam Houston State University
Public research university in Texas. Strong criminal justice, business, and education programs.
Sam Houston State University (SHSU) is a public university established in 1879 in Huntsville, Texas, making it one of the oldest institutions in the state. It operates additional campuses at The Woodlands and Conroe, and is considered among the largest universities in Texas by enrollment.
SHSU is best known for its College of Criminal Justice, which houses one of the nation's top-ranked forensic science programs holding FEPAC accreditation, and an online Master's in Criminal Justice ranked No. 5 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. The university also offers programs in business, nursing, psychology, and a growing Polytechnic College (SamPoly) focused on engineering and technology fields.
The main campus is located in Huntsville, a city of roughly 40,000 people about 70 miles north of Houston, providing students access to a large metropolitan job market while living in a smaller college-town setting. In the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings, SHSU placed #257 among National Universities and #52 (tied) for Social Mobility, reflecting its track record of serving first-generation and lower-income students.
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
- SHSU's College of Criminal Justice and forensic science programs are among the strongest in the United States, offering a direct academic pathway that is difficult to find at comparable cost elsewhere, particularly relevant for Nepali students targeting US law enforcement, forensic labs, or graduate research careers.
- International undergraduate tuition runs approximately $455 per credit hour; a full-time student taking 30 credit hours per year pays roughly $13,650 in tuition, making SHSU one of the more affordable US public universities for international students, with total annual costs (tuition plus mandatory fees) estimated around $23,000–$25,000.
- SHSU offers the International Excellence Scholarship, which can reduce tuition to near in-state rates for academically strong applicants, and graduate students can compete for departmental assistantships, meaningful options for Nepali students with limited budgets.
- F-1 students who graduate with a STEM-designated degree (including several programs in forensic science and engineering technology) are eligible for the 24-month STEM OPT extension on top of the standard 12-month OPT, providing up to three years of US work authorization after graduation.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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