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Wide Open Spaces

Sul Ross State University provides the ideal setting for outdoor learning, with deer, antelope, wild turkey, javelina, fox and raptors often traversing campus property. SRSU offers academic study in an immense low population area surrounded by two national parks, one national historic site, three state parks, one state historical site, three wildlife management areas, a world-class observatory, and literally millions of privately owned acres where livelihoods depend on agricultural, land, and resource management. The university owns the 17,000-acre Faskin Ranch 110 miles west. Most recently, another rugged 9,269-acre tract in the Christmas Mountains, less than an hour south of campus, was added to our extensive open-air research laboratory. Almost every geologic process and rock formation known to geologists can be observed here and our star-studded skies are among the darkest in the world.

In the Middle of Environmental Issues

The university is located in the middle of the highly elevated Chihuahuan Desert and surrounded by numerous mountain ranges. Our small mountain town, nestled in a valley at an elevation of 4,500 feet, draws its primary student population from 45,000 square miles of the West Texas border country. Students find themselves in the middle of numerous contemporary issues like environmental justice, NAFTA, and Texas water allocation. The sparsely populated areas of Northern Mexico and far West Texas have been threatened as repositories for sludge and radio-active material, as a corridor for international shipping, and as a target for controversial land acquisition. Our setting provides a living laboratory for serious economic, social, environmental, and political discussions as well as inspiration for artists, poets, dancers, filmmakers, composers, and creative writers.

Outstanding Educational Opportunities

Sul Ross ranks among the top in Texas in science laboratory space per full-time student, among the top in the nation among undergraduate institutions producing future Hispanic doctorates in the physical sciences, and high in the state of Texas (which has over 100 colleges and universities) for percentage of freshman and sophomore classes taught by tenured and tenure-track faculty. We are committed to enhancing student learning through low student to teacher ratios, quality faculty, and hands-on experience.