Located near the heart of downtown Houston, with a sprawling 45-building campus situated on 150 acres of land, Texas Southern University is unique in its contribution to higher education. Texas Southern University is the only university among Texas schools that offers health profession programs in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and, as a "special purpose institution for urban programming," Texas Southern University measures its success by the impact its graduates have on society.

More than 9,000 students, faculty, and staff comprise Texas Southern University's community, and like its curricula, the student body is characterized by diversity. While many of the undergraduate and graduate students enrolled are native Texans, the student and faculty population is represented by almost every state in America, including the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, and by more than 50 nations. It is also one of the few schools included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Texas Southern University has served as a cornerstone for developing the greatest potential in leaders from various socioeconomic, cultural, and racial backgrounds. Texas Southern University's international student population hails from such places as Africa, Canada, Canal Zone, the Caribbean, Central America, China, Europe, Mexico, South Asia, and the West Indies.