Study abroad at Houston

Houston is America's 4th largest city, the official 'Energy Capital of the World', and the global epicentre of aerospace and medicine situated along the Gulf Coast of Texas (famous as 'Space City' - home to NASA Johnson Space Center and the largest medical complex on Earth: the Texas Medical Center TMC with 60+ institutions and $3+ billion in annual biomedical research). Celebrated for hosting the 2nd highest concentration of Fortune 500 corporate headquarters in the nation (including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Halliburton, Phillips 66, and Sysco) and 0% state personal income tax in Texas. Houston is home to elite world-ranking universities: Rice University (consistently ranked in the US Top 20 / #17 nationally by US News & World Report, prestigious AAU private research university with over $180M in research and 3 Nobel laureates, famous for George R. Brown School of Engineering - world pioneer in Nanotechnology / Buckyballs, Jones Graduate School of Business - AACSB accredited, and Wiess School of Natural Sciences), alongside the University of Houston (UH - major public Carnegie R1 Tier One research university with over 46,000 students, celebrated for the C.T. Bauer College of Business - top 10 for Entrepreneurship, Cullen College of Engineering - #1 in Petroleum and Subsea Engineering, Law Center, and Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine), University of St. Thomas, and Texas Southern University. Degrees are taught 100% in English with prestigious US accreditations. International students benefit from zero state income tax, massive corporate energy and medical internships, lower living costs than New York and California, and direct US F-1 / I-20 Student Visa support with 3-year STEM OPT work extensions.

Tuition fees in Houston for international undergraduate students at the University of Houston (UH - Carnegie R1) range between $21,500 and $26,800 per academic year for Cullen Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Computer Science, and Bauer Business (with UH offering the competitive Academic Excellence Scholarship awarding $3,000 to $9,000/year, which can also qualify students for in-state tuition waivers). At Rice University, undergraduate tuition is approx. $57,200/year (with need-blind and merit-based financial aid). Postgraduate Master's and PhD programs at UH range from $16,000 to $26,000 per year (with extensive funded graduate assistantships). On-campus university residence halls (UH Cougar Village, University Lofts, Bayou Oaks / Rice Residential Colleges) cost between $750 and $1,350 per month (inclusive of meal plans and utilities), while off-campus student apartments in Midtown Houston, Medical Center, and Montrose range from $650 to $1,250 per month. General monthly living expenses range between $850 and $1,400.

International students require a US F-1 Student Visa. Upon academic admission and verification of financial documentation (bank statement certifying first-year tuition and living expenses minus scholarship awards), the International Student and Scholar Services Office (UH ISSSO / Rice OISS) issues the official Form I-20. The student pays the SEVIS I-901 fee, completes the DS-160 online visa application, and attends the F-1 visa interview at the US Embassy or Consulate. STEM graduates qualify for a 24-month OPT extension (total 36 months of US employment authorization).