Agricultural Sciences, College of

The School of Agriculture was one of the four original colleges and began in 1925. It included coursework on agronomy, animal husbandry, and horticulture. Emphasis was on dairy and poultry work, as well as arid and semi-arid farming.

• Agronomy - First female graduate degree in Production Horticulture - May 1975

Arts and Sciences, College of

Originally referred to as the College of Liberal Arts, the degree it offered when the college began in 1925 was a A. B.  Its enrollment in 1925 was 474 students out of a total college enrollment of 914 students.

• The first Ph.D. was offered in the 1950-1951 school year.
• 1947 - Received accreditation by the American Chemical Society

• The first Ph.D. was offered in the 1950-1951 school year.
• 1964- Established programs in Comparative Literature, Linguistics, and Folklore.

• 1950-1953 -- Had doctoral programs; after the spring of 1953 following departures of some faculty the doctoral programs were withdrawn. The department planned to reinstate the doctoral programs by Fall, 1959 [Board of Regents Meeting Minutes 4/12/58]
• Eldon Thorp received his B.A. in 1927 and was the first graduate in geology at Texas Tech.

• 1935 -- the Graduate School is inaugurated
• 2007 -- Established in conjunction with the Health Sciences Center is a new master's degree in forensic science

• The first Ph.D. was offered in the 1950-1951 school year.

• Established in 2007.
• The Vietnam Center was founded in 1989.

• Transferred from the Department of Education and Psychology to the Department of History, effective September 1, 1949 (BOD 5/30/49)
• 1959 -Separated from the Department of History, Anthropology, and Sociology to be its own department. The proposal for this separation can be found in the 4/12/58 Board of Regents meeting minutes.

Business Administration, College of

Beginning in 1925, Texas Tech offered coursework to students who sought to get into a school of business administration.

• 1942 -- the School of Business Administration is inaugurated

• The first Ph.D. was offered in 1967.

Engineering, College of

The college of Engineering was one of the four original colleges and began in 1925. It included coursework in the fields of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering as well as architecture. Areas emphasized include highway and hydraulic engineering. Textile Engineering was of particular importance and thus offered the option of either a four-year degree or a two-year non-degree track.

• 1959 -Separated from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering to be its own department.
• The first Ph.D. was offered in 1967.

• 1925 -The Texas Legislative appropriated $100,000 for equipment to start the Textile Engineering program at Texas Tech. That amount was closely matched by donation from machinery manufacturers.

• Established a Ph.D. degree in wind science and engineering - 2007

Home Economics, College of

The college of Household Economics was one of the four original colleges and began in 1925. It included coursework in the areas of foods, clothing, and child study.

Law School

Beginning in 1925, Texas Tech offered coursework to students who sought to get into a law school.

• June 13, 1933 -- Students met to organize the first law class in Tech history. The names of the first students and how the class was set up can be found in the June 15th issue of the Toreador under the headline "Tech Lawyers Form First Law Class on Campus; Members to Prepare For Bar Examinations."
• 1964 -- approval for the Law School was received.
• 1967 -- the Law School was inaugurated.
• 1969 -- 15 students finished their degrees early to become the first graduating class in December of 1969.

Library

On February 2, 1973, the groundbreaking ceremony for the $4.8 million Library addition was held. This was the first time in Tech's history two groundbreaking ceremonies (the School of Medicine was the other) were held on the same day with Board of Regents members in attendance.

Mass Communications

Beginning in 1925, journalism was taught as a course within the English Department and later, in 1931-1932, was offered as a major.

• 1937 -- the Journalism Department was established.
• 1971 -- the Department of Mass Communications was formed, combining the Journalism Department and courses in telecommunications from the Speech Department, and advertising courses from the School of Business.
• 1988 -- the School of Mass Communications was formed.
• 2004 -- the College of Mass Communications was formed as a separate and independent unit.

Medicine, School of (TTUSM)

Beginning in 1925, Texas Tech offered coursework to students who sought to get into a medical school.

The School of Medicine officially opened its doors on August 21, 1972, at which time Bill Collins, Chairman of the Board of Regents, introduced the 36 freshmen and 25 junior students and keynote speaker Dr. Paul J. Sanazaro addressed the audience.

A School of Veterinary and Zoological Medicine was authorized on November 19, 1971, as part of the TTU School of Medicine.

On February 2, 1973, former Governor Preston Smith headed up the groundbreaking ceremony for the the $35 million Phase I of the School of Medicine.

On May 11, 1973, the Board of Regents approved the establishment of an Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition as an interdisciplinary free standing institute of TTU and TTUSM.

Music, School of

Beginning in 1925, Texas Tech offered instruction in music in the areas of theory, Glee Club, Choral Club, College Orchestra, and the College Band.

• 1951 -- The Department of Music received accreditation by the Texas Association of Music Schools