University Preparatory High School
The University Preparatory High School (UPHS) is an early college high school collaboration between the Flour Bluff Independent School District and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s College of Education. The early college high school initiative is a bold approach based on the principle that academic rigor, combined with the opportunity to save time and money, is a powerful motivator for students to work hard, improve performance, and earn a college degree.
UPHS blends high school and college in a rigorous yet supportive program, allowing students to complete high school while earning up to 60 tuition-free college credit hours. The program aims to create a seamless transition between high school and college.
"College Ready – College Bound" is the universal theme of UPHS. Students are engaged in a literacy-rich, college-going culture from the very first day of 9th grade. Freshman coursework is reading-intensive, geared toward college preparation.
Sophomores concentrate on the core curriculum of math, science, social studies, and English, and they also begin earning dual credit in fine arts, Spanish, and communications in courses taught by university professors on the Flour Bluff campus. During their junior and senior years of high school, students take college courses on the TAMUCC campus.
To be a candidate for the program, a student must either demonstrate economic hardship, be an English language learner, be a first generation college student, or come from a demographic that is underrepresented in higher education. (Selection is based on criteria outlined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided initial startup grant funding.) 100 students are admitted to each year’s freshman class.
Visit the the Flour Bluff web site at http://www.flourbluffschools.net/html/campus/up.html.
