Best Southwest

Arizona (AZ), Colorado (CO), New Mexico (NM), Oklahoma (OK), and Texas (TX)

For our "2026 Best Colleges: Region by Region" web feature, we salute 631 colleges in seven zones—Northeast, South, Southwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, West, and International (outside of the United States)—that we consider academically outstanding and well worth consideration in your college search.

Please note that these lists are not ranked. These lists appear in alphabetical order. Schools marked "featured" have paid a fee for that designation but not for inclusion in this list.


Showing 26 - 41 of 41 results

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Featured Our marketing partner institutions Near Me Sorted by distance from your search location Popularity Sorted by number of views Size Sorted by total enrollment Name Listed in alphabetical order

University of St. Thomas (Texas)

  • Houston, TX
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  • 3,395 Full-Time Enrollment

Rice University

  • Houston, TX
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  • 4,807 Full-Time Enrollment

Texas State University

  • San Marcos, TX
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  • 39,353 Full-Time Enrollment

Schreiner University

  • Kerrville, TX
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  • 1,145 Full-Time Enrollment

Texas Lutheran University

  • Seguin, TX
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  • 1,455 Full-Time Enrollment

United States Air Force Academy

  • USAF Academy, CO
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  • 4,142 Full-Time Enrollment

Colorado College

  • Colorado Springs, CO
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  • 1,887 Full-Time Enrollment

St. John's College (NM)

  • Santa Fe, NM
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  • 368 Full-Time Enrollment

University of Colorado—Boulder

  • Boulder, CO
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  • 34,101 Full-Time Enrollment

Colorado State University

  • Fort Collins, CO
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  • 26,490 Full-Time Enrollment

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

  • Socorro, NM
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  • 1,218 Full-Time Enrollment

Fort Lewis College

  • Durango, CO
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  • 3,320 Full-Time Enrollment

University of Arizona

  • Tucson, AZ
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  • 45,025 Full-Time Enrollment

Arizona State University

  • Tempe, AZ
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  • 64,662 Full-Time Enrollment

Prescott College

  • Prescott, AZ
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  • 317 Full-Time Enrollment

University of New Mexico

  • Albuquerque, NM
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  • 17,771 Full-Time Enrollment

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