Education

Midland has a wide array of educational opportunities for everyone, from those beginning their first steps into the world to those pursuing interests with lifelong learning opportunities. To search our business directory for education information, click here or read on for a sample of education that is available in the Permian Basin.

    BASE Program

The BASE (Businesses Assisting School Employees) Program offers discounts from local retailers to employees of the school districts in Midland County.  This is a great opportunity for local businesses to show their appreciation to the people who provide excellent educational opportunities for the students in Midland County.  For a list of discounts offered, click the logo above.  For more information, call the Chamber Offices at 432-683-3381.

Midland Independent School District
615 W. Missouri Ave., 79701-5017 (432) 689-1000

The Midland Independent School District provides a well-rounded education for students. Many opportunities to learn life-skills and grow as individuals are provided. Through many different programs the Midland ISD is able to teach reading, writing and arithmetic as well as other skills that are essential for producing the educated leaders and workforce of tomorrow.

Photo courtesy of Midland Reporter Telegram

Midland ISD boasts one of the strongest high school fine arts programs in the state, including a wide range of opportunity for performances, competitions and student recognition. Instruction begins as early as kindergarten through active participation and discovery in music and art. As fifth- and sixth-graders, students may audition for the 175-voice Midland ISD Honor Choir, or may choose to begin instruction on a string instrument in one of the elementary orchestras. In junior high school, elective choices broaden to include participation in theater arts, band, orchestra, choir or art.


The district offers a wide variety of award-winning athletic programs for both boys and girls in grades seven through twelve. Midland is consistently well represented by the 3,500 young men and women who participate in extracurricular athletics under the guidelines of the University Interscholastic League.




Greenwood Independent School District
2700 FM 1379, 79701 (432) 683-6461


Alternative Public Schools*
Midland Academy Charter School (432) 686-0003
Richard Milburn Academy (432) 522-7200


Private Schools*
Hillander School (432) 684-8681
Midland Christian School (432) 694-1661
St. Ann’s Catholic School (432) 684-4563
Bynum School (special education) (432) 520-0075
Sylvan Learning Center (supplemental education) (432) 520-9411
Trinity School of Midland (432) 697-3281


Home School Information
Midland Association of Christian Home Educators (MACHE) (432) 694-6279

*The private and alternative schools listed on this page are members of the Midland Chamber of Commerce. There are many specialized private and public schools in the Midland area. For a complete list check the yellow pages of your telephone book.

Higher Education
An impressive percentage of Midland residents have earned college and post-graduate degrees. Within a 105-mile radius of Midland are a total of eight universities, colleges and junior colleges.


Midland College (MC)
3600 N. Garfield (432) 685-4500
Metro Number (432) 570-8805 or 570-8875

Midland College is one of only three community colleges in Texas approved to offer a bachelor’s degree. The new Bachelor of Applied Technology-Organizational Management degree is designed to broaden career opportunities for students and better their chances for promotion to supervisory positions. Midland College remains committed to its mission by offering a variety of programs to more than 6,000 students who enroll each semester. MC offers unique programs in Health Sciences, Legal Assistant, Information Technology, and Aviation, including a Professional Pilot Training program. Academic partnerships with universities, including Texas Tech, Sul Ross State University, Howard Payne University, Lubbock Christian University, Angelo State University and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, reinforce that MC students can easily transfer to all four-year schools — and, in some cases, even stay in Midland to finish a bachelor’s degree from one of these schools.

 Midland College's Legacy Scholarship - a collaborative funding partnership between the Abell-Hanger Foundation, the Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust, and the Chaparral Foundation - provides a tuition-free education to eligible Midland County high school graduates to attend Midland College.  The scholarship builds citizenship and a commitment to the community by requiring recipients to complete community service in exchange for the scholarship. Cutting-edge facilities and equipment at Midland College’s Advanced Technology Center ensure that Midland College can meet area technology training needs. Partnerships with local businesses give area workers easy access to job training, whether they take classes for certification or to update their skills. Four free performances and lectures each year, sponsored by the Phyllis and Bob Cowan Performing Arts Series, the Davidson Distinguished Lecture Series and the Friends of the Series, extend MC’s outreach into every part of this community.


The Midland College Advanced Technology Center (ATC)
3200 W. Cuthbert (432) 697-5863

The ATC is a unique educational venture involving Midland College, the Midland Independent School District, the Midland Chamber of Commerce, and a number of community organizations. The ATC is designed to deliver workforce education programs to support the development of a skilled technical workforce for Midland and the Permian Basin by allowing students to earn high school diplomas, college certificates, and associate of applied science degrees. This facility also enables Midland-area residents to further enhance their technical skills through industry-recognized certifications and other continuing education opportunities. The Midland College Workforce Training Department, located at the ATC, offers short-term courses and training as requested by Permian Basin business and industry. JobTrack, a fast-track job skills program, extends this opportunity to area workers who need entry-level computer and business skills. The Franz Weis Industrial Technology Training Center, with an exhibit honoring internationally known race car engine-builder Franz Weis, is available for customized training and for tours.

The ATC houses more than 80,000 square feet of instructional space that features high-tech computer classrooms with Internet access, a multi-media teleconferencing classroom, and a tiered Business Lecture Hall. Specialty laboratories at the ATC include welding, and metallurgy labs, electronic labs, automotive technology labs and medical simulations labs.
State-of-the-art equipment in all instructional areas provides students with “high-tech, high-touch” instruction and hands-on application of skills. The ATC’s computer classrooms and labs are equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software that are used to train students in contemporary software applications, computer networking capabilities, and computer hardware maintenance and repair. Computer applications and skills used by business and industry are taught in all instructional programs. A sophisticated computer network will allow the ATC to accommodate 700+ computer workstations.
The ATC is a true community partnership involving the support of Midland area educational, city, community, and business leaders. The project partners have embraced a vision to pool collective resources to establish an innovative enterprise for the purpose of training versatile individuals for the workforce and the community.


The Midland College Cogdell Learning Center (ATC)
201 W. Florida (432) 684-4100

The purpose of the Cogdell Learning Center is to refer residents of South and East Midland to Midland College resources. Just as importantly, the center helps Midland College provide services needed by these residents.
Current services provided by the Cogdell Learning Center include:

• The Educational Talent Search program encourages hundreds of individuals to attend college. Individuals — from sixth graders to high school students to high school drop-outs up to 27 years of age — are eligible to participate;
• The Business and Economic Development Center (BEDC) promotes economic development in Midland by assisting small businesses and new entrepreneurial ventures. Free counseling is available for preparing a business plan; starting a new business; purchasing an existing business; expanding an existing business; exploring financing options and identifying additional business support. In addition, the BEDC provides a Business Survival Skills Certificate program. Business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs can take courses in a multitude of topics of interest to small business owners;
• Through a partnership with the Midland Community Development Corporation, the BEDC coordinates the Midland Americorps Program;
• Midland Need to Read provides adult literacy training free of charge;
• General Education Development (GED) and English as a Second Language classes are offered free of charge;
• Free assistance is offered to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to plan the college enrollment process; and,
• A community lecture hall that features seating for 50, a Sympodium interactive lectern and a wireless Internet environment for laptop computer use.

The Midland College Petroleum Professional Development Center (PPDC)
221 N. Main (432) 683-2832

The Petroleum Professional Development Center (PPDC) of Midland College was created through the consolidation of the Permian Basin Graduate Center and Midland College's Petroleum Geotechnology Training Center. Housed in the Jack G. Elam Building located in downtown Midland, the center is a state-of-the-art educational facility designed specifically for the regional oil and gas industry. The center provides unique programs developed for working geoscientists, petroleum engineers, landmen, accountants, and field operations personnel and offers industry updates to area oil and gas professionals. The PPDC is one of seven mid-career training centers worldwide recognized by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
(AAPG).


Odessa College
201 W. University, Odessa (432) 563-1146 / (432) 335-6400 / Fax (432) 335-6860

Midland residents participate in educational programs at Odessa College, a two-year community college.

University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB)
4901 E. University, Odessa (432) 552-2805 / Fax (432) 552-2808

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, a four-year university, is experiencing unprecedented growth in enrollment, degrees and programs. The Texas Legislature recently allocated $99 million to build a state-of-the-art Science & Technology Complex, and the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. The Performing Arts Center will be located in Midland County, at FM 1788 & Highway 191 next to the University’s Center for Energy and Economic Diversification (CEED Bldg). The Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center will offer a venue for traveling Broadway shows and lecture series, as well as symphony, concert, and ballet performances. More than 3,500 students from 135 Texas counties attend the University each semester. Upcoming construction, which will include classrooms – will allow UT Permian Basin to increase enrollment significantly. The University has an impressive Visual Arts Complex complete with a gallery, and boasts award-winning art students and professors, a two-story Library/Lecture Center, and newly built apartments in Student Housing. The University is distinguished in the University of Texas System for its John Ben Shepperd Public Leadership Institute and leadership programs, its innovations in developing alternative fuels and in setting the stage to develop the nation’s next generation of high-temperature nuclear reactors cooled by helium. The University's School of Business was recently awarded accreditation from AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The School of Education was accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educations (NCATE), the social work program has received initial accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education, and the visual art programs have been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). The small class size at UTPB encourages graduate students to collaborate on research directly with professors. The University offers 32 undergraduate and 19 master’s degrees, courses online, and cooperative programs with area community colleges and universities. The athletic program has expanded to include 11 men’s and women’s teams and participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II (NCAA D-11).

Southeastern Career Institute
4320 W. Illinois Ave., Suite A (432) 681-3390 / (800) 641-3333

Located at Westwood Village Shopping Center, Southeastern Career Institute offers medical and dental assistant classes and computer business systems classes. The school has classrooms, student and staff lounges, business offices and a reception area. The classrooms at each campus are large, spacious and conducive to learning. Classroom equipment is similar to equipment found in the business and technical fields for which students are training to enter.


Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Odessa
800 W. 4th St., Odessa (432) 335-5111 / Fax (432) 335-5104

The school of Allied Health at Odessa offers a master’s degree program in physical therapy. The newest addition is the Physician Assistant Program located in Midland. Students are accepted into the School of Allied Health programs after completing the required prerequisites, which may be attained at most two- and four-year institutions of higher education.

The School of Medicine, 701 West 5th Street in Odessa, consists of four departments offering Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and the University Women’s Health Center.
The Permian Basin School of Nursing is committed to providing innovative education with a focus on primary care and rural health at both the baccalaureate and master’s levels. Students apply to the Texas Tech School of Nursing in Odessa to obtain a baccalaureate nursing degree in the undergraduate school and a master’s degree in the graduate school.