The University of Texas at El Paso, or UTEP, is a member of the University of Texas System. Based in El Paso, Texas, this public, co-educational university provides quality education of higher learning to the community it serves. The history of the university dates back to 1913, when the Texas governor signed Senate bill 183 to create the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, in El Paso. As a result, the school was opened in September 1914. It became the College of Mines and Metallurgy in 1920, Texas Western College of the University of Texas in 1949, and then the University of Texas at El Paso in 1967. A pioneer in higher education, the university is made up of six colleges (Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, and Science) and a graduate school. It confers 81 bachelor’s, more than 70 master’s, and 13 doctoral programs in various study areas. It ranked third in the nation for its undergraduate degrees to Hispanics. Further, the institution is renowned as the top graduate engineering school for Hispanics in the United States. A Doctoral/Research-Intensive University by the Carnegie Foundation, UTEP is located in the heart of the U.S-Mexico border city. It is identified as the only doctoral-research university in the nation with a majority of Mexican-American students. The university specializes in research areas such as Environmental Science and Engineering, Borderlands History, and Manufacturing Engineering. Border Biomedical Research Center, Center for Transportation Infrastructure Systems, Institute for Manufacturing and Materials Management, Materials Research and Technology Institute, and the Paso del Norte Research and Business Development Complex, are among the research facilities. The 366-acre campus, on the northern banks of the Rio Grande River, resembles a Himalayan kingdom. Modeled after Bhutanese monasteries, the campus is adorned with sloping walls; high, inset windows; and mosaic tiles. The Centennial Museum primarily focuses on the natural history and the indigenous, colonial, pre-urban, and folk cultures of the border regions of southwestern United States and Mexico. The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, between Fox Fine Art Center and Sun Bowl Stadium, promotes contemporary art through exhibitions and education. The Chihuahuan desert gardens also are worth visiting. Other facilities include the Don Haskins Center, University Library, Larry K. Durham Sports Center, Swimming and Fitness Center, and the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.