Hill Country University Center

The Hill Country University Center is where eager-to-learn minds gather to pursue higher education in the Texas Hill Country.

The Hill Country University Center (HCUC) provides an opportunity for Texas Hill Country students to overcome the three biggest barriers to the pursuit of higher education: availability, proximity to home, and cost. In 2010, the HCUC opened its 24,000 square foot academic facility, which is owned and operated by the HCUC Foundation, on 17 acres of land leased from the City of Fredericksburg.

The HCUC serves as a teaching site for both Central Texas College (CTC) and Texas Tech University (TTU) where students can pursue associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees while realizing considerable savings by living and working locally. Our academic partners, CTC and TTU, provide the classes while the HCUC provides the academic facility.

The HCUC campus serves students in Gillespie and the surrounding six-county area. Evening classes are popular as many students are working adults. The facility also offers innovative classroom settings with online and video hybrid classes. An estimated 3,000 students and community members utilize the HCUC every year for higher education opportunities and community events.

Eyeing the local, growing market, the HCUC directors are implementing professional development programs to help meet the area’s workforce needs, getting interested students started in the areas of hospitality, culinary arts, teacher education, healthcare, business, winemaking, and general academic higher education.

CTC offers lower-level courses at a fraction of the price of larger schools or other community colleges. Students can earn an associate degree while completing their core curriculum courses, which are transferable to four-year university programs. CTC is also working with local school districts to expand trade and training opportunities for students who wish to go that route instead of pursuing a four-year degree.

TTU-Fredericksburg offers bachelor’s degrees in several areas at the HCUC including teacher education, plant & soil science, business, political science, and general studies. TTU-Fredericksburg is leading the way in the study of winemaking and offers viticulture and enology certificate programs. The program has attracted grape growers and winemakers from around the nation seeking to earn industry certification. TTU-Fredericksburg students also have access to a variety of online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level courses.

Courtesy of Fredericksburg Standard Publishing 2018.

Hill Country University Center Foundation

Board of Directors – Officers

Board Members

Ex-Officio Members

Executive Director