The University of Texas at El Paso is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the second oldest academic component of the University of Texas System. Classified as a "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of High…The University of Texas at El Paso is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the second oldest academic component of the University of Texas System. Classified as a "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, UTEP is the largest and oldest top-tier Hispanic-serving research university in the United States, outside of Puerto Rico.