Academic Attractions: Best Plano Colleges to Visit

You’ll find an array of colleges in Plano and the surrounding region that showcase some of the best of Texas—from well-known universities to community institutions and satellite campuses.

The original campus of Collin College is in McKinney, but this community college has two campuses in Plano: the Courtyard Center and the larger Spring Creek Campus. The Courtyard Center caters to those seeking continuing education and workforce development skills, such as learning foreign languages. The Spring Creek Campus is home to many of the school’s core classes, and it's home to a massive library. Catch a student-run theatrical production at the Collin Theater Center or a match at the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Stadium on the Spring Creek Campus.

The main campus of Southern Methodist University is located in Dallas, but SMU also operates the satellite campus, SMU-in-Plano. The Plano site is geared toward working professionals in search of advanced degrees or workplace certificates. More than 800 students are enrolled in SMU-in-Plano’s graduate or professional development programs, covering topics ranging from dispute resolution and digital game development to advance teacher placement training. The 16-acre campus is fittingly set in the Legacy Business Park and is comprised of four buildings with 50 classrooms and meeting spaces.

Dallas Baptist University is a small Christian liberal arts college based in Dallas with a satellite campus, DBU North, located in west Plano. The satellite site offers major coursework that counts towards various degrees, including undergraduate classes in psychology and business administration, and graduate classes in management and professional counseling. The Plano campus also allows students to take care of day-to-day business. It includes school offices for admissions, academic counseling, tuition payments and class registration.

Based in Richardson, 12 minutes southwest of Plano, the University of Texas at Dallas is a public institution attended by more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Prospective students and their parents can take a guided weekday tour of the 500-acre campus. Cheer on the Division III Comets as they compete in men’s and women’s soccer and basketball, as well as baseball and softball, in the American Southwest Conference. The school’s most heralded team efforts remain its debate and chess teams, considered some of the finest in the nation.

The University of Dallas is a private Catholic college located 28 minutes southwest of Plano in Irving. It's home to less than 3,000 enrolled students. Private tours are available for prospective students so they can take in the lush, green rolling hills of the 700-plus-acre campus. Don't miss Haggerty Art Village, the school's graduate art program set in the peaceful woods and home to studio space and the renowned Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery.