Higher education

Mesa del Sol taps into Albuquerque's educational system, which provides a wide variety of choices for private, public, continuing and advanced education. The main campus of the University of New Mexico (UNM) has more than 26,000 students and major schools of engineering, education, business, medicine and law. More than 130 undergraduate degrees are offered, as well as master's degrees in 94 fields and doctoral degrees in 44 areas. UNM's presence drives a culture of lifelong education in the area.

Albuquerque ranks consistently high in the percentage of college graduates per capita due to the University of New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories and the presence of local technology, research and development facilities. More than 23% of adults are college graduates, and over 30% have some college experience. In 2006, Bizjournals.com named Albuquerque the 10th Brainiest City in the nation.

Nearly 115,000 students attend elementary, middle and high schools in the metro area's school districts. The Albuquerque school district accounts for over 85,000 students; the school districts in Rio Rancho, Belen and Los Lunas comprise over 28,000. Approximately 13% of Albuquerque's children attend private or parochial schools in the community.

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), formerly Technical Vocational Institution (TVI), provides occupational and technical education as well as traditional associate degrees. More than 20,000 students attend CNM, and the school has some of the country's most innovative programs in advanced manufacturing, microelectronics and microsystems technologies. CNM has long been a partner to industry.

Major Educational Institutions	Enrollment
University of New Mexico	26,340
Central New Mexico Community College	22,930
SW Indian Polytechnic Institute	750
Highlands University ABQ Branch	500

New Mexico Lottery Scholarships

All resident New Mexico high school students with at least a 2.5 GPA (out of 4.0) are eligible for the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship. The scholarship pays for students to attend a state college, tuition-free. The program is funded by the New Mexico Lottery. The program pays for eight semesters of tuition, beginning with the student's second semester. All of the schools who accept the lottery scholarship provide a Bridge to Success Scholarship that covers tuition for a student's first semester. Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA and enroll for 12 hours.

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