The school offers numerous undergraduate degrees, most of which are focused on engineering, aeronautics and computer science.
The liberal arts, business and educational departments are slowly helping to round-out the largely techie (and male) student
population. The school also offers extensive business and management graduate classes in Houston, Dallas, Tyler, Austin and Longview.
Location
Most of its 1,500 traditional students live on campus, as the school requires all freshmen and sophomores to live in
dormitories or on-campus apartments. The campus is in the "south side" (south of U.S. Highway 80, which divides the city in half) of Longview; it is often called an oasis among low-income housing. The mostly Caucasian students are in stark contrast to their predominantly African-American and Hispanic neighbors.
Life At LeTourneau
The school's mascot is a yellowjacket and the colors are yellow and
blue. Religious chapel attendance is mandatory, and held three times weekly. The school competes in the American Southwest Conference.Short 5-10 minute devotions are held before each class by the professor or a student. The campus is completely networked, with
100-Mbit connections available nearly everywhere; convenient for an extremely tech-savvy (and demanding) student body attempting
to fulfill the rigorous academic requirements.
Sports
Soccer, football,
volleyball and basketball
intramurals are highly valued. Somewhat unique to LeTourneau is the incredible amount of floor pride. Every floor in the dorms
has its own student-created name, logo, and t-shirt. Floors often have rivalries and freshman "orientation" to build floor
unity.
Other student activities
LeTourneau boasts many student-led foundations and a very active student senate. A portion of each student's tuition and fees
is allocated to student senate each year to fund spring break mission trips, campus activities, clubs, and other projects as
deemed worthy by the representative body (senate seats are allocated by residence hall or living area). The mandatory
contribution to student senate has been a subject of debate in recent years, with many students questioning why their tuition
dollars must support an organization from which they themselves may see nothing in return. The mandatory contribution is
ultimately a de facto tax, and some resent their "tax dollars" being allocated to events such
as clubs or fraternity retreats.The Yellowjacket Activities Council (YAC), a university-sanctioned student events committee, is responsible for planning and
supervising several recreational "student life" activities each semester. Concerts, midnight festivals, movies, paintball, and Valentine
parties are among the activities organized by YAC.The school emphasizes integrating Evangelical Christian teaching
with higher education.