History

Temple Junior College was founded in 1926 in response to the need for a postsecondary institution in Temple. The college is a result of the joint efforts of civic, business and educational leaders. In the early years, the college was operated by the public school system. Classes were held in the basement of the old Temple High School building. As the student body grew, so did the need for a permanent campus. A separate junior college district was established in 1955, enabling the college to build a new facility. The college moved to its present location in south Temple in 1957.

Temple College has traditionally offered pre-professional courses leading to degrees in medicine, law, education, engineering, and similar fields as well as more general academic courses that enable students to transfer to four-year institutions for baccalaureate degrees. The technical program of the college expanded with the opening of the Watson Technical Center in 1967. In recent years, a wide variety of credit and non-credit classes, programs and workshops have been offered through the Business and Continuing Education Division. Temple College became a leader in education for health professions with the opening of a new Health Sciences Center and Clinical Simulation Center in 2004.

With an enrollment of about 5,000 students, the college is large enough to maintain a flexible and varied program. It is, at the same time, small enough to provide students with opportunities for the development of leadership abilities. Small class size makes possible a close personal relationship between students and their instructors.