The first institute of higher education was established in Tulsa when Kendall College, a Presbyterian school, moved from Muskogee to Tulsa in 1907.
In 1920, the school merged with a proposed McFarlin College to become the University of Tulsa (abbreviated as TU).
The McFarlin library of TU was named for the principal donor of the proposed college, oilman Robert M. McFarlin.

Tulsa has 15 institutions of higher education, including two private universities: the University of Tulsa, a school founded in 1894, and Oral Roberts University, a school founded by evangelist Oral Roberts in 1963.

The University of Tulsa has an enrollment of 4,192 undergraduate and graduate students and is ranked 83rd among national doctoral universities in U.S. News and World Report's 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges and among the best 123 Western Colleges by the Princeton Review in 2007, which also ranks it in the top ten schools nationally for quality of life, overall happiness of students, and relationship with the community.
 In addition to doctoral and masters programs, TU is home to the University of Tulsa College of Law and the Collins College of Business.
TU also manages the famous Gilcrease Museum in northwest Tulsa and hosts the Alexandre Hogue Gallery on its main campus.

Oral Roberts University, a charismatic Christian institution with an enrollment of 5,109 undergraduate and graduate students, was rated in 2007 by the Princeton Review one of the 123 best in the Western United States and among the West's top 50 Master's Universities by U.S. News and World Report in 2005.
Prominent ORU alumni include Kathie Lee Gifford, Joel Osteen and Ryan Tedder.

Both of the state's flagship research universities have campuses in Tulsa:
Oklahoma State University houses three campuses in the city, the OSU Center for Health Sciences, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, and OSU – Tulsa, accommodating upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses.
OSU-Tulsa has an advanced materials research facility and is home to the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers.

The University of Oklahoma operates what is known as the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center, offering bachelors, master's, and doctoral degree programs in conjunction with the main campus in Norman and the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.
The OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center also houses the OU School of Community Medicine, the first medical school of its kind in the United States.

Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma is the Tulsa area's original public, undergraduate-focused, four-year university.
Tulsa Community College (TCC), the largest community college in Oklahoma,  operates four campuses spread across the area as well as a conference center in Midtown, and has a partnership allowing students to complete four-year bachelor's degrees through OU-Tulsa, OSU-Tulsa, LU-Tulsa and NSU-Broken Arrow.
 Tulsa also has a Tulsa branch of Langston University, the only historically black college or university in the state, founded in 1897.
Tulsa previously had a branch campus of St. Gregory's University, a Catholic university with its main campus in Shawnee, Oklahoma; however, that school went into bankruptcy in 2017.

The Spartan School of Aeronautics enrolls 1,500 students at its flight programs near Tulsa International Airport and the city's vocational education is headed by Tulsa Technology Center, the oldest and largest vocational technology institution in the state.
Virginia College is a school focusing on career training in Business and office, Health and Medical and Network Engineering and has a campus in Tulsa.
The college offers day and night classes, several of which are available online.

Among trade schools located in Tulsa are Community Care College (including branches Oklahoma Technical College and Clary Sage College), and Tulsa Tech.
The first institute of higher education was established in Tulsa when Kendall College, a Presbyterian school, moved from Muskogee to Tulsa in 1907. In 1920, the school merged with a proposed McFarlin College to become the University of Tulsa (abbreviated as TU). The McFarlin library of TU was named for the principal donor of the proposed college, oilman Robert M. McFarlin.
Tulsa has 15 institutions of higher education, including two private universities: the University of Tulsa, a school founded in 1894, and Oral Roberts University, a school founded by evangelist Oral Roberts in 1963.
The University of Tulsa has an enrollment of 4,192 undergraduate and graduate students and is ranked 83rd among national doctoral universities in U.S. News and World Report's 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges and among the best 123 Western Colleges by the Princeton Review in 2007, which also ranks it in the top ten schools nationally for quality of life, overall happiness of students, and relationship with the community.  In addition to doctoral and masters programs, TU is home to the University of Tulsa College of Law and the Collins College of Business. TU also manages the famous Gilcrease Museum in northwest Tulsa and hosts the Alexandre Hogue Gallery on its main campus.
Oral Roberts University, a charismatic Christian institution with an enrollment of 5,109 undergraduate and graduate students, was rated in 2007 by the Princeton Review one of the 123 best in the Western United States and among the West's top 50 Master's Universities by U.S. News and World Report in 2005. Prominent ORU alumni include Kathie Lee Gifford, Joel Osteen and Ryan Tedder.
Both of the state's flagship research universities have campuses in Tulsa:
Oklahoma State University houses three campuses in the city, the OSU Center for Health Sciences, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, and OSU – Tulsa, accommodating upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses. OSU-Tulsa has an advanced materials research facility and is home to the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers.
The University of Oklahoma operates what is known as the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center, offering bachelors, master's, and doctoral degree programs in conjunction with the main campus in Norman and the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. The OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center also houses the OU School of Community Medicine, the first medical school of its kind in the United States.
Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma is the Tulsa area's original public, undergraduate-focused, four-year university. Tulsa Community College (TCC), the largest community college in Oklahoma,  operates four campuses spread across the area as well as a conference center in Midtown, and has a partnership allowing students to complete four-year bachelor's degrees through OU-Tulsa, OSU-Tulsa, LU-Tulsa and NSU-Broken Arrow.  Tulsa also has a Tulsa branch of Langston University, the only historically black college or university in the state, founded in 1897. Tulsa previously had a branch campus of St. Gregory's University, a Catholic university with its main campus in Shawnee, Oklahoma; however, that school went into bankruptcy in 2017.
The Spartan School of Aeronautics enrolls 1,500 students at its flight programs near Tulsa International Airport and the city's vocational education is headed by Tulsa Technology Center, the oldest and largest vocational technology institution in the state. Virginia College is a school focusing on career training in Business and office, Health and Medical and Network Engineering and has a campus in Tulsa. The college offers day and night classes, several of which are available online.
Among trade schools located in Tulsa are Community Care College (including branches Oklahoma Technical College and Clary Sage College), and Tulsa Tech.
Tulsa, Oklahoma