Teaching the Art of Science

ABOUT THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) was established in 1972 and currently hosts doctoral programs in Biomedical Engineering, Health Sciences, Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBMS), Nursing Science, Radiological Sciences and Translational Science. A Professional Doctorate in Medical Physics and Master’s degrees in Cell Systems and Anatomy, Clinical Investigation and Translational Science, Biomedical Engineering, Dental Hygiene, Dental Science, Immunology and Infection, Medical Health Physics, and Personalized Molecular Medicine are offered. Certificates in Biomedical Data Science (pending SACSCOC approval), Cancer Prevention (CCP), Pre-Professional (PP), and Translational Science (CTS) are also offered.  

The graduate programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nursing Science and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Health Sciences are conducted by the faculty of the UT Health San Antonio's School of Nursing and School of Health Professions respectively and administered through the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.  The Master of Science and Doctoral Programs in Biomedical Engineering are jointly offered by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the UT Health San Antonio and the Graduate School at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT-SA). The Translational Science Ph.D. (TS Ph.D.) program is a unique interdisciplinary, joint doctoral degree program involving four UT Institutions: The University of Texas at San Antonio, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas School of Public Health, San Antonio Regional Campus and the UT Health San Antonio. A Master's program in Clinical Investigation and Translational Science is designed for graduate students and health care professionals interested in the design and conduct of clinical studies. Certificates in Cancer Prevention and in Translational Science are administered through the Master's program in Clinical Investigation and Translational Science. The Master's degree programs in Dental Science and Dental Hygiene are offered under the joint auspices of the University's School of Dentistry and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. A new Pre-Professional certificate will provide opportunities for students to enhance their competitiveness when applying to medical school, and a new certificate in biomedical data science (pending SACSCOCC approval) will address the ongoing explosion of biomedical data, such as Electronic Health/Medical Records, to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of disease and ultimately improve health care.

These academic programs offered by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are designed to provide a fundamental foundation of knowledge and scientific inquiry and enable the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to assert its primary objective of educating students committed to the advancement of knowledge in contemporary areas of the biomedical sciences. Our educational and research faculty are housed in all five schools of UT Health San Antonio. A compelling aspect of graduate education in a health science center is the opportunity for graduate students to interface with health professionals with diverse technological and conceptual capabilities and perspectives in the biomedical sciences. These programs provide opportunities for graduate students to become competent in a specialized field, to attain excellence in the conduct of research, and to gain an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of biomedical sciences. Our graduate programs are offered in a prominent academic health science center and provide an environment where scientific inquiry can synergize with the healing professions to guide our science in seeking solutions to even the most vexing biomedical issues plaguing mankind. Detailed information about these graduate programs is provided in this Catalog.

The proof of accomplishment or enduring value of any educational process is evidenced in the demonstrated productivity and academic achievement of the graduates of the program. Without question, the doctoral and masters programs of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences have, during the past four decades, achieved outstanding success in their educational mission of preparing professional scientists who function well in academic, industrial, and government sectors.

There is a diversity of talent, but also a unity of purpose in teaching and mentoring students in an exciting array of interdisciplinary and discipline-based fields of study and research. 

ABOUT COGS

Each program is supervised by a Committee on Graduate Studies (COGS)composed of members of the graduate faculty of that program. The COGS is responsible for establishing admission requirements specific to the program, recommending approval or denial of admission of applicants to the program, overseeing academic curricula, monitoring its students' academic progress in didactic and research activities, attesting eligibility for admission to candidacy for a degree, and verifying to the Graduate Faculty Council that the student has fulfilled all requirements for the awarding of the degree. Each graduate program shall have the primary responsibility for the conduct and administration of the program including the appointment of the COGS Chair, the administrative head of the program. The COGS Chair is the voting representative of the program on the Graduate Faculty Council and serves as the liaison officer between the COGS and the Graduate School Dean's Office on all matters pertaining to academic and student affairs. Once the COGS Chair is selected, the Graduate School Dean’s Office must be notified via an official memorandum of the decision within one week. 

In several graduate programs, a single graduate faculty member serves as both COGS Chair and Graduate Advisor . The graduate advisor serves as a counselor on academic matters and monitors the student's progress in (a) successfully completing contingencies of admission and course requirements of the program, and (b) selecting an area of research specialization. 

The Graduate Faculty Council has the responsibility to establish and maintain policies and regulations on matters of graduate education common to all programs administered by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. These include such matters as general academic requirements for admission to graduate study and advancement to candidacy, for continuation of studies, and awarding of degrees; standards of student professional conduct; grading systems; graduate program review; and criteria for thesis and dissertation research, supervision of research, and defense of research. Each COGS is responsible to the Graduate Faculty Council and submits recommendations on various graduate program matters, including the submission of degrees, to the Council for review and vote for approval.

The Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is the administrative head of the graduate programs and serves as the Chair of the Graduate Faculty Council. Ex-officio nonvoting members of the Council include the Dean, the Associate Dean(s) of the Graduate School, the Assistant Dean(s) of the Graduate School, the Registrar, and one student representative elected by the Graduate Student Association. The voting members of the Council consist of the COGS chairs of each graduate program. 

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY

UT Health San Antonio is the premier academic research center in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world.

We are one of 13 UT System institutions. We have a student enrollment of 3,439 and graduate approximately 200 physicians, 400 nurses, 100 dentists, 400 health professionals in other fields and 100 scientists each year. With almost 1,000 residents in training, we have strong partnerships with the military and every hospital system in San Antonio.

Our five schools offer 65 professional, graduate and undergraduate degree and certificate programs. Since doors opened in 1968, UT Health San Antonio has had more than 39,700 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. 

With an operating budget of $987.3 million (FY21), the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $42.4 billion biosciences and health care industry, the leading sector in San Antonio’s economy. Life-changing therapies and treatments originate in the laboratories of UT Health San Antonio. We proactively advance against disease through groundbreaking research, leading to the key scientific discoveries that are accelerating new therapies and cures. From our notable research findings published in leading journals around the world, to our revolutionary advancements in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases, cancer and diabetes, our experts pursue powerful scientific solutions for society.

FACTS

• U.S. News & World Report ranked The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio as #52 Best Medical School for Research for 2022

• Designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, UT Health San Antonio consistently ranks among the top schools in the nation for graduating Hispanic health care providers. 

• UT Health San Antonio is one of only 11 institutions with National Institutes of Health-funded D.D.S./ Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. programs.

• UT Health San Antonio is ranked in the top 3% worldwide for all organizations that receive National Institutes of Health funding.

• The National Institute of Health awarded UT Health San Antonio a multi-year grant under the Clinical Translational Science Award Program, which recognizes dedication to predicting, preventing and curing disease precisely.

• UT Health San Antonio faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.

• Top 25 Rank among departments in the Nation for Department of Pharmacology and Department of Physiology (Top rankings NIH funding-Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, 2020

•  Top 5 Rank among departments in the state of Texas for: Anatomy & Cell Biology, , Biochemistry, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Surgery, Urology (Top rankings NIH funding-Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, 2020

• Faculty accolades: 8 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 15 members of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, 1 member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Researcher Hall of Fame, 10 members of the Association of American Physicians, 11 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 17 fellows of the American Academy of Nursing, 2 NIH Merit Awardees, 2 fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, 46 UT System STARs, a program of the University of Texas System designed to recruit and retain faculty

RESEARCH

• The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) is ranked #39 on the Nature Index among healthcare institutions. We were also ranked #42 in biomedical sciences, #44 in cancer research, and #47 in healthcare based on the articles published in the highest quality and most selective impact journals across the natural sciences.

• 200 human studies annually, targeting prevalent disease and disorders and $889,286 in revenue generated from licensing of intellectual property (FY20)

• UT Health San Antonio has more than 1,700 ongoing research studies that involve humans, including 450 clinical trials. These clinical trials range from endodontics and respiratory care to diabetes treatments and cancer therapies.

• UT Health San Antonio leads the world’s largest research group focused on combat-related PTSD and related conditions, with more than $150 million for nearly 60 related research projects.

• In FY20, UT Health San Antonio played a major research role in the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a “game changer” process that nearly triples the five-day shelf life of blood platelets, commonly used for treating trauma patients.

• UT Health San Antonio is supported by textbook-published researchers, many of whom are known for breakthrough discoveries, including the first cardiac stent and the cure for hiccups.

• More than 148 research projects are being led by scientists and clinicians at UT Health San Antonio in response to the coronavirus and resulting COVID-19 disease. These projects range from worldwide clinical trials on the efficacy of remdesivir and the Novavax vaccine, to innovative biomedical lab research and patient care studies to understand the long-term health effects of the virus.

CENTERS

• The Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies is one of the world’s premier institutes dedicated to the study of age-related diseases and is the only aging-intensive research institute in the country to have four designations: two National Institute on Aging-funded centers (Nathan Shock and Claude D. Pepper), a testing site of the NIA-sponsored Interventions Testing Program and a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center.

• As one of the only NCI-designated cancer treatment centers in Texas, UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center gives patients greater access to new methods and treatments as they’re being developed.

• The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases is the first comprehensive center in Central and South Texas dedicated to transforming the treatment of dementia through patient care, education and innovative research and clinical trials.

• The Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute is one of only two institutes in the U.S. dedicated solely to pediatric cancer research. It has 18 laboratories that focus on cancer genomics, DNA repair, RNA biology and lung development in order to find new and less toxic treatments for childhood cancers.

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