University of North Texas Health Science Center

The University of North Texas Health Science Center, commonly known as the UNT Health Science Center and abbreviated UNTHSC, is a graduate-level institution of the University of North Texas System. The 1,949-student, 33-acre campus opened in 1970 and is located in the Cultural District of Fort Worth, Texas.

The UNT Health Science Center comprises the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM), the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Public Health, the School of Health Professions, the UNT System College of Pharmacy, plus other centers and institutes.

UNT Health at UNTHSC is the TCOM faculty practice program providing direct patient care. UNT Health handles over 600,000 patient visits annually. The group's 170 physicians practice in 40 medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties, including allergy/immunology, family practice, cardiology, neurology, obstetrics & gynecology, oncology, orthopedics, psychiatry, sports medicine and neurosurgery.

Center for BioHealth at UNTHSC
Research centers and institutes at UNTSHC include the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CRI), the Center for Commercialization of Fluorescence Technologies (CCFT), the Focused on Resources for her Health Education and Research (FOR HER), the Institute for Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Research (IAADR), the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR), the Institute of Applied Genetics (IAG), the North Texas Eye Research Institute (NTERI), the Osteopathic Research Center (ORC), the Texas Prevention Institute (TPI), the Center For Community Health (CCH), the Primary Care Research Center (PCRC), and The Texas Center for Health Disparities (TCHD).

The UNT Center for Human Identification, which is housed at UNTHSC, analyzes DNA samples from both unidentified remains as well as reference samples submitted by family members of missing persons to law enforcement agencies nationwide. It also conducts all DNA analysis for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center is the only academic center in the U.S. with access to the FBI's next-generation CODIS 6.0 DNA Software. UNTHSC also manages the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) for the U.S. Department of Justice.

UNTHSC serves as home to several National Institutes of Health-funded research programs and currently leads all Texas health science centers in research growth.The Health Science Center also houses laboratories for TECH Fort Worth, a non-profit business incubator for biotechnology.

Community and school outreach programs include Fort Worth's annual Hispanic Wellness Fair and the annual Cowtown Marathon, which were founded by UNTHSC. The Health Science Center participates in 10 state and federally funded programs that bring students and teachers onto campus each summer.

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM)

Founded in 1970, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) is a state-supported osteopathic medical school that serves as the cornerstone of the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Originally established as a private, non-profit institution on the campus of Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital, TCOM began receiving state funding in 1971 and officially became part of North Texas State University in 1975 when the Texas Legislature overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 216, which made TCOM a state medical school.TCOM was the second university-affiliated osteopathic medical school to be established.The college grants the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (D.O.).

TCOM currently has 685 D.O. students and over 300 full-time basic science and clinical faculty members. The full-time faculty is augmented by over 400 part-time faculty members.[12] TCOM is ranked as the number 33 medical school for primary care by U.S. News and World Report.TCOM graduates the fourth most physicians in the United States that go on to practice primary care.Approximately 55 percent of TCOM's graduates practice primary care medicine (family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology), while the remainder are in specialties ranging from aerospace medicine to vascular medicine.

Clinical rotation sites include John Peter Smith (JPS) Hospital in Fort Worth, Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth, Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Methodist Dallas Medical Center in Dallas, Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Conroe Regional Medical Center in Conroe, Bay Area Medical Center in Corpus Christi, and Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. Residency programs include dermatology, family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, neuromusculoskeletal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology. Fellowship programs include cardiology, gastroenterology, geriatrics-internal medicine, interventional cardiology, neuromusculoskeletal medicine, palliative medicine, and rheumatology.

TCOM also offers dual degree programs (D.O./M.P.H., D.O./M.S., D.O./Ph.D.) with the School of Public Health and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences,and an early admission program is available for qualified undergraduates from UNT and UT Dallas.

As a state medical school, TCOM is required to enroll 90 percent Texas residents for each entering class. Applications for admission are processed through the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS).

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences was established in 1993 when the Department of Biomedical Sciences at UNT was transferred to the Health Science Center.

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical sciences as well as dual degrees (DO/MS and DO/PhD), with options to specialize in biochemistry and molecular biology, cancer biology, cardiovascular science, cell biology, integrative physiology, microbiology and immunology, neurobiology of aging, pharmacology and neuroscience, physical medicine, structural anatomy, visual sciences, and integrative biomedical science. Specialized master's programs are available in biotechnology, clinical research management, forensic genetics, lab animal science, and medical sciences.[24][25]

School of Public Health
The School of Public Health (SPH) was founded in 1999. Degree programs in SPH include Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Public Health (MPH), Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), and Ph.D. in public health sciences.Graduate certificate programs are available in Public Health and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

SPH also offers dual degree programs with TCOM, the UNT Anthropology Department and the University of Texas at Arlington School of Nursing.

School of Health Professions
The School of Health Professions at UNTHSC started with the Physician Assistant program in 1997, which became the first PA program in Texas granted authority to award the Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree.The MPAS program is currently ranked as the number 38 graduate-level physician assistant program by U.S. News and World Report.

The School also offers a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree.

UNT System College of Pharmacy
In 2011 the Texas Legislature authorized the establishment of a college of pharmacy at UNTHSC.[31] A founding dean has been named, and the college is scheduled to matriculate its inaugural class of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in 2013.

UNT Health
UNT Health is the physician entity of UNTHSC. It includes 170 physicians (99 DOs and 71 MDs) from nearly every medical specialty who practice in over 30 offices across Tarrant County as well as area hospitals. UNT Health handles over half a million patient visits every year.

Library
The Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library's collections, including more than 20,000 journal titles and 67,000 books, provide UNTHSC students and faculty with access to the latest basic science and clinical research. The Lewis Library provides access to virtually 100 percent of the world's current medical information, including a wide variety of research databases

Description:
The UNT Health Science Center is a graduate university housed on a 33-acre campus located in Fort Worth's Cultural District. The university includes the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Public Health and the School of Health Professions, which includes the departments of Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy.

As one of the nation's distinguished academic health science centers, dedicated to education, research, patient care and service, the UNT Health Science Center began when the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine accepted its first students in 1970. With the establishment of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 1993, the name was changed to the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. In 1999, UNTHSC joined UNT's Denton and Dallas campuses to form the UNT System.

Our History
The University of North Texas Health Science Center is one of the nation's distinguished graduate academic health science centers, dedicated to education, research, patient care and service. It comprises the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM), the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), the School of Public Health (SPH), the School of Health Professions (SHP), which includes the Physician Assistant Studies and the Physical Therapy Programs, and the new UNT System College of Pharmacy, opening in 2013. UNT Health is the faculty practice providing direct patient care for the citizens of Tarrant County.

A 33-acre, 1.2 million square-foot campus located in Fort Worth's Cultural District, the Health Science Center has a $220 million annual budget and adds approximately $600 million into Fort Worth's economy annually. It has a combined faculty of more than 400, a staff of more than 1,400 and 750 part-time and adjunct faculty from other institutions and the community.

The Health Science Center began when TCOM accepted its first students in 1970. The first class of doctors of osteopathic medicine graduated in 1974. TCOM is Texas' only college of osteopathic medicine and one of only 28 in the nation. Roughly 65 percent of the more than 3,000 physicians it has trained practice in primary care fields, such as family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics. Other graduates have chosen specialties ranging from aerospace medicine to heart transplant surgery. TCOM has been ranked one of the top 50 medical schools in the nation for primary care by U.S. News & World Report each year since 2003. It has also been ranked as one of the Top 20 Medical Schools for Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine four times since 2005.

With the establishment of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 1993, the name of the institution was changed to the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. In 1999 the Health Science Center joined UNT's Denton and Dallas campuses to form the UNT System.

The School of Public Health was established in 1997. Also in 1997, the first students matriculated into the Physician Assistant Studies Program, which is now in the School of Health Professions along with the Physical Therapy Program.

The Health Science Center is home to the Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library, where virtually the entire wealth of the world's current medical knowledge is accessible to the public seven days a week through sophisticated information search networks and computer databases.

In keeping with its location in Fort Worth's Cultural District, the campus also boasts the Atrium Gallery, a public art gallery that is a member of the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association.

UNT Health is one of Tarrant County's largest multi-specialty medical group practices. UNT Health now handles more than a half million patient visits each year for everything from lab work and surgery visits to geriatric care. The group's doctors practice in 40 medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties, including allergy/immunology, family practice, cardiology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics, physical therapy, psychiatry, sports medicine and surgery.

The Health Science Center has created the Health Institutes of Texas to speed research discoveries from bench to bedside. The Health Institutes of Texas include: the Cardiovascular Research Institute, the Center for Commercialization of Fluorescence Technologies, Focused on Resources for her Health Education and Research (For HER), the Institute for Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Research, the Institute for Cancer Research, the Institute of Applied Genetics, the North Texas Eye Research Institute, the Osteopathic Research Center and the Texas Prevention Institute.

The UNT Center for Human Identification, which is housed at the Health Science Center, receives federal funding to analyze DNA samples from both unidentified remains as well as reference samples submitted by family members of missing persons to law enforcement agencies nationwide. The Center is one of only nine in the nation with access to the FBI's next-generation CODIS 6.0 DNA Software. The Health Science Center is the only academic center with access.

Bowling Pins
The Health Science Center also serves as home to several National Institutes of Health-funded research programs and currently leads all Texas health science centers in research growth. In the past five years, extramural research awards have increased by more than 100 percent.

Through the Office of Clinical Trials, faculty physicians participate in clinical research projects, seeking improved treatments for such disorders as high blood pressure, migraine headaches, ulcers, arthritis and diabetes.

The Health Science Center also is an active collaborator with TECH Fort Worth, a business incubator designed to create alliances between innovators in the biotechnology field and businesses and investors who can help not only bring the research brought to them to fruition, but also provide valuable economic development opportunities to Fort Worth.

The Health Science Center proudly serves the community through a variety of community and school outreach programs. For example, the Health Science Center founded the Fort Worth's annual Hispanic Wellness Fair and the annual Cowtown Marathon. The center participates in several and federally funded programs that bring students and teachers onto campus each summer.

University of North Texas Health Science Center Degree Programs :

Medicine

Pharmacy

Allied Health Science

Public Health

Video Presentation

University of North Texas Health Science Center Fort Worth Texas