Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine at University of Houston
Medical School
- Mailing Address
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5055 Medical Circle
Houston, Texas 77204 - Phone
- (713) 743-7047
- Email address
- cominfo@central.uh.edu
- Website
- https://www.uh.edu/medicine/
- School Information
- "Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine’s unique and innovative curriculum will prepare students to practice high-quality, high-value patient-centered medicine in a rapidly changing and complex health system. We place a major emphasis on primary care in underserved populations, social determinants of health, community and population health, and behavioral health to improve health care disparities in urban and rural areas. Throughout the four-year curriculum, students will be immersed in a highly integrated approach to the teaching of biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social, health system and population health sciences, complemented with robust experiential learning." (Source: https://www.uh.edu/medicine/education/md-program/) "To support these future health care leaders, the college is in a new state-of-the-art facility on 43-acres along Martin Luther King Boulevard, just minutes away from the main campus...At full enrollment, the medical school will have 480 students who will call this new facility their academic home. The $80 million facility opened in the summer of 2022. Not only does it serve UH medical students and the community, but the new ultramodern building helps leverage the university to a spot among the Top 50 public universities in the nation." (Source: https://www.uh.edu/medicine/about/future-uh-college-of-medicine-building/)
- General Information
- Following changes to Texas state law, restricting DEI in higher education, the College of Medicine has removed links and references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The broader University of Houston system reassigned DEI employees and disbanded its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The University system, which includes the College of Medicine, established a new Center for Student Advocacy and Community. No statements have been released from the College of Medicine regarding the changes.
Actions Taken
- Admissions Policies
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The college previously published an "administrative memorandum" on the subject of its diversity and inclusion policy which stated that "Retention Programs and processes to support a diverse student population are planned and implemented through the ADSAAO [Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Admissions, and Outreach]."
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- Faculty/Staff Requirements
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The college published an "administrative memorandum" on the subject of its diversity and inclusion policy which states that "All faculty who serve on or chair search committees are required to take specific training to ensure diversity in recruitment and selections processes."
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- Program and Research Funding
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The Interprofessional Summer Health Equity Research Program (SHERP) was hosted in 2024, which is a program that provides an "opportunity for students to engage in meaningful health equity research, receive mentorship, and collaborate in an interprofessional environment." Participants receive a $1,000 stipend and the winning team "will split a prize of $2,500."
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In 2021, the College of Medicine received a "$1M Bank of America Grant to Advance Racial Equality, Economic Opportunity." The grant "strengthens the medical school’s ability to train more primary care doctors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to practice in those underserved areas by enhancing academic programs and community outreach."
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- Resources
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The college's Department of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences "exists to equip tomorrow’s doctors with the knowledge, vision, and tools to be agents of change, who make communities healthier and our health system more effective, efficient, and equitable." The Department's focus areas include Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health.
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On November 11, 2021, the college's news webpage published an article titled "Poverty, Racism and the Public Health Crisis in America," which discusses wealth inequality in America as it relates to health outcomes. According to Bettina Beech, clinical professor of population health in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences at the college, "'Wealth inequality is not a function of work ethic or work hour difference between groups. Rather, the widening gap between the affluent and the poor can be linked to unjust policies and practices that favor the wealthy'."
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The college published an "administrative memorandum" on the subject of its diversity and inclusion policy and states that "cultural competency curricular content" would be "monitored on a regular basis as part of the UH College of Medicine strategic planning process and continuous quality improvement."
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