HOUSTON – The University of Houston’s new College of Medicine is ready to begin classes in July and is recruiting and enrolling students, the school announced in a press release.
The first class of 30 medical students will begin on July 20. Each student will receive $100,000 four-year scholarships after the school received a $3 million anonymous donation in 2018 to cover tuition and fees. The school also received a $5 million gift this year to fund scholarships and attract diverse students, which will be available in 2021.
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READ: $3M gift pays tuition for first class at UH College of Medicine
The school was granted preliminary accreditation. This is the first medical school in the city of Houston in nearly half a century.
The aim of the College of Medicine will be to prepare “primary care doctors and other needed physician specialties, such as psychiatry and general surgery, with a deep understanding of social determinants of health, to practice in underserved urban and rural communities,” the school wrote. A major goal will be to ensure that at least 50% of the graduating classes will choose primary care specialties including family medicine, general internal medicine and general pediatrics.
READ: UH College of Medicine gets $5M gift to fund scholarships, attract diverse students
UH plans to fund the 10-year startup phase through approximately one-third of legislative appropriations, one-third philanthropy and one-third intellectual property revenue. The Texas Legislature approved $20 million for the startup phase in 2019 a release from the school said.
“We are thrilled and thankful that our lawmakers recognize the need to build Houston’s first medical school in nearly 50 years. The startup funding is another critical milestone necessary to help us achieve our mission of training more primary care physicians to address a significant statewide shortage,” said Stephen Spann, founding dean of the UH College of Medicine.
Anticipated full enrollment is 480 students and 130 faculty and support staff.