Students Life

ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

The Texas Medical Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) is a biomedical academic institution located within the Texas Medical Center (TMC). The TMC is the largest concentration of medical facilities in the world and consists of forty-five academic/research institutes and hospitals, providing unsurpassed opportunities to conduct basic, applied, and clinical research. UTHSC-H is a major part of the TMC, consisting of six components: the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Medical School, the Dental Branch, the School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, and the School of Health Information Sciences. While the Graduate School Program in Cell and Regulatory Biology is primarily housed at the Medical School, inter-institutional activities are encouraged with other TMC academic institutions, including the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Institute for Molecular Medicine, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology-Texas A&M University, and Baylor College of Medicine.

TMC Library and Computer Facilities

The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center (HAM-TMC) Library is centrally located and supported by a consortium of over twenty institutions. Its size ranks in the top ten percent of medical school libraries in the United States. Extensive computer facilities are available within the Texas Medical Center. Students and trainees have access to mainframe computers on campus and to the University of Texas super computers in Austin.

Student Facilities

An attractive housing complex featuring 1-3 bedroom apartments and a day-care facility are located near the Texas Medical Center. A well-equipped recreation facility is also available, boasting a swimming pool, softball fields, tennis, basketball, squash and racquetball courts, and the latest in exercise equipment.

Life in Houston

The fourth largest city in the United States is located in Southeast Texas fifty miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It enjoys a very mild climate with average daily minimum and maximum temperatures of 45-62° F in the winter and 73-92° F in the summer. Houston is a young, dynamic city — a mecca for people from all over the world ranking as the nation's fifth most ethnically diverse city according to the 2000 U.S. Census; more so than cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, and Miami.

Houston has the most affordable housing of the 10 largest U. S. metropolitan areas and the second lowest cost-of-living among major American cities. In addition, the diversity and breadth of the city's economy provides a wide array of job opportunities for spouses and family members. Connected to the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of Houston is one of the busiest ports in the world. Computer science, banking, agribusiness, marine technology, space science, biotechnology, and medicine all contribute significantly to the local economy. Houston is also home to the NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the headquarters for all U. S. manned space flight.

As the cultural center of the Southwest, Houston is the home to the world-renowned Houston Ballet, the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, the Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre and the Theater Under the Stars, which presents Broadway-quality musicals in the fabulous Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. If museums are more your interest, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Menil Collection, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Children’s Museum, and the Holocaust Museum are all within a mile of the Texas Medical Center and offer outstanding exhibitions throughout the year.

Sports enthusiasts can enjoy professional sports action year round as Houston is home to major league sports teams including the Houston Astros (Baseball), Texans (Football), Rockets and Comets (Basketball), Dynamo (Soccer) and Aeros (Hockey). Within an hour’s drive of Houston, the Gulf of Mexico provides access to numerous parks, lakes and beaches.
Low cost-of-living, no state income tax, a mild climate, a wealth of cultural and entertainment activities, and friendly people combine to make Houston a great place in which to live.