McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, formerly UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI) is one of the six schools of UTHealth Houston which, is a component of the 14 institutions of The University of Texas System.
McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics is the only academic biomedical informatics program in Texas, the only free-standing school among 70 related programs in the nation, and one of the largest programs of its kind in the world.
Our School is Transforming Data to Power Human HealthTM.
The mission of the school is to collect, process, and convert data—ranging from molecules to populations—into actionable information, knowledge, and intelligence; to educate current and future leaders, innovators, and problem solvers across Texas, the nation, and the world; to disrupt, transform, and innovate to elicit biomedical discoveries, improve healthcare delivery, and aid in disease prevention by conducting outstanding basic and applied research and developing impactful information technology products and solutions.
As of 2019, approximately 350 (480 as of 2022) of our students are working toward a formal degree or certificate; 54% are female and 46% are male; and the average age is 30.5 years old. 28.5% of students are from a healthcare background (7% MD, 7.4% nursing, 4.4% public health, and 9.7% other clinical); 27.1% are from a computer science or engineering background; 19.4% are from biology/chemistry/premed; 10.2% are from management or business administration; 5.4% are from the social sciences; and 9.4% are from other backgrounds. 80% of MS program enrollees are part-time students who have full- or part-time jobs; 96% of our certificate students attend classes part-time. Our PhD program is full time and in person, whereas the DHI program is hybrid and part-time.
Many master's degree alumni work in hospitals that have implemented electronic health record systems (EHRs). They analyze the EHR needs of their hospitals and train workers to use those systems. Recent master’s graduates from the health data science track work in industry in the areas of advanced analytics, health data science, machine learning, and AI. After completing their degrees, more than half of doctoral students become faculty members who conduct research, as well as teach.
Also see Informatics Career Outcome Numbers and the Careers in Biomedical Informatics video.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, and professional degrees. Degree-granting institutions also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
D. Bradley McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston, Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Initial accreditation was granted on April 12, 2019, under the 2010 Health Informatics Standards for the Master’s Degree. For more information on CAHIIM, please go to: https://www.cahiim.org/accreditation/health-informatics/accreditation-standards.
1997: Led by founding dean, Doris L. Ross, PhD, The University of Texas School of Allied Health Sciences at Houston was reorganized to focus on health informatics
1999: The first MS program of The University of Texas School of Allied Health Sciences was approved by UT System and accredited through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
2000: The first cohort of MS program students graduated
2000: The first PhD program of The University of Texas School of Allied Health Sciences was approved by UT System and accredited through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
2001: The University of Texas School of Allied Health was renamed The University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences (SHIS); it was the first school in the nation to offer graduate degrees in health informatics
2005: Jack Smith, MD, PhD, was named dean of SHIS
2010: The University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences was renamed The University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI)
2013: Jiajie Zhang, PhD, was named dean of SBMI
2019: The first cohort of students was enrolled in the DHI program, which is the first advanced practice degree in health informatics offered in the U.S.
Updated: 01/24/2025