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Financial Information
2016-2018 Student Handbook

Optional and Mandatory Fees Mandatory Fees Tuition Fees and Charges
Graduation Fee Laboratory Fees Student Service Fee Technology Fee
Student Records Fee Optional Fees Professional Liability Insurance Competitive Academic Scholarship Awards
Summary of Estimated Annual Fees and Expenses Based on Full-time Enrollment Estimated Program Expenses for Health Informatics Master's Program Per Year

Optional and Mandatory Fees

Certain mandatory and optional fees should be anticipated at the School. Mandatory fees are required of all students. Optional fees are not required, but the student may elect to subscribe to any of the services listed under optional fees. All fees are subject to change without notice.

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Mandatory Fees

Application Fee
Any prospective student submitting an application to the school for consideration must also submit a non-refundable $60 application fee. This fee is assessed to cover the cost of processing the application.

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Tuition

Beginning Fall 2016, Texas resident tuition is $246 per semester credit hour. Non-resident tuition is $736 per semester credit hour. All tuition and fees charged are authorized by statute and by regental approval and can be found on the Office of the Registrar’s website: https://www.uth.edu/registrar/current-students/registration/tuition-fee-schedule.htm.

A resident doctoral student who has a total of 100 or more semester credit hours of doctoral work at an institution of higher education is required to pay nonresident doctoral tuition rates. For more information contact the Office of the Registrar.

A student whose hours may no longer be submitted for formula funding because it is the same or substantially similar to a course that the student previously attempted for two or more times at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston will be charged a higher tuition rate of $736 per semester credit hour or nonresident tuition rates.

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Fees and Charges

Application Fee (non-refundable) $60
Graduation Fee (see below) $75
Installment Use Fee $20
Late Payment Fee $25
Late Registration Fee $25
Returned Check Fee $25
Credit Card Service Use Fee 2.5%
Student Record Fee $5/semester
Student Liability Insurance Fee (fall semester) $14.50
Student Liability Insurance Fee (spring semester) $9.00
Student Health Insurance Fee (annual rate) $2,185
Student ID Replacement Fee $10/card
Laboratory Fee (see below) $30
Student Services Fee (see below)  
Information Technology Access Fee $33/semester
Computer Resource Fee $100/semester
Technology Fee $100/fall & spring semesters
Alternative Instruction Delivery Fee for Web Courses  
per hour delivered within Texas $100/semester credit
per hour delivered outside of Texas $750/semester credit
per hour delivered outside of Texas (effective Summer 2016) $100/semester credit

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Graduation Fee

A graduation fee of $75, payable at registration for the student’s final academic term, is required of all degree-seeking students. This fee covers expenses associated with graduation but does not cover rental of the cap and gown. This fee is charged whether or not the student participates in graduation. Certificate students do not pay the graduation fee.

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Laboratory Fees

Laboratory fees are assessed in an amount to cover the cost of laboratory materials and supplies used by the student.

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Student Service Fee

The Student Services Fee is a mandatory fee assessed per semester credit hour to all students. The annual fee for academic year 2016-2017 is $532.65* with a maximum charge of $205.75 per fall and spring semester and $121.27 for the summer semester. The fee provides funding towards student governance activities, Student Health Services, Student Counseling, shuttle service, and recreational facilities. Optional family coverage for most student services is available. The 2016-2017 schedule of fees is as follows:

FULL-TIME STUDENT RATES (REQUIRED) $512.00 ANNUALLY
Service Fall/Spring Summer 9-Month 12-Month
Recreation $85.42 $56.87 $170.83 $227.65
Health $73.25 $33.20 $146.50 $179.70
Shuttle $27.50 $18.26 $55.00 $73.25
Counseling $12.93 $8.64 $25.85 $34.49
Government $6.65 $4.30 $13.30 $17.60
TOTAL $205.75 $121.27 $411.48 $532.65

*This fee will increase to $543.45 beginning Fall 2017 as approved by the UT System Board of Regents.

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Technology Fee

A Technology Fee will be assessed to all students at $100 every fall and spring semester to cover the expenses associated with the software, hardware, programming, maintenance fees and technical support used by students. The fee will support SBMI’s goal in achieving to be the best publicly supported biomedical informatics school in the US by conducting the highest quality programs in education, biomedical informatics applications and research. The fee will also allow SBMI in using the most current technology to train students and help attract the best and brightest students to our quality graduate programs.

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Student Records Fee

The Student Records Fee provides students with unlimited transcripts and enrollment verification documents. The charge is $15.00 per academic year ($5 per semester).

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Optional Fees

  • Audit Fee: For a fee of $25 per course, a student may elect to audit a course, i.e., attend the course without receiving academic credit at other UTHealth schools. SBMI does not allow auditing of classes.
  • Transportation Expenses: Students are required to provide their own transportation to practicum sites.
  • Academic Regalia Rental: The charge for rental of the cap and gown is approximately $45 for master’s students and $65 for doctoral students. Information on ordering academic regalia is sent to students several months before annual commencement exercises. Additional information for graduates can be found here: https://sbmi.uth.edu/current-students/graduation/index.htm

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Professional Liability Insurance

Every student enrolled in the School of Biomedical Informatics must have professional liability insurance coverage in force throughout each semester enrolled in the minimum policy amount of $100,000 per claim. The professional liability insurance must include coverage for breach of confidentiality of protected health information in electronic or other patient records. Advance written notice or posting may change the minimum amount required by the Office of the Dean. The premium for this insurance is due at the time of initial registration and each fall and spring semester. The annual premium is prorated based on the student’s date of entry. The annual premium is approximately $14.50 per year.

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Competitive Academic Scholarship Awards

Competitive Academic Scholarship awards are designed to facilitate the scholastic development of students who are in high academic standing. The benefits of this award are two-fold; (1) a direct financial award, and (2) if the recipient is not a resident of Texas, the change in status to resident tuition for that academic school year (September through August). All SBMI students are eligible to compete for these scholarships. The number of Competitive Academic Scholarships awarded each year is dependent on the availability of funds

The criteria for selection are:

  • Grade point average documented by the Director of Student Affairs
  • Pattern of academic achievement
  • Recommendation of the Student Advising Committee
  • Success in overcoming socioeconomic or educational disadvantages

The SBMI Scholarship and Awards Committee considers all submissions. The SBMI Scholarship and Awards Committee is composed of UTHealth faculty and student representation. The recommendations of the SBMI Scholarship and Awards Committee are submitted through the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for submission to the Dean. Notification of awards will be made by email.

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Summary of Estimated Annual Fees and Expenses Based on Full-time Enrollment, On Campus enrollment

Program Expenses  
Application Fee (one-time only) $60
Immunization (approximate cost, one time only) $175
Student Criminal Background Check $49
Tuition (based on 24 hours annually)1  
Resident $5,904
Non-Resident $17,664
Student Service Fee $532.65
Information Technology Access Fee $99
Computer Resource Fee $300
SBMI Technology Fee $200
Liability Insurance $14.50
Laboratory Fees $180 (varies)
Graduation Fee $75
Transportation (Student's responsibility)2 varies
Books, Supplies, Miscellaneous Program  
Expenses (see Program section) varies
   
Personal Anticipated Expenses  
(approximations) Apartment Rent3  
One Bedroom (UT Housing) $750
Daycare varies
Health/Medical Insurance4  
   Basic coverage for student only $2,185
   Basic for student and spouse $4,370
   Basic for children $3,762

1 based on 9 semester hours fall and spring and 6 semester credit hours for summer; $246 is resident cost per semester credit hour/$736 is non-resident cost per semester credit hour.
2 the student is responsible for personal transportation and parking fees to and from the clinical practicum sites
3 does not include utilities or food costs
4 Student Health Insurance - Current information available from UTHealth Auxiliary Enterprises. All students are required to show proof of coverage or proof of purchase of health insurance. International students also must provide proof of repatriation coverage or the student can purchase repatriation insurance for a cost of $96/per year.

Note: All of the estimates above are subject to change without prior notification.

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Estimated Program Expenses for Health Informatics Master's Programs Per Year

The expenses, which are specific to Health Informatics, are estimated at:

Item Estimated Expenses
Textbooks*, computer** (required), software $3800
Lab Fees $30 per course
$500 per practicum hour*** not to exceed $1,500

* Textbooks - SBMI students are not under any obligation to purchase a textbook from a university-affiliated bookstore. The same textbook may also be available from an independent retailer, including an online retailer.
** Computer ($3,000 first year only) requirements are listed on the website (https://sbmi.uth.edu/current-students/student-handbook/computer-requirements.htm) and are subject to change.
*** Practicum/Preceptor site may require additional requirements, e.g., immunizations, insurance, drug testing.

In addition, students must pay required school expenses (tuition, fee, etc.). See the Expense Table summarizing estimated expenses.

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