Certain mandatory and optional fees should be anticipated for enrollment at SBMI. Mandatory fees are required of all UTHealth Houston students. Optional fees are not required, but the student may elect to subscribe to any of the services listed under optional fees. Tuition and fees are subject to change and become effective on the date enacted. The Texas Legislature does not set the specific amount for any particular student fee. Student fees are authorized by state statute; the specific fee amounts and the determination to increase fees are made by the university administration and The University of Texas System Board of Regents.
Any prospective student submitting an application to SBMI for consideration must also submit a non-refundable $60 application fee. This fee is assessed to cover the cost of processing the application.
Beginning Fall 2022, Texas resident tuition is $260 per semester credit hour. Non-resident tuition is $868 per semester credit hour. All tuition and fees charged are authorized by statute and by regent 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.
| Application Fee (non-refundable) | $60 |
| Audit Fee (SBMI does not allow auditing of classes.) | $25 |
| Enrollment Deferral Fee | $60 |
| Graduation Fee (see below) | $100 |
| Installment Use Fee | $20 |
| Late Payment Fee | $25 |
| Late Registration Fee | $25 |
| Returned Check Fee | $25 |
| Credit Card Service Use Fee | 2.5% |
| Student Liability Insurance Fee (fall semester) | $5.25 |
| Student Liability Insurance Fee (spring semester) | $5.25 |
| Student Liability Insurance Fee (summer semester) | $4.00 |
| Student Health Insurance Fee (annual rate) | $3,313 |
| Student ID Replacement Fee | $10/card |
| Laboratory Fee | $30/applicable course |
| Course Fee (BMI 5328 and BMI 7360) | $50/semester |
| Course Fee (BMI 5313) | $100/semester |
| Student Services Fee (see details below) | |
| Information Technology Access Fee | $40/semester |
| Student Record Fee | $5/semester |
| Technology Fee | $200/semester |
| Alternative Instruction Delivery Fee | |
| (In and Out of State) for Web Courses | $120/semester credit |
SBMI does not allow auditing of classes. 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 Houston schools.
A graduation fee of $100, 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.
Laboratory fees are assessed in an amount to cover the costs of technology and resources used by the student. Laboratory fees are only assessed to a select number of SBMI courses. To see which courses are subject to laboratory fees, please review the course descriptions on page 70.
Course fees offset the cost of additional requirements needed for the efficient operation of certain SBMI courses. These fees cover the cost of items like test materials for professional exam preparation or licensing fees for other resources provided within the course curriculum.
Every student enrolled in the School of Biomedical Informatics must have professional liability insurance coverage in force throughout each semester enrolled for 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.
The Student Services Fee is a mandatory fee assessed per semester credit hour to all students. The fee provides funding towards student governance activities, Student Health & Counseling Services, Shuttle Service and recreational facilities. The annual fee breakdown for academic year 2022-2023 is provided here: https://www.uth.edu/student/bursar/tuition-2022-2023/student-services-fees-annual-2022-2023.htm.
This fee is subject to increase as approved by the UT System Board of Regents.
The Technology Fee is collected for the purpose of funding technology costs within SBMI. The Technology Fee will be assessed to all students at $200 every 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 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 to use the most current technology to train students and help attract the best and brightest students to our quality graduate programs.
The Student Records Fee provides students with unlimited transcripts and enrollment verification documents. The charge is $15.00 per academic year ($5 per semester).
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 the semester the award was earned and the two subsequent semesters. The residency waiver is applied for the aforementioned semesters regardless of the student’s enrollment in those semesters. 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. Students are notified via email when scholarship applications are being accepted. Students must submit all applications and required application materials to be considered.
The criteria for selection are:
The SBMI Scholarship and Awards Committee considers all submissions. The SBMI Scholarship and Awards Committee is composed of SBMI faculty and a representative from the SBMI Office of Academic Affairs. The recommendations of the SBMI Scholarship and Awards Committee are submitted through the Associate Dean for Student, Faculty, and Community Affairs for submission to the Dean. Notification of awards will be made by email.