The fall 2026 semester and new academic year will begin on Monday, August 31 at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics. We look forward to welcoming our new students and are very happy to have the returning students back in classes

During the first week of school, the school is hosting two events. We invite the entire school community to join us for both.

SGO’s Welcome Back Social

• Tuesday, September 1 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
• Meet the 2026-2027 Student Governance Organization (SGO) Officers, connect with fellow students, and enjoy an opportunity to network with faculty and staff as we kick-off the new school year with food and fun.
• This event is held on the 6th floor near the staircase of the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics.

The 2nd Annual Research Meet and Mix

• Friday, September 4 from 11:00 AM to 3:30 PM
• Learn more about research opportunities taking place at McWilliams as faculty showcase their Research Centers and poster presentations highlight projects happening at the school. Lunch is provided and there are ample opportunities to network.
• This event is held on the 6th floor in the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics classrooms.

If students need any assistance this semester, they should contact the Office of Academic Affairs at [email protected] or 713-500-3911. We want to wish everyone a productive & successful fall semester!

The Future in Focus survey, which is part of UTHealth Houston’s university-wide strategic planning initiative, is live and we need the input of all McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics stakeholders.

• The survey is available through Monday, August 31 and takes about 10 minutes to complete
• All faculty, staff, students, and trainees are encouraged to provide input and feedback to help inform our four Future in Focus pillars: Research, Education, Clinical Care, and Organizational Excellence
• Responses are confidential and will be combined with feedback gathered through interviews, focus groups, and other engagement activities to help shape institutional priorities
• You can access the survey link via the Inside University News webpage

Learn more about the strategic planning process here. If you have additional questions, please reach out to the planning team at [email protected]

The fall 2026 semester begins on August 31, 2026. Course Add/Drop via myUTH will run until September 16, 2026. Please refer to the academic calendar for other important dates as well as events. Course offerings and classroom information can be found on the semester schedule page. Textbook information is posted at this website.

Courses students register for in myUTH may take up to 24 hours to appear in Canvas. To complete required coursework, students must make sure their computer meets the technical requirements.

Students enrolled in in-person/on-campus classes should attend each weekly class session at the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics building space (6th floor of 7000 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030). Any student in an on-campus course missing more than three class meetings may be dropped at the discretion of the instructor.

Please refer to the school catalog for the attendance policy.

• Canvas Login
• Contact the MSBMI Educational Technology team at [email protected]

MSBMI’s liaison librarians at the TMC Library are Sonya Fogg & Brandon Kennedy. Their email addresses are listed on the TMC Library Directory website. However, the best way for students or faculty to make an appointment is via the consultation form: https://librarytmc.libwizard.com/f/consultation.

If students are permitted to use University approved or publicly available AI tools as part of course activities, instructors must provide clear guidance regarding acceptable use of AI and any restrictions on the data that may be entered into these tools. Consistent with HOOP #235, Governance and Use of Artificial Intelligence, and institutional data protection requirements, students should not upload proprietary, confidential, sensitive, regulated, or personally identifiable information to non-UTHealth AI platforms unless the data has been appropriately de-identified and its use is permitted. Additionally, faculty must direct students to applicable university policies and communicate expectations for responsible, ethical, and secure use of AI technologies. Guidance on AI use should address data privacy, protection of intellectual property, and ethical considerations.

For group and peer review assignments, students should preserve the confidentiality of their peer's content by not putting any of their peer's writing into publicly available AI tools where the security of the confidential information cannot be guaranteed.

Over the summer months, University Center Tower (UCT) has undergone numerous security updates to make the building more secure. As a result, a UTHealth Houston student ID badge is required to access the school on the 6^th floor of UCT.

If you do not have a student ID badge and plan to visit the school or will enroll for in-person classes this fall, you must obtain an ID at the Parking Office located on the first floor by the security desk of UCT at 7000 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030. Please note that you must be enrolled in fall courses & bring another form of identification (passport, driver's license etc.) when you visit the office. We recommend students visit campus before their first in-person class to ensure that they gain access in a timely manner.

Once you have the badge, in order to gain access to the student areas, please send a clear photo/copy of the front and the back of your ID badge to [email protected] with the email subject “Student ID Badge Access Request.” Access is only provided to McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics students, not those studying at other UTHealth Houston Schools.

• Vizient, a healthcare performance improvement organization, is accepting applications for the 2027-2028 fellowship year. They are seeking early career candidates with master’s degrees in Data Science, Informatics, Biostatistics, Health Analytics, or related fields. Students must visit the Vizient website for information on the fellowship and the link to apply: https://www.vizient.com/company/careers/fellowships/data-science.
• AMIA is accepting Student Volunteer Program applications for this year's Annual Symposium in Dallas (November 7 to 11). Visit the AMIA website for more information as applications are due by September 8.
• UTHealth Houston collaborates with UT System to promote the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program (a part of UT System). This opportunity is available to students at all seven UTHealth Houston schools. There are upcoming information sessions where students can learn more about this program’s 2027 application cycle, which opens September 8. Additional information is also available on the fellowship website. Information session dates and Teams hyperlinks are available below.
  • September 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM
  • September 18 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM
  • October 1 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM

  In-person option for this session at UTHealth Houston’s School of Public Health: 1930 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX 77054 Room: 120.01

• HIMSS is accepting poster proposals for next year’s conference. This gives students an opportunity to showcase their work to a global audience of health information, digital health, and healthcare technology professionals. Selected posters will be featured during the HIMSS27 Global Health Conference & Exhibition, taking place April 5-8, 2027, in Chicago. Poster topics may include health IT, interoperability, telehealth, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital health solutions, and other innovations shaping the future of healthcare. The deadline to submit a proposal is October 11 at 5 PM ET. Learn more and apply here: https://www.himssconference.com/call-for-posters/.
• The HIMSS Houston Chapter invites all students to participate in its upcoming events. Visit the Chapter’s website for more details.

  

A non-resident student who believes he or she is eligible to pay Texas in-state tuition rates due to student employment must complete Part A of the Petition for Remission of Tuition form and submit it to the appropriate office listed in Part B for completion of the form. A new form must be completed each semester the student is employed and eligible to pay in-state tuition rates. Approved offices that can complete Part B are listed here:

• MD Anderson: [email protected] for MD Anderson student employees
• SPH: Administrative Services, RAS W130 ([email protected]) for SPH student employees
• All others: Human Resources, UCT 1.150s ([email protected]) for all other student employees

Once the appropriate office completes the form, that office will submit the completed form to the Registrar’s office for final processing. The student should not send the form to the Registrar’s Office as this will delay processing. Completed forms must be received in the Registrar's Office by the 12th class day for the Fall or Spring term, and the 4th class day for the Summer term.

Forms received after the effective term's deadline will not be processed. Please work with the appropriate office to ensure timely submission of the completed form to the Registrar's Office. If you have questions, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Our school community is invited to attend the UTHealth Houston Center for Digital Healthcare Innovation (CDHI) Informatics Summit on Tuesday, September 15. This year’s theme is “Star Wars: From Foundation to Future: Advancing Healthcare Informatics Together.” It reflects the journey ahead, honoring the strong foundation we’ve built, investing in our people, and boldly shaping what comes next. Sustainable innovation doesn’t happen by chance; it emerges when experiencing fuels curiosity and when we move forward as one.

For information on the summit visit https://www.uth.edu/center-for-digital-healthcare-innovation/summit.

UTHealth Houston, along with the University of Texas Arlington (UTA), Texas State University (TXST), Texas Woman’s University (TWU), the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), and the University of North Texas (UNT) are pleased to announce the Sixth Annual Texas Health Informatics Alliance (THIA) Conference. The theme for this year is “ALL IN: From Innovation to Impact – Implementing Trustworthy Health Informatics Across Texas.”

This conference brings together the Health Informatics community in Texas, provide an opportunity to share, collaborate, showcase the amazing work in Health Informatics, and feature presentations and keynote speakers from our state. This year, it will be hosted as an in-person conference on Friday, September 18 at the University of North Texas at The Frisco Landing Campus in Frisco, Texas. Registration is now open and closes on September 4. Visit the THIA website for more information.

Student Intercouncil at UTHealth Houston is hosting the 28th annual Salutation on Wednesday, September 23. There will be food, beverages, giveaways, and great prizes such as monthly parking passes, gift cards, and more. Your UTHealth Houston student ID is your admission ticket.

Who: All UTHealth Houston students
When: 5:30 to 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 23
Where: Denton A. Cooley, MD and Ralph C. Cooley, DDS University Life Center, 7440 Cambridge St.

For more information on this event, visit this website.

Visit our website for a full list of research seminar dates and access to recordings for past seminars.