The University of North Texas Health Science Center is a graduate-level institution of the University of North Texas System, located on a 33-acre campus in the Cultural District of Fort Worth, Texas. Established in 1970, UNT Health Science Center consists of five colleges with a total enrollment of 2,243 graduate students . The institution offers degrees in osteopathic medicine, public health, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies and biomedical sciences.UNT Health Science Center serves as home to several NIH-funded research programs and currently leads all Texas medical and health science centers in research growth. The Health Science Center also houses laboratories for TECH Fort Worth, a non-profit biochemistry incubator.Community and school outreach programs include Fort Worth’s annual Hispanic Wellness Fair and the annual Cowtown Marathon. The UNTHSC Pediatric Mobile Clinic provides healthcare to children in underserved areas of Fort Worth at no cost. The institution also participates in several state and federally funded programs that bring students and teachers onto campus each summer.HistoryThe University of North Texas Health Science Center was initially founded in 1970 as the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine . The college opened as a private, non-profit school for osteopathic medicine, located on the campus of the Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital. It was the first osteopathic medical school in Texas, and remained the only one in the state until 2015, when the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine was established. The inaugural class of 18 students graduated in 1974, earning the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. In 1975, the college became a part of North Texas State University, after the Texas Legislature overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 216, making TCOM a state medical school. TCOM was the second public university-affiliated osteopathic medical school to be established.
