The University of North Texas Board of Regents gave the university the green light Monday to move forward with plans to open a medical school in collaboration with Texas Christian University.
The school will be on the UNT Health Science Center campus in Fort Worth and will offer an allopathic medicine degree, making it the first M.D. school in the city. UNTHSC, which is about four miles from TCU, has had an osteopathic medicine program.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the medical school is expected to cost $75 million. UNTHSC already has $25 million in pledges and TCU has $50 million in endowments.
The medical school will not be state-funded, so no further approval is needed. The Dallas Morning Newsreported UNT attempted to start an M.D. school in 2009, but the $21-million plan did not receive legislative authorization.
UNTHSC will continue to operate the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, School of Health Professions and College of Pharmacy, but the school cannot award M.D. degrees based on a 1993 state law. UNTHSC President Michael R. Williams told the Star-Telegram he hopes to see the law reversed during the 2017 legislative session.
The medical school is not expected to affect tuition. Applications will be available in 2017 and M.D. students will be considered students of both TCU and UNT.
Melissa Wylie/ Dallas Business Journal
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