About UTHSC

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.

In 1911, the University of Tennessee first launched its Memphis campus, dedicating it solely to health science education and research. Seed programs in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy quickly flourished, and within a few short years, new programs were initiated in allied health sciences, graduate health sciences, and nursing. Each of those programs grew to become a college in its own right. In 1963, the UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville became part of the UT Health Science Center, and in 1974, the UT College of Medicine, Chattanooga, joined the UTHSC system.

Today, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Memphis campus comprises six colleges – Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – training the health care scientists and caregivers of tomorrow. Nearly 2,700 students are enrolled at UTHSC, which also offers a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities. Our students can be found on one of the three major Health Science Center campuses in Memphis (main campus), Knoxville or Chattanooga, as well as in a myriad of health-care-related facilities across Tennessee.

Statewide, approximately 996 residents and fellows receive training in 75 ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) accredited training programs through the UTHSC Graduate Medical Education Program. Fifteen of these programs are under the auspices of the UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville; 10 are sponsored by the Chattanooga College of Medicine; and 50 programs are organized from Memphis, including a family practice residency in Jackson, Tenn., and an internal medicine residency in Nashville. Public and continuing education programs are offered throughout the state. A total of 15 teaching hospitals and clinical facilities across the state have a formal affiliation with UTHSC.

Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, UTHSC offers four undergraduate and 20 graduate or professional degrees. With more than 50 endowed professorships, including 19 Chairs of Excellence, the campus is home to three Centers of Excellence in neuroscience, molecular resources, and pharmacokinetics and therapeutics.

The Health Science Center’s six colleges reflect a broad spectrum of scientific investigation. Pursuing basic science and clinical research with an emphasis on translational research, UTHSC investigators are supported by both government grants and private funding. In fiscal 2007 (July 2006 to June 2007), more than $107 million in National Institutes of Health grants funded research at UTHSC.

Memphis is quickly emerging as a nationally recognized biotech research center, and UTHSC is quite literally at its nucleus as the research hub. Adjacent to the Memphis campus is the UT-Baptist Research Park, planned for completion in 2010. A new 190,000-square-foot College of Pharmacy building and a state-of-the-art Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, scheduled for completion in 2009 and 2008, respectively, will anchor the park. Rounding out current building projects in Memphis is the new Cancer Research Building, which opened in spring 2007.

UTHSC growth has also included expansion in Knoxville. To meet the growing demand for pharmacists, a second UT College of Pharmacy building opened on the Knoxville campus in fall 2007 and will enroll an additional 225 students annually. The UT College of Pharmacy is further extending its reach across the state by adding Clinical Education Centers in Chattanooga, Jackson, Kingsport and Nashville.