UTH

San Antonio

In San Antonio, our faculty and researchers are deeply committed and involved in addressing challenges of the local community.

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UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in San Antonio is the city’s first and foremost public health education institution, where faculty have been tackling tough challenges to promote community health since 1979.  Our faculty and researchers are educating the next generation of public health professionals, while also leading their fields with research on everything from homelessness, gun violence and safety to cancer survivorship and addiction.

In San Antonio, our faculty and researchers are deeply committed to addressing the unique challenges of our community through projects that directly impact and improve the lives of residents. By designing innovative public health solutions and research projects, our faculty respond to local needs, while also providing opportunities for students to get valuable hands-on experience in gathering data and solving problems.

San Antonio is located in south-central Texas and boasts all the amenities of a big city, while maintaining a relaxed, small-town feel. One of the oldest cities in Texas and the 7th largest city in the U.S., San Antonio’s rich history, beautiful features and historic attractions create a vibrant, lively and welcoming culture. Students can explore the famous River Walk, the annual Fiesta celebration, and historic UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the Alamo and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Our San Antonio location has a building in the heart of the medical center and welcomes students on campus to meet with students, staff, and faculty.

News in San Antonio

Testa collaborates with authorities in Bexar County to bring attention to gun thefts from vehicles through new dashboard

Screenshot of a data visualization webpage from the Bexar County Gun Safety Project titled “Bexar Responsibly.”

Alexander Testa, PhD, associate professor in San Antonio, has been studying gun safety for years, and this year, in collaboration with Bexar County’s Bexar Responsibly Campaign Testa helped provide the data and structure for a brand new gun theft dashboard that the county is hoping will help residents understand the scope of the problem.

Bar chart titled “Homelessness in Bexar County” showing an upward trend from 2022 to 2025, with counts rising from roughly 3,000 individuals in 2022 to about 3,500 in 2025; background features Bexar County Courthouse.

Tsai awarded grant from Texas Bar Foundation to study impact of Bexar County's community court
(Photo by UTHealth Houston)

UTHealth Houston ranks among nation’s best in NIH funding
Jack Tsai, PhD, talks with a laundromat patron and Angela Potes Duran, an MPH student, who helps to operate the pop-up clinics in laundromats across San Antonio and Bexar County.

Tsai Receives $1.1 Million Grant to Expand Laundromat-Based Health Clinics in San Antonio and Bexar County

View all SPH news

Research

Our location in San Antonio facilitates research and learning opportunities with local faculty spearheading various research initiatives in the area. These initiatives have led to direct community impact, bettering the health of communities in the south-central Texas region and beyond.

San Antonio faculty are researching solutions for the critical health needs of our community:

San Antonio Faculty

  • Shannon Forkus
    Assistant Professor

    Management, Policy & Community Health

    Belinda Hernandez
    Associate Professor

    Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences

    Michael Lemke
    Assistant Professor

    Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences

  • Jiaming Liang
    Assistant Professor

    Management, Policy & Community Health

    Laura McKieran
    Associate Professor Non-Tenure Research

    Management, Policy & Community Health

    Daisy Morales-Campos
    Associate Professor

    Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences

  • Laura Aubree Shay
    Associate Professor

    Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences

    Alexander Testa
    Associate Professor and Blair Justice, Ph.D. Professorship in Mind-Body Medicine and Public Health

    Management, Policy & Community Health

    Jack Tsai
    Professor NTR and Regional Campus Dean

    Management, Policy & Community Health

Student Life

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With in-person, hybrid, and online options available, students can learn in a modality that best fits their academic and professional lives, with faculty on-site to direct their learning and research projects.

Academic opportunities:

Our degrees and certificate programs are designed with our students in mind — to be flexible for full-time and part-time students throughout Texas and the U.S. Based on their academic and career goals, students will obtain hands-on learning opportunities, acquiring skills that will later translate into professional roles and stand out to future employers. While completing the degree requirements, students also receive support and access to faculty and research resources available at any one of our six locations in Texas.

Dual Degrees:

UTHealth Houston School of Public Health partners with multiple universities state-wide to offer customized dual-degree programs that enable students to train across a variety of fields. In San Antonio, we partner locally with St. Mary's University School of Law and UT San Antonio to offer students the opportunity to earn an MPH with another graduate-level degree including an MLS, JD, or MBA. 

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Students in San Antonio have access to resources, expertise, faculty, and research opportunities across all six Texas locations.

Community

San Antonio hosts one of the largest military communities, including, Fort Sam Houston, Randolph Air Force Base, and Lackland Air Force Base. These allow our research to heavily impact and work alongside the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and other government organizations to further support the community health of military professionals.

The City of San Antonio devotes itself to community engagement, and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health doubles down on this commitment and is actively involved with several local organizations. Working closely with nearby health systems, universities, government, and non-profit agencies, our location in San Antonio harnesses these partnerships to provide our students with exposure to a multi-faceted approach to solving public health challenges.

The School of Public Health in San Antonio works directly with community and national partners to design and implement public health interventions for some of the community’s most pressing health challenges. Students in San Antonio have numerous opportunities to leverage local faculty research projects or work with other communities to fulfill their practicum requirements.

Join our San Antonio location to develop solutions to today’s public health challenges.

We proudly collaborate with several local and state partners, including:

  • UT San Antonio (UTSA)
  • Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio
  • City of San Antonio
  • San Antonio Metro Health
  • St. Mary's University
  • UT Health San Antonio
  • Veteran Affairs
  • University Health System
  • Bexar County
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