COVID-19 Resources and Updates

Last updated: November 21, 2022

To keep our community informed about the vaccine, the science behind it, and its safety, UTHealth has developed several resources to keep our school community and the public informed. We encourage you to check these resources regularly, as they are updated when new content becomes available. 

Public resources: 

• Here for Houston website (information on UTHealth's response to the pandemic)
• COVID-19 FAQ (currently limited to vaccine information)

Internal community resources (must log in to access):

• COVID-19 virus and vaccine FAQ (use the listed quick guide to navigate between topics)
• Information about vaccine enrollment and distribution for faculty, staff and students
• UTHealth resources for faculty, staff and students
• A list of announcements from UTHealth President Colasurdo, MD
• SPH COVID-19 resources, including the vaccine enrollment survey and IT support contacts

Spring 2023 Academic Updates

Course delivery guidelines for the spring 2023 term 

• All students, except for international students on F1 and J1 visas, can attend classes virtually and synchronously via WebEx. 
• All students are welcome to attend in-person courses (those with a PH, PHM, and PHD prefix) from the assigned classroom on their respective campus (classroom information will be available in myUTH before the start of the term).
• Online courses (those with a PHW, PHWM, or PHWD prefix) will continue to be delivered asynchronously online as usual. Some online courses may be delivered synchronously via WebEx; this information will be provided in the course notes and indicated by a meeting time. 
• Students enrolled in independent studies, PH 9997 Practicum, PHM 9998 Culminating Experience/Thesis Research, and PHD 9999 Dissertation Research should work with their faculty advisor or supervising faculty member to make appropriate arrangements. 

 Spring 2023 course registration information

• The registration period for spring 2023 began on November 16, 2022. 
• The course schedule is available for viewing using the interactive course schedule. The myUTH Student Registration Guide will give you step-by-step instructions for searching and registering for courses in myUTH. For all registration dates and deadlines, review the Spring 2023 Enrollment Dates.
• Permission code portal: Students can request permission codes directly through our new permission code portal, accessed from the interactive course schedule. Watch our 'How to request a permission code' tutorial for a demo.
• If you have holds on your myUTH account restricting enrollment, please review the hold description to determine how to resolve it.
• Send questions about course registration to SPHCourseSchedule@uth.tmc.edu. 
• Students seeking disability accommodations for their academics should contact Mary Ann Smith, PhD, the designated Section 504 Coordinator at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. 

Information for international students sponsored on F-1 visas

• Students sponsored on F-1 and J-1 visas must enroll full-time (minimum of 9 credit hours, of which three credit hours may be online coursework) and must be physically on campus for their in-person courses. Classroom assignments will be available for each class in myUTH. All questions about enrollment requirements should go to the Office of International Affairs.

Academic Calendar

Please review the Academic Calendar for important dates, including registration information, the first day of classes, the add/drop period, the last day to withdraw, graduation and student research deadlines, etc. If you have any questions about these dates or deadlines, please email SPHStudentServices@uth.tmc.edu. 

Communication expectations

Please make sure that you are checking your UTHealth email daily. All official School communication will go to your UTHealth email address, and you should communicate with UTHealth staff and faculty using this account rather than a personal email account. If you have trouble accessing your UTHealth email account, please contact the SPH IT team via email at SPHITHelp@uth.tmc.edu or by phone at (713) 500 – 9065.

mySPH academic portal 

Please visit mySPH to access degree planners, academic forms, course schedule information, detailed information about specific degree requirements, practicum instructions, student research information, and other academic affairs and student resources.

We look forward to welcoming you to campus this week and wish you success in your academic program! 

ID Badges and campus access

As we make plans to return to in-person courses for the Spring 2023 term, we would like to remind all students that they are required to have a UTHealth-issued badge before entering any UTHealth building.

Badges for the Houston campus can be obtained at the first floor of the University Center Tower (UCT) - 7000 Fannin St. and must be activated before they can be used. In order for students at the Houston campus to activate their badge, they must email Bonnie Schoenbein their names as its listed on myUTH, along with the letters and numbers located under the black strip on the back of the student ID Badge. Please be sure to include in the email that you are a School of Public Health student.  

Students at the Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso and San Antonio regional campuses should contact their campus coordinator for assistance in obtaining and activating badges at their respective campus.

See here for more information on obtaining and activating an ID badge.  

Contact Information

General inquiries for the Office of Academic Affairs and Student Services can go to SPHStudentServices@uth.tmc.edu. Students may also contact their faculty advisors and their campus or department-specific coordinators.