in 1962 there was a request, led by TMC co-founder R. Lee Clark, MD, to establish a graduate school of biomedical sciences in Houston. The UT Graduate School of BIomedical Sciences was approved by Texas House Bill 500 on October 14, 1963, with approval for Master’s of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in “biology, including, but not restricted to, areas of emphasis in radiobiology, biomathematics, generics, cytology, fine structure-electron microscope-analysis, molecular biology, with biochemistry and biophysics, microbiology, and virology. Biochemistry including, but not restricted to, areas of emphasis in molecular biology and chemical physiology. Physics including, but not restricted to, areas of emphasis in biophysics, nuclear medicine, and isotope studies. . . . with the stipulation that all areas of emphasis to be added in the future shall come within the three categories listed above (I.e. biology, biochemistry, and physics) and that the areas of emphasis be restricted to biomedical sciences that are adapted to the research facilities of the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute.”
The University of Texas Medical School was established in 1970, also under the administration of the University of Texas, and its basic science faculty were assimilated into the Graduate School, where before they had worked through MD Anderson Cancer Hospital or occasionally the Schools of Dentistry and Public Health. In 1972, all of these schools were collected into the UT Health Science Center. As of 2001, graduate degrees in biomedical science that would formerly have been awarded through the UT Health Science Center or UT MD Anderson Cancer Center would be awarded through the GSBS. The name was updated in 2017 to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to reflect the longstanding partnership between the two institutions.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is a public health science educational institution. It was created in 1972 by the University of Texas and comprises the UTHealth School of Dentistry (1905), UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics (1972), the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (1963, renamed 2017), the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern School of Medicine (1969, renamed 2015), UTHealth School of Public Health (1969), and the Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing (1972, renamed 2017). Its teaching hospitals include Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, and Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. It also encompasses a long list of smaller centers and institutions that perform work specialized to different illnesses, disciplines, and areas of interest.