UTSA and UT Health San Antonio complete merger to become The University of Texas at San Antonio

New institution is now third-largest public research university in Texas

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- UTSA and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) today merged to form The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), a premier global university that is deeply committed to making lives better for the communities it serves. As a merged institution, UT San Antonio now ranks as the third-largest public research university in Texas according to annual research expenditures, behind only Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin.

UT San Antonio's comprehensive enterprise now includes approximately 40,000 students, 17,000 employees and more than $486 million in annual research expenditures. Its growing endowment tops $1.3 billion. The merger joins two Carnegie R1 ("very high research activity") universities, an elite designation reserved for the top 5% of research institutions in United States, and represents the nation's largest integration of universities by total research dollars and endowment since 2013.

UT San Antonio will immediately deliver immense value to students, researchers, alumni and partners, said President Taylor Eighmy. He envisions it will serve as an exemplar for The University of Texas System, the state of Texas and the nation.

"We intentionally grounded UT San Antonio in excellence — excellence in education, healthcare, transdisciplinary research and discovery — to form a model public research university that is nimble, creative and unlike any other," said Eighmy. "With that spirit of excellence, we've combined two distinguished Tier One institutions to form a new world-class university that champions social mobility, improves health and powers discovery to amplify our collective strengths and create impact at scale."

UT San Antonio's breadth and scope

Building on the rich history of UTSA and UT Health San Antonio, UT San Antonio will advance knowledge through teaching and learning, groundbreaking research and scientific innovation, exceptional patient care and deep community engagement.

Spanning 15 colleges and schools across six campuses, UT San Antonio now offers more than 320 highly competitive undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates, one of the most comprehensive academic portfolios in the state. UT San Antonio students have access to an education of the highest quality in disciplines ranging from science, engineering, business, education, humanities, social sciences, architecture and the arts to biomedical sciences, medicine, public health, dentistry, nursing and other allied health professions.

The university's academic and research programs are ranked among the top 3% worldwide, according to the Center for University World Rankings. The institution is also in the top 12% of colleges and universities in the nation for social mobility, according to The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse. Additionally, its Executive MBA program is ranked 3^rd in the U.S. by CEO Magazine.

UT San Antonio includes UT San Antonio Health Science Center, the region's only academic health center and a globally leading health sciences institution, ranked in the top 2.4% of universities worldwide in the 2025 Center for World University Rankings, reaffirming its position as a global leader in biomedical discovery and innovation. UT San Antonio's Health Science Center is ranked 84^th out of 5,868 healthcare institutions around the world and 38^th in the United States in the 2025 Nature Index of healthcare institutions for research output. This places the institution among the top 2% of healthcare institutes globally.

UT Health San Antonio, the clinical and patient-care enterprise of UT San Antonio, sees more than 2.5 million patient visits each year and brings together expertise across more than 200 medical and dental specialties and subspecialties—addressing everything from common conditions to complex diseases that disproportionately affect Texans. Through this work, the institution delivers life-changing impact for individuals and families across South Texas' 38-county region.

Each year, UT Health San Antonio educates and trains more than 1,015 residents, fellows, and trainees, creating a vital pipeline of skilled physicians to serve our communities. With a team of more than 1,400 physicians, medical providers, health professionals and researchers, the institution provides essential coverage and strengthens the healthcare workforce that supports the region's major health care networks—including University Health and the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans' Hospital, part of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS).

These deeply integrated partnerships not only elevate the quality of patient care today but also ensure that the health needs of our rapidly growing region and state are met with innovation and expertise.

Building on its combined capabilities, UT San Antonio leaders envision rapid development of hands-on learning opportunities and new degree programs, much like the 2023 launch of a dual degree program in medicine and artificial intelligence, which was the first program of its kind in the United States.

"Synergies of expertise that come together allow us to innovate. That's going to be available now to students, to faculty, to scientists, to graduate students across the spectrum of this new university," said Francisco G. Cigarroa, MD, who serves as senior executive vice president for health affairs and health system of UT San Antonio. "A discovery that happens here, that improves the quality of life, not only improves the quality of life for our children or for our loved ones, but that translates to the population at large and it's going to have a global impact."

Athletics remain key to UT San Antonio's vibrant culture. In all 17 NCAA Division I sports, student-athletes will continue to compete as UTSA in the American Conference. The school's beloved mascot, Rowdy the Roadrunner, also remains central to UT San Antonio's university spirit and growing footprint.

Growing Texas' economy

UT San Antonio is projected to have a $7 billion annual economic impact, energizing San Antonio's $44.1 billion healthcare and biosciences sector, the city's largest industry.

The university will play a critical role in advancing regional prosperity by fostering excellence, building a culture of service and creating transformative opportunities that keep graduates in Texas, fulfilling its promise to provide talent for industry's most in-demand, future-forward jobs.

Institutional data shows that more than 90% of UTSA's alumni enter and remain in the Texas workforce, and UT San Antonio graduates and trains the majority of South Texas' doctors, nurses, dentists, allied health providers and biomedical scientists.

Building on that momentum, Eighmy says that UT San Antonio has the potential to become "one of the most consequential and forward-thinking universities in the United States."

Cigarroa added, "UT San Antonio is going to enrich that culture that makes San Antonio – the region that we live in – not only the best place to raise a family but the best place to study and the best place to work. Education saves lives. For me, it's the greatest public health initiative we can provide because we can transform one life that will change generations to come."

An ambitious vision within reach

In addition to bringing about interdisciplinary synergies in research and educational opportunities for both students and faculty, today's merger completion puts UT San Antonio on a very real path to becoming a premier institution with the characteristics of the elite members of the Association of American Universities.

"I cannot overstate the significance of what this new UT San Antonio will mean to Texas and the nation," said UT System Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife. "This is and always will be about impact. It's about bringing together two institutions that complement each other - one with academics, research, the arts, and athletics and another that has all that you could ask for to make patients' lives better through health education, research, and clinical care."

About UT San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) is a nationally recognized, top-tier public research university that unites the power of higher education, biomedical discovery, and healthcare within one visionary institution. As the third-largest public research university in Texas and a Carnegie R1-designated institution, UT San Antonio is a model of access and excellence—advancing knowledge, social mobility and public health across South Texas and beyond. 

UT San Antonio advances knowledge through teaching and learning, scientific innovation, patient care and community engagement. It serves approximately 40,000 students in 320 academic programs spanning science, engineering, medicine, health, liberal arts, AI, cybersecurity, business, education and more. Each year, it invests more than $486 million to advance research programs and generates an economic impact of $7 billion for Texas. In addition to being a nationally preeminent academic health center, the university serves more than 2.5 million patient visits annually through its comprehensive health system, UT Health San Antonio.

Learn about the many ways "We make lives better^®" at www.utsa.edu and https://uthscsa.edu.

SOURCE UT Health San Antonio