With more than one million residents, Austin is the second-most-populous state capital in the United States. However, prospective medical students should know that Austin has just one M.D.-granting medical school within the city itself: Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. Several other Texas medical schools are also within about 100 miles of the capital, including schools in San Antonio and at Texas A&M. Below is more information about three medical schools in and near Austin.
Top Medical Schools in Austin
1. University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin, or UT Austin, opened in 1883 and became known by its current name in 1967. It is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. UT Austin’s main campus covers 441 acres and, as of fall 2025, its enrollment is about 55,000 students.
The university has 18 colleges and schools and offers 156 undergraduate degree programs and 208 graduate degree programs. UT Austin has also produced multiple Nobel laureates, including E. Donnall Thomas and J. M. Coetzee. UT Austin’s medical school is Dell Medical School, named for the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which announced a $50 million commitment in 2013 to help establish the school.
Dell Medical School welcomed its first class of 50 students in 2016. Its Undergraduate Medical Education, or M.D., program trains physician leaders for modern medicine. The four-year Leading EDGE curriculum is organized around Essentials, Delivery, Growth, and Exploration.
For incoming 2025 and 2026 classes, annual Dell Medical School tuition and fees are $22,074 for Texas residents and $37,138 for nonresidents. The medical school also offers graduate medical education programs and other health-related educational opportunities.
2. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, commonly known as UT Health San Antonio, is now part of the University of Texas at San Antonio after UTSA and UT Health San Antonio merged on September 1, 2025. The Health Science Center is in San Antonio, about 82 miles by road from downtown Austin.
The Health Science Center was established in 1959 and opened its doors in 1968. Today, it includes six schools: the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Professions, and Kate Marmion School of Public Health. These schools offer nearly 70 degree specialties. Its fall 2024 enrollment was 3,791 students, plus 1,132 medical residents and post-graduate trainees.
The Long School of Medicine offers an M.D. program guided by competencies in altruism, knowledge, and skills. Its CIRCLE curriculum integrates basic and clinical science with early clinical experiences, uses active learning, and includes formative checkpoints that help students assess their progress and develop self-directed learning habits.
For the 2025–2026 award year, first-year M.D. tuition is $21,823 for Texas residents and $37,239 for nonresidents, before fees, health insurance, books, living costs, and other expenses. Students may also pursue distinction pathways in medical education, medical humanities, and research, as well as dual-degree options such as M.D./M.B.A., M.D./M.P.H., M.D./M.S.A.I., M.D./O.M.S., and M.D./Ph.D.
3. Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University’s Texas A&M University Health Science Center began in 1999 as an independent state agency of the Texas A&M University System. In 2013, it became an academic unit of Texas A&M University while retaining its state-agency status. Texas A&M enrolled 81,354 students across all campuses in fall 2025, including 74,407 at College Station and 4,334 at the Health Science Center.
Texas A&M Health includes five health-related schools: Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy. It offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates across campuses in Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Kingsville, McAllen, Round Rock, and Temple. The Bryan-College Station health campus is roughly 90 to 100 miles from downtown Austin, and the Round Rock campus offers a Central Texas clinical-training location.
The medical school is now named the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, following an August 2025 naming milestone. It offers a Doctor of Medicine, or M.D., program. The M.D. curriculum requires at least four years of study, integrates clinical material across all four years, and includes about 18 months of pre-clerkship work followed by about 30 months of clerkship training.
For the M.D. program, current tuition-and-fee data list about $22,998 for in-state students and $36,098 for out-of-state students. The university also offers M.D. Plus tracks that allow students to combine the M.D. with graduate study such as an M.B.A., M.S. in Medical Sciences, M.P.H., Education for Healthcare Professionals, Science and Technology Journalism, Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation, or Health Law, Policy, and Management.
The college also offers a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences through its Graduate Program in Medical Sciences.
While Austin has only one M.D.-granting medical school within the city, prospective students interested in medical school in Central Texas can also consider nearby options such as the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and Texas A&M Health. These institutions offer additional pathways for students pursuing medical degrees in Texas.
We hope this article on the best medical schools in Austin was helpful. If you are interested in studying in the United States, read our Study in the USA Page or check out the Available Programs for International Students!
