Since 1891 the University of Texas Medical Branch has grown from one building into the more than 70 that anchor this part of Galveston. Founded in 1891 as the University of Texas Medical Department, UTMB began as one building with 23 students and 13 faculty, and has grown to more than 70 buildings, more than 2,500 students, and more than 1,000 faculty. Today it employs about 15,000 people and, as of February 2026, had an endowment of $887 million.
Its work centers on three missions: health sciences education, medical research, and health care services; it is home to the Galveston National Laboratory. You’ll find five schools here — Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions, Public and Population Health, and Graduate Biomedical Sciences — along with three institutes for advanced study and a comprehensive medical library. UTMB operates four on-site hospitals, including an affiliated Shriners Hospital for Children, a network of clinics offering primary and specialized care, and numerous research facilities.
Its emergency department at John Sealy Hospital is certified as a Level I Trauma Center. Notice the more than 70 buildings now spread across a campus that began as one.