The Paso del Norte region is served by large universities heavily invested in health care education and biomedical research such as the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the University of Texas at El Paso and New Mexico State University.

The MCA campus is home to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, a former regional campus that became an independent medical university in 2013. Its educational and research infrastructure includes:

• The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.
• The Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing.
• The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
• Almost $200 Million of new buildings since 2006, including the Medical Sciences Building II (under construction): an $84 million, five-story, 219,900-square-foot building that will triple the university’s research capacity.
• The Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine (in the development/feasibility study phase).

The University of Texas at El Paso, an important partner of the Medical Center of the Americas, is only a 10-minute drive from the MCA campus. UTEP has made major investments in its educational and research infrastructure–$270 million in capital improvements since 2009—in pursuit of Tier 1 research university status. Its new educational and research facilities since 2009 include:

• The College of Health Sciences and Nursing.
• The School of Pharmacy.
• Bio Sciences Research Building, including the Border Biomedical Research Center.
• Masters and doctoral programs in biomedical engineering.
• Mike Loya Center for Innovation and Commerce
• The Biomedical Engineering Annex
• The Chemistry and Computer Science Building
• The Research Institute for Manufacturing and Engineering Systems.
• W.M. Keck Center for 3-D Innovation.
• $85 million Interdisciplinary Researching Building (scheduled for completion in 2019).

The UT School of Public Health El Paso Regional Campus offers a variety of higher education certificates, degree, and research opportunities for students across the region:

• a customized Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)
• an M.P.H. in health promotion/behavioral sciences
• an M.P.H. in environmental health
• a Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) in health promotion/behavioral sciences
• a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in environmental sciences
• a five core course M.P.H. certificate
• Students accepted to the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso may elect to pursue the M.D./M.P.H. dual degree with UTHealth School of Public Health in El Paso

UTHealth students have the option of taking courses taught face-to-face, through interactive television, or online with this hybrid approach helping students design an academic path that works in their schedule. With the US-Mexico border less than a mile from the campus, the curriculum, research, and community practice focus on the unique health problems facing border populations. Faculty at the EPRC also focus on health disparities in the border region and the results of those disparities are the primary focus of the ongoing research at the campus. Improving prevention techniques and promoting health services among the Mexican-American community are integral parts of the research efforts in El Paso.

Less than an hour’s drive north of El Paso on Interstate 10 is New Mexico State University, another regional MCA partner. Its health care and biomedical education and research infrastructure includes:

• The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (a private college affiliated with NMSU).
• The School of Nursing.
• Arrowhead Park, a 200-acre hub for research and technology-based startups.
• An extensive research program supporting Los Alamos potl lab, Holloman Air Force Base, etc.