Getting into McGovern Medical School (UTHealth Houston)
McGovern Medical School sits in the heart of the Texas Medical Center — the largest medical complex in the world — with teaching partners like MD Anderson and Memorial Hermann next door. It's also one of Texas's biggest MD classes at 240 students, and 227 of them are Texas residents (entered 2025). Here's an honest read, no odds attached.
Updated September 2026 · 2026-2027 cycle · figures cited to McGovern's official pages
What is McGovern's mission — and what does it signal?
“Educate future physicians and biomedical scientists for careers dedicated to the highest ideals of their profession; to provide outstanding patient-centered care; and to conduct innovative research.”McGovern Medical School mission1
Notice the three legs: care, research, and profession-first ideals. McGovern was renamed in 2015 after a $75 million gift from the McGovern Foundation, and it leans on its Texas Medical Center location — you're learning where the patients, the cancer center, and the research already are.1 Applicants who can point to real patient-facing experience and a reason Houston's ecosystem fits them read naturally here.
What makes McGovern's curriculum distinctive?
Two things set McGovern's academic path apart. First, the Scholarly Concentration Program — a longitudinal track where students go deep in an area of interest; its Medical Humanities concentration lets graduates earn the distinct “John P. McGovern, M.D., Humanities Scholar” designation, a nod to the physician the school is named for.4 Second, the clinical environment: rotations run through the Texas Medical Center's flagship hospitals — MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann-TMC, Children's Memorial Hermann, and Harris Health's LBJ Hospital.1 Dual-degree options (MD/PhD, MD/MPH, MD/MBA, and more) let students formalize a research or systems interest alongside the MD.
How does McGovern review applicants?
Applications come through TMDSAS, and McGovern states it selects students who show the potential to become “competent and caring physicians” who will serve identified needs — patient-centered care is the throughline. Review is holistic. CASPer is required of all applicants (a computer-based assessment of personal characteristics). Letters are submitted via TMDSAS. Because 227 of the 240 students who entered in 2025 were Texas residents, a non-resident's file needs a genuine reason it belongs in this specific class.2
What is the McGovern interview like?
McGovern's interview is virtual and traditional in style — not an MMI — but with a twist: applicants complete two back-to-back 1:1 faculty interviews and a KiraTalent one-way recorded video assessment.2 If you've only rehearsed live conversation, practice the recorded-video format too; talking to a camera with no interviewer is its own skill.
What are McGovern's secondaries like?
As a TMDSAS school, much of McGovern's secondary information lives inside the Texas application, supplemented by the KiraTalent video. Check McGovern's own requirements page each cycle for the current supplemental steps and any essay prompts rather than assuming last year's — we won't invent them.2
What does McGovern cost — and how does the timeline work?
For 2026–27, McGovern lists first-year tuition and fees of about $30,346 for Texas residents (base tuition ~$21,083) and about $38,001 for non-residents (base tuition ~$28,738). These are the school's total tuition-and-fees lines; confirm the current year on UTHealth's financial pages before relying on them.5
Who McGovern tends to fit
McGovern fits applicants who want a big-city, big-system clinical education and can use it. Training inside the Texas Medical Center means unusual exposure — a National Cancer Institute powerhouse in MD Anderson, a Level I trauma center, a large safety-net hospital — so it rewards students energized by volume and complexity rather than a small-cohort feel (this is a 240-person class, not an intimate one).1 On residency: with 227 of 240 students Texas residents (entered 2025), it's a Texas school first. It fits Texans, applicants drawn to research or medical humanities, and anyone who thrives in a large, resource-dense academic environment.
What McGovern really offers is proximity.
Plenty of schools talk about clinical exposure; few put students inside the world's largest medical center from the start, steps from MD Anderson and a major trauma center. That's the honest draw here — not prestige signaling, but sheer access to patients and subspecialty care. The trade-off is scale: a 240-student class is a different experience than a 50-seat program, so know whether you want the resources of a giant or the intimacy of a small one. And like every Texas public, the residency math (227 of 240 Texas residents, entered 2025) is the first thing a non-Texan should weigh — as a fact, not as your odds.
See exactly where you stand — at McGovern and every school on your list
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Frequently asked
What are McGovern's average MCAT and GPA?
McGovern reports a matriculant mean MCAT of 512 and mean GPA of 3.84 (Class of 2029). These are averages, not cutoffs, and the committee reviews holistically.3
Does McGovern require CASPer?
Yes — every applicant must complete the online CASPer assessment. Build it into your timeline; it's a required, dated step, not optional.2
Is the McGovern interview an MMI?
No. It's two back-to-back 1:1 faculty interviews (virtual) plus a KiraTalent one-way recorded video. Prepare for both live conversation and recorded-answer format.2
What is the “McGovern Humanities Scholar” designation?
Through the Scholarly Concentration Program's Medical Humanities track, students can graduate with the “John P. McGovern, M.D., Humanities Scholar” designation — a formal recognition of longitudinal humanities work, distinctive to this school.4
How many students are in a McGovern class, and how many are from Texas?
240 students (entered 2025), one of Texas's largest MD classes, of whom 227 were Texas residents. We don't publish acceptance rates, but that in-state count is the key fact for a non-resident to weigh.3
What does McGovern cost?
For 2026–27, about $30,346 tuition and fees in year one for Texas residents and about $38,001 for non-residents. Confirm current figures on UTHealth's official pages.5
Sources — McGovern official pages
- Mission, Texas Medical Center partners, and 2015 renaming: https://med.uth.edu/admissions/why-mcgovern/
- Requirements (holistic review, CASPer, interview, TMDSAS): https://med.uth.edu/admissions/why-mcgovern/requirements/
- Texas residents, entered 2025 — Facts & Figures: https://med.uth.edu/factsandfigures/; mean GPA, mean MCAT and class size, entered 2025 — meet the Class of 2029
- Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration (“Humanities Scholar” designation): https://med.uth.edu/mcgovern/programs/medical-humanities/
- Tuition & fees (UTHealth Houston Academic Catalog): https://catalog.uth.edu/medical/about/tuition-fees/
Figures are McGovern’s own published Class of 2029 matriculant means from its official Facts & Figures and are the middle of an admitted class, not cutoffs or predictions. A separate science GPA is not published. Tuition figures are official tuition/fee lines and exclude living costs; confirm the current year on UTHealth’s pages. No acceptance rate or admission odds are shown, by policy. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by UTHealth Houston; confirm all requirements on the school’s official pages.