Wednesday, July 20, 2022
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By News and Internal Communications

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – The extended deadline to apply to the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine closes on July 27, 2022, for admission to the inaugural, 2022 cohort.

Now the first university in Texas – and one of only 10 in the nation – ready to prepare and graduate Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), UTRGV recently was granted candidacy status by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME). The DPM program has been approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).   

Podiatrists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the foot and ankle. Students who have completed at least 90 credit hours of undergraduate studies and taken the MCAT exam are eligible to apply to enter the program upon graduation. The program entails four years of medical education at the SOPM, followed by three years of hospital-based post-graduate residency training.    

With the July 27, 2022, deadline nearing, classes are scheduled for Aug. 8 at the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine, located in Harlingen within UT Health RGV, at 2102 Treasure Hills Blvd.   

UTRGV was granted approval for a DPM program in late 2020 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and CPME candidacy status was the next step toward launching the school and the program.   

Dr. Javier La Fontaine, DPM, MS, MEd and dean of the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine, said the school is the first of its kind in the UT System, and within a major state university system.

“The support of the UT System helps ensure that our students will succeed in becoming not only dedicated podiatric physicians, but also research scientists, public health professionals and educators.”

Gilbert Morin, director of admissions for the School of Podiatric Medicine, said the school’s tuition is among the lowest in the country, as UTRGV continues its commitment to providing access to a high-quality education at an affordable rate.    

“We want to make this level of education available to students of all backgrounds,” Morin said.  

Students interested in applying can do so online and email DPMAdmissions@utrgv.edu for more information.

ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.