Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock has awarded more than 3,000 Doctor of Medicine degrees since its first graduating class in 1974. The school was commissioned to train physicians to help meet the health care needs of residents of West Texas, a population that now includes more than 2.5 million people. When the school opened, West Texas had one physician for every 1,300 residents. Currently, the ratio is about one physician for every 750 residents.