Leading the way forward

The quest for excellence never stops at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston. Each achievement is a steppingstone to greater advances in nursing education, practice, and discovery.

This continuous pursuit of innovation earned us a Center of Excellence™ designation from the National League of Nurses in 2025 and propelled us to become the top-ranked school in Texas for NIH-funded research. Our Doctor of Nursing Practice program also ranks No. 1 in the state. To make nursing education accessible to students who share our vision of excellence regardless of income, we also launched the Future Nurses Fund for qualifying Bachelor of Science in Nursing students.

I am fortunate to share this adventure with an amazing team of faculty and staff who are committed to providing our students the best nursing education Texas has to offer.

Onward and upward!

Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, PHNA-BC, ACRN, FSAHM, FAAN
Dean
Jane and Robert Cizik Distinguished Chair
Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing Education Leadership