Introduction

All publications originating from UT San Antonio should follow the same guidelines for consistency and readability. This style applies to news sites, university magazines, reports, newsletters, brochures, web pages and other publications produced by the university.

Included in this guide is information about names and places specific to writing about UT San Antonio. It is informed by multiple reference works. The Associated Press Stylebook is the primary guide, and the entries are also informed by The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster, the university's official dictionary.

This document serves as initial guidance for language usage pertaining to the new, merged university.

UT San Antonio encompasses academic schools, health professional schools, clinical and basic research, and patient care for the community.

Identity

University name
The university's official, regental name is The University of Texas at San Antonio.

First reference: The University of Texas at San Antonio

Second reference: UT San Antonio

Third and subsequent references: "the university" when referring to academics and research, "the institution" when referring to the entire enterprise, including patient care locations, services, and health system.

Capitalize "The" in front of all UT System school names on first reference. Examples: The University of Texas at San Antonio. The University of Texas at Dallas.

UTSA

The "UTSA" name retains powerful brand equity and cultural significance and will continue to be used selectively in contexts where it resonates most. This includes athletics, where "UTSA" remains prominently featured on team uniforms, facilities, and promotional materials. The name may also be used in student-facing programs and initiatives that foster school spirit and uphold university traditions. Additionally, "UTSA" may appear in city signage and wayfinding applications, such as directional or street signs, where it aids in public recognition and continuity. These instances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, to ensure thoughtful application that honors the legacy and identity of UTSA while maintaining brand consistency across the unified university.

UTSA Athletics

The official name is UTSA Athletics. Teams are UTSA Football, UTSA Baseball, etc. Roadrunners is a good second reference to any team or the department.

Health Science Center

The formal name of the off-campus instructional site and campus location is UT San Antonio Health Science Center. It serves as the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio. UT Health San Antonio serves as the clinical care, clinical research, and health system enterprise of The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Second reference is Health Science Center. Never HSC in written copy.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the formal regental name of the academic health center that was created by the Texas Legislature in 1959. This name can be used when referencing the academic health center and its efforts prior to Sept. 1, 2025, if it is needed for historical context to avoid confusion.

UT Health San Antonio

UT Health San Antonio serves as the clinical care, clinical research and health enterprise of The University of Texas at San Antonio. UT Health San Antonio offers a comprehensive network of inpatient and outpatient care facilities staffed by medical, dental, nursing and allied health professionals who conduct more than 2.5 million patient visits each year.

Second reference is UT Health San Antonio. Never UT Health in written copy to avoid confusion with other UT Health institutions such as UTHealth Houston, UT Health Austin.

Editorial Style Guide A-Z

Acronyms

In general, avoid using acronyms for colleges, schools, centers, institutes and programs. Use the full, official name on first reference and use generic terms on second reference.

Example:
The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio is one of 33 centers of excellence for dementia care and research in the nation. The Biggs Institute (or the institute) is also the first one in Texas recognized as a National Institute on Aging-designated Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

One exception is STRONGSTAR Consortium, which is an acronym of South Texas Research Organizational Network Guiding Studies on Trauma And Resilience, a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research consortium funded by the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs. STRONGSTAR is fine on first reference but must be explained.

Do not use acronyms for schools or colleges. An exception can be made for internal publications or communications sent to audiences that recognize the acronym, such as an internal memo from a dean to faculty in a particular school.

AI

A common abbreviation for artificial intelligence. Always use artificial intelligence for first reference except if referring to the UT San Antonio College of AI, Cyber and Computing.
AI is not an acceptable abbreviation for any other phrase, such as Academic Innovation or academic inquiry.

Campus and locations

The UT San Antonio Main Campus is the merged institution's primary campus.

The UT San Antonio Health Science Center is an off-campus instructional site. All health professional schools are housed within the Health Science Center.

There are five campuses that make up The University of Texas at San Antonio:

Carnegie Classifications

UT San Antonio is a Carnegie R1 institution that is committed to launching large-scale research activities that are gaining the university national and international recognition.

Carnegie R1 can be used as a title/header when speaking directly to faculty and staff members, alumni, research partners, elected leaders and peers at other higher education institutions.

For news articles, communications to current and prospective students, and other communications for the general public, refer instead to "Tier One."

Note that the R in R1 stands for research. It is not necessary to say "R1 research institution" as that would translate to "Research 1 research institution" and is repetitive.

When referring to the recognition, use "classification," "designation" or "recognition," not "status."

Additionally, the classification is "attained," not "earned" or "achieved."

For historical references when additional context is needed:
• UTSA attained the Carnegie R1 classification in 2021.
• UTSA attained the Carnegie Opportunity Colleges and Universities classification in 2025.
• UTSA was recognized with the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2015. (This is an elective classification offered by the Carnegie Foundation.)
• The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio attained the Carnegie R1 classification in 2025.

College and schools

There are nine academic colleges and five schools within UT San Antonio:
• Carlos Alvarez College of Business
• College of AI, Cyber and Computing
• College of Education and Human Development
• College for Health, Community and Policy
• College of Liberal and Fine Arts
    ○ School of Art
    ○ School of Music
    ○ Interdisciplinary School of Engagement
• College of Sciences
• Graduate School
• Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
    ○ School of Architecture and Planning
    ○ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Management
• University College
• Honors College

There are six health professional schools within the UT San Antonio Health Science Center:
• Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
• Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
    ○ Second reference: Long School of Medicine
• School of Dentistry
• School of Nursing
• School of Health Professions
• School of Public Health

Capitalize the formal name of the colleges. The preferred style is to avoid the possessive form of UT San Antonio in proper names, including college names, when possible.
    UT San Antonio College of Sciences
    NOT
    UT San Antonio's College of Sciences

Do not use acronyms for schools or colleges. An exception is for internal publications or communications sent to audiences who recognize the acronym. For example, an internal memo from a dean to faculty in a particular school.
    College of Education and Human Development, not COEHD
    School of Dentistry, not dental school or SOD

Commas

Commas should aid in clarity. If a comma does not help make a sentence clear, it should be left out. If omitting a comma could lead to confusion or misinterpretation, leave it in.

In a series, use the comma to separate elements within the series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series.
Example: She went to the store and bought apples, bananas and pears.
I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast.

Courtesy titles

In general, avoid courtesy titles except in formal invitations or messages, speeches, etc.

Courtesy titles include Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms. On first reference, use the full name followed by academic credentials. On second reference use only the last name. When possible, hyperlink the first reference of a name to a professional bio page.

Examples:
First reference: Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH
      Second reference: Potter
First reference: David Shelledy, PhD, RRT, RPFT, FAARC, FASAHP
      Second reference: Shelledy
First reference: Heather Shipley, PhD
      Second reference: Shipley
Francisco Cigarroa, MD
      Second reference: Cigarroa

The only exception is when used in a direct quote.

"We are proud of Dr. Lechleiter's research contributions that have led to this first-in-man clinical trial," said Andrea Giuffrida, PhD, vice president for strategic industry ventures at UT Health San Antonio.

For television or podcast interviews, default to AP style where Dr. is used as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a Doctor of Dental Surgery, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Optometry, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine: Dr. Jonas Salk. Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees, use their credential after their name: Cassandra Karoub, PhD

Dashes

The two most commonly used dashes are the em dash and the en dash.
      the em dash looks like this: — (option + shift + -)
      the en dash looks like this: – (option + -)
      the hyphen looks like this: -
To use them properly, remember that dashes separate, but hyphens join. 

Em dashes are frequently used to set off parenthetical phrases, especially long or complex ones where something stronger than a comma is called for. They are used sparingly only when necessary and should be formatted with spaces on either side. If the phrase comes at the end of a sentence, only one dash is needed to set it off — like this. If it is inserted into the middle of the sentence — like this — dashes are needed on both sides:
      (YES) The building — one of our oldest — will be reroofed.
      (NO) The building — one of our oldest, will be reroofed. 

En dashes are used to represent a range between figures or words:
      11 a.m.–noon, 1994–96, pages 3–12
      En dashes are also used to indicate the minus sign in a grade: C– 

      Also, en dashes are used in place of hyphens in open compounds (with two or more words):
      San Antonio–based, Pulitzer Prize–winning, post–World War II 

See also Hyphens.

Degrees

Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, a master's, etc., but there is no possessive in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

The exact degree is uppercase, as is the subject. This is an exception to AP.

Example: Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media, Master of Science in Leadership, Master of Arts in Public Administration and Master of Arts in International Administration.

Whenever possible, use the generic version of the degree name: a master's in leadership or a master's degree in leadership. But a Master of Science in Leadership.

Also an exception to AP Style: Abbreviations of degrees, certifications and licensures follow the first reference of all names, and do not contain periods.

Typically, a terminal academic degree is the only one listed, but the source's preference will determine which to use. If possible, limit credentials to the most relevant terminal degree and one preferred certification or license. Consider providing a link to a faculty profile page with all credentials listed.

Example: Carlos Roberto Jaén, MD, PhD, FAAFP, professor and chairman of family and community medicine.

Academic degrees come before licensures: John Doe, DPT, PT
Ricky Joseph, PhD, OTR (Co-PI)
School of Nursing Dean Sonya Renae Hardin, PhD, MBA/MHA, CCRN, NA-C, FAAN
Vidya Sharma, PhD, RD, LD, CDCES

Doctoral degree and doctorate are interchangeable but are not synonymous with PhD. UT San Antonio also offers a Doctor of Education degree (EdD).
Use doctoral degree. Doctorate degree is never correct. 

Health professional programs: The degree, certification and licensure programs of the six Health Science Center schools.

Academic programs: The degree and certification programs of the UT San Antonio academic colleges and schools.

Eighmy

Taylor Eighmy, PhD, is the sixth president of The University of Texas at San Antonio and the first president of the merged institution UT San Antonio. Pronounced "Amy."
First reference: University President Taylor Eighmy, PhD
Second reference: Eighmy
In verbal communication: President Eighmy 

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Always spell out in news and feature stories on first reference.
Second reference: FERPA 

Healthcare

A deviation from AP, this should be one word in all references.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

This is the name of the federal law restricting release of medical information. Always spell out on first reference in news and feature stories. Second reference is HIPAA. HIPAA-compliant is acceptable.

American Indian/Native American

Both terms are acceptable for those in the U.S. Follow the person's preference.

Hyphens

Use hyphens as joiners, such as for compound modifiers: small-business owner. There should be no spaces surrounding a hyphen.

A compound modifier is usually hyphenated when it comes before the noun but not after it:

She directs their computer-assisted mail services. Almost all of our services are computer assisted.

Those are graduate-level courses. That course is graduate level. He is a much-appreciated worker. His diligence is much appreciated.

The new College of AI, Cyber and Computing will have world-class faculty its inaugural year.

The faculty of the College of AI, Cyber and Computing is world class.

EXCEPT when the first modifier ends in -ly:
The highly organized administrative assistant was deeply respected.

Institutes, centers and consortia

All research institutes, centers and consortia are part of The University of Texas at San Antonio. If they offer patient care, such as clinical trials, they become part of the UT Health San Antonio health enterprise, and body copy will reflect the UT Health San Antonio name.

For centers, institutes or consortia, use "at The University of Texas at San Antonio" or "at UT San Antonio" to reference the name of the entity:

The Brain Health Consortium at UT San Antonio. Not UT San Antonio Brain Health Consortium or UTSA Brain Health Consortium.

There are some instances where the same entity is part of both UT San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio. Use "at UT San Antonio" for research and "at UT Health San Antonio" for patient care:

• The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT San Antonio is the first comprehensive center in South Texas dedicated to the study and treatment of Alzheimer's, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
• The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio offers diagnostic services and free counseling for patients and their caregivers. 

Office

Capitalize only when part of a formal name. Lowercase the informal reference:
Example: Office of Communications BUT communications office 

Orthopaedics

Use the British spelling (and the derivative from the Greek words) preferred by physicians to match the UT Health San Antonio and Long School of Medicine convention. This is a deviation from AP Style.

Roadrunners

For an abbreviated version of Roadrunners, use 'Runners with an apostrophe. In text, make sure that the apostrophe is going the right way. (e.g.: 'Runners NOT 'Runners)

SACSCOC

Name of the accrediting body Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College, focused on quality assurance in higher education. It accredits institutions that award associate, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees. Spell out in first reference. SACSCOC is acceptable on second reference.