It was founded in 1969 as a branch campus of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and became a separate institution in 2013.

TTUHSC El Paso opened in 1969 as the Regional Academic Health Center and became affiliated with R.E.

For its first 35 years, only third- and fourth-year medical students, along with residents, could train in the campus' eight accredited programs.

[6] A feasibility study conducted in 2012 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board determined that a proposed dental school, that would have been a college within TTUHSC El Paso, was too costly and at that time not necessary but may be necessitated in the future.

The program met all four accreditation standards and determined that there were no compliance concerns with respect to the key elements.

TTUHSC El Paso will also fill a niche in border and Hispanic health by leading research that will have a huge impact on the nation by contributing to literature dealing with Hispanics and diseases that affect the El Paso area—diabetes, obesity, and depression.

On August 4, 2007, Paul Foster, President and CEO of Western Refining, made a $50-million donation to the school.