This list of medical schools in the United States includes current and developing academic institutions which award the Doctor of Medicine (MD) or the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degrees, either of which is required for comprehensive practice as a physician in the United States. MD-granting medical schools are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education while DO-granting medical schools are accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. There are currently 158 accredited MD-granting institutions, [1] and 37 accredited DO-granting institutions in the United States. [2]
Although Delaware, Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming are the only states that lack independent medical schools, Alaska, Idaho (which also hosts an independent DO-granting school), Montana, and Wyoming are served by the University of Washington School of Medicine through the WWAMI Regional Medical Education Program. Maine is served exclusively by one DO-granting school. New York has the most medical schools at 17.
Source: [3] [lower-alpha 1]
Source: [5] [6] [lower-alpha 2]
The following medical schools are under "applicant" or "candidate" status with either COCA or LCME.
State | City | School | Degree | Status | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona | Tempe | Arizona State University School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering | MD | Applicant | [7] [8] |
Arkansas | Bentonville | Alice L. Walton School of Medicine | MD | Applicant | [7] [9] |
Georgia | Athens | University of Georgia College of Medicine | MD | Applicant | [7] |
Maryland | Hagerstown | Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | Candidate | [10] |
Nevada | Las Vegas | Roseman University College of Medicine | MD | Candidate | [7] |
New York | Buffalo | D'Youville University College of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | Candidate | [10] |
North Carolina | Fayetteville | Methodist University School of Medicine at Cape Fear Valley Health | MD | Applicant | [11] |
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States that promotes the practice of science-based medicine, often referred to in this context as allopathic medicine, with a set of philosophy and principles set by its earlier form, osteopathy. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges and are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine and surgery in all 50 US states. The field is distinct from osteopathic practices offered in nations outside of the U.S., whose practitioners are generally not considered part of core medical staff nor of medicine itself, but rather are alternative medicine practitioners. The other major branch of medicine in the United States is referred to by practitioners of osteopathic medicine as allopathic medicine.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that was established in 1876. It represents medical schools, teaching hospitals, and academic and scientific societies, while providing services to its member institutions that include data from medical, education, and health studies, as well as consulting. The AAMC administers the Medical College Admission Test and operates the American Medical College Application Service and the Electronic Residency Application Service. Along with the American Medical Association (AMA), the AAMC co-sponsors the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for all U.S. MD-granting medical education programs.
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is the representative member organization for the more than 176,000 osteopathic medical doctors (D.O.s) and osteopathic medical students in the United States. The AOA is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and is involved in post-graduate training for osteopathic physicians. Beginning in 2015, it began accrediting post-graduate education as a committee within the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, creating a unified accreditation system for all DOs and MDs in the United States. The organization promotes public health, encourages academic scientific research, serves as the primary certifying body for D.O.s overseeing 18 certifying boards, and is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical schools through its Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. As of October 2015, the AOA no longer owns the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), which accredited hospitals and other health care facilities.
Podiatric Medical School is the term used to designate the institutions which educate students and train them to be podiatrists, which diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. In the United States, only schools which are accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) may earn the status of being a Podiatric Medical School. The Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree is commonly abbreviated D.P.M. degree. The D.P.M. degree is a prerequisite for an individual to be accepted into a CPME accredited residency. The preparatory education of most podiatric physicians — similar to the paths of traditional physicians — includes four years of undergraduate work, followed by four years in an accredited podiatric medical school, followed by a three- or four-year hospital-based podiatry residency. Optional one- to two-year fellowship in foot and ankle reconstruction, surgical limb salvage, sports medicine, plastic surgery, pediatric foot and ankle surgery, and wound care is also available.
Medical education in the United States includes educational activities involved in the education and training of physicians in the country, with the overall process going from entry-level training efforts through to the continuing education of qualified specialists in the context of American colleges and universities.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association.
The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is a service run by the Association of American Medical Colleges through which prospective medical students can apply to various medical schools in the United States. It thus acts as something of a Common Application among the schools.
Medical school in the United States is a graduate program with the purpose of educating physicians in the undifferentiated field of medicine. Such schools provide a major part of the medical education in the United States. Most medical schools in the US confer upon graduates a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, while some confer a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Most schools follow a similar pattern of education, with two years of classroom and laboratory based education, followed by two years of clinical rotations in a teaching hospital where students see patients in a variety of specialties. After completion, graduates must complete a residency before becoming licensed to practice medicine.
Most physicians in the United States hold either the Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) or the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (DO). Institutions awarding the MD are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). Institutions awarding the DO are accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). The World Directory of Medical Schools lists both LCME accredited MD programs and COCA accredited DO programs as US medical schools. Foreign-trained osteopaths do not hold DO degrees and are not recognized as physicians in the United States or in other jurisdictions.
The American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) accredits medical schools granting the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree in the United States. The US Department of Education lists the Commission as a recognized accreditor.
Rocky Vista University (RVU) is a private, for-profit medical school with campus locations in Parker, Colorado and Ivins, Utah. The school opened in 2006 as the only modern for-profit medical school in the United States although other for-profit schools have since opened. RVU's College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM) grants the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and admitted its inaugural class of medical students at the Parker, Colorado campus in August 2008.
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licensed as a physician or surgeon and thus have full medical and surgical practicing rights in all 50 US states. As of 2021, there were 168,701 osteopathic physicians and medical students in DO programs across the United States. Osteopathic medicine emerged historically from osteopathy, but has become a distinct profession.
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) is a private medical school associated with the Geisinger Health System in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. GCSOM offers a community-based model of medical education with six regional campuses - North, South, Central, West, Atlanticare, and Guthrie. It offers a Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program and a Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) Program.
The University of California, Riverside (UCR), School of Medicine is the graduate medical school of the University of California, Riverside, acting as one of six University of California medical schools. It enrolled its first class in 2013, with the first class of 40 medical students receiving their degrees on June 9, 2017.
The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine is the medical school at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. It is one of three medical schools in the state of West Virginia.
The Medical School Admission Requirements Guide (MSAR) is a suite of guides produced by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which helps inform prospective medical students about medical school, the application process, and the undergraduate preparation. The MSAR staff works in collaboration with the admissions offices at each medical school and combined B.S./M.D. program to compile information about each school and program. This data originates from a number of sources including the:
The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM) is the medical school of Ohio University and the only osteopathic medical school in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its mission is to emphasize the practice of primary care and train physicians to serve Ohio, especially in the underserved Appalachian and urban areas of the state.
The Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, also known colloquially as Quinnipiac Medical School, or simply "Netter," is a medical school located in North Haven, Connecticut. The medical school was established in 2010 with its first class starting in 2013.
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) is a private medical school in Kalamazoo, Michigan. WMed was established in 2012 and confers the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, as well as Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences degree and the Master of Science in Medical Engineering degree. WMed is a collaboration between Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo's two teaching hospitals, Ascension Borgess and Bronson Healthcare. The inaugural class of 54 students started in August 2014.