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, 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. Since 2023 Montana is Served by the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Great Falls Campus, first Non Profit Medical school in the State. [3] Maine is served exclusively by one DO-granting school. New York has the most medical schools at 17.
Source: [4] [lower-alpha 1]
Source: [6] [7] [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 | [8] [9] |
Arkansas | Bentonville | Alice L. Walton School of Medicine | MD | Applicant | [8] [10] |
Georgia | Athens | University of Georgia College of Medicine | MD | Applicant | [8] |
Maryland | Hagerstown | Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | Candidate | [11] |
Nevada | Las Vegas | Roseman University College of Medicine | MD | Candidate | [8] |
New York | Buffalo | D'Youville University College of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | Candidate | [11] |
North Carolina | Fayetteville | Methodist University School of Medicine at Cape Fear Valley Health | MD | Applicant | [12] |
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.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is a private medical school with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and additional locations in Suwanee, Georgia and Moultrie, Georgia.
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.
Touro University Nevada (TUN) is a private university in Henderson, Nevada. It is part of the Touro College and University System. Touro University Nevada is a branch campus of its sister campus Touro University California.
Touro University California is a private graduate school focused primarily on health professions and located on Mare Island in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Touro College and University System and is jointly administered with its sister campus Touro University Nevada.
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.
The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) is a private medical school with a main campus in the neighborhood of Central Harlem in New York City and additional campuses in Middletown, New York and Great Falls, Montana. It is a division of the Touro College and University System.
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.
Touro University College of Medicine was a proposed medical school to be based out of Hackensack, New Jersey. Its hospital affiliate was to be Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC). The medical school disbanded in December 2009.
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 College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) is a private, non-profit medical school for osteopathic medicine located in downtown Pomona, in the U.S. state of California. The college opened in 1977 as the only osteopathic medical school west of the Rocky Mountains. COMP was the founding program of Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU), which now has 8 colleges in addition to COMP, each offering professional degrees in various fields of healthcare. COMP has a single 4-year program, conferring the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree. Graduates are eligible to practice medicine in all 50 states and more than 85 countries.
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.
California Health Sciences University (CHSU) is a private, for-profit university located in Clovis, California. Founded in 2012, the school operates three academic programs, two of which offer doctoral degrees (in pharmacy and osteopathic medicine), and the third offers a masters degree in science. Graduates of the College of Pharmacy (COP) will receive the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) degree, graduates of the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) will receive the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree, and graduates of the College of Biosciences and Health Professions (CBHP) will receive the Masters of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree.