Best universities in the United States for medicine degrees 2024

Top 10 universities for medicine in US 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities for medicine in the US

US Medicine rank 2024	Medicine rank 2024	University	State
1	2	Harvard University	Massachusetts
2	5	Stanford University	California
3	6	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland
4	8	Yale University	Connecticut
5	10	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania
6	11	University of California, Berkeley	California
7	12	Columbia University	New York
8	15	University of California, Los Angeles	California
9	18	University of Washington	Washington
10	21	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan

Students who wish to study medicine in the US will have to take a slightly different approach than they would for other countries.

In most cases, medical degrees can be taken only at the postgraduate level, and this is usually a five-year course. At the undergraduate level, students can take health- and science-related courses, which are known as “pre-med”. Students will then go on to apply for medical school, known as “post-med” or MD (doctor of medicine).

Nearly all universities will provide guidance about which undergraduate courses are most recommended and will provide major and minor programmes that will start students on their medical career journey. It is usually recommended that students take courses in the sciences and maths, but this can vary across universities.

Many US medical schools will require students to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) as part of their application.

These are the best universities in the US for medical degrees 2024.

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5. University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine is the university’s medical school. It is one of the oldest medical schools in the country.

The school has six affiliated hospitals including Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine Princeton Health.

Departments in the school include genetics, microbiology, neuroscience, emergency medicine, surgery, radiology and many more.

While the school does not offer undergraduate programmes, there is the MD programme and the PhD programme as well as other master’s programmes and continuing medical professional development courses.

4. Yale University

The medical school at Yale University offers a number of MD and PhD programmes for students looking to pursue a career in medicine.

The Yale School of Public Health also offers a range of courses in public health as well as joint degree programmes with other faculties.

All medical school students will take a clinical skills course in the first 18 months of their degree; this teaches students how to interact with patients and the importance of the patient-doctor relationship. Training in palliative and end-of-life care is mandatory, as the school believes that all future clinicians should have a basic understanding in this area.

At Yale, students may study for a certificate in global medicine alongside their programmes.

The medical school emphasises research among students and requires all students to submit dissertations based on original research. The school encourages many students to consider a fifth year of medical school, which would be devoted to research training.

3. Johns Hopkins University

Students at Johns Hopkins University can choose from an MD programme, as well as graduate, PhD and fellowship programmes.

The university offers an undergraduate major in medicine, science and the humanities, which explores the history of medicine and health.

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland is named after the philanthropist Johns Hopkins, who used his wealth to establish a hospital where everyone could get care, regardless of age, race and sex. The Johns Hopkins Hospital opened in 1889, and the School of Medicine opened four years later.

Teaching at the university follows the “Genes to Society” curriculum, which “presents a model of health and disease based in the principles of adaptation to the environment, variability of the genotype and stratification of risk” rather than approaching health and disease as two different subjects.

The Johns Hopkins Medical School was among the first medical schools in the US to admit women, back in 1893.

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2. Stanford University

Stanford University’s medical school comprises three institutions: Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Children’s Health.

Undergraduates may also undertake biomedical research through the Undergraduate Research Programme.

The school offers MD, PA and PhD programmes to its students. The MD programme launched the Discovery Curriculum in 2016, adding new courses such as pathophysiology and a pharmacological treatment of disease series. This curriculum aims to combine organ-based learning and patient-centred clinical care. Students are also given the opportunity to individualise their course based on their interests.

The School of Medicine also offers a number of opportunities for undergraduate students. These include introductory seminars, an emergency medical technician programme, courses in community health and undergraduate courses in biology and human biology, among others.

1. Harvard University

Harvard University’s medical school is the third oldest in the United States – it was established in 1782.

The medical school offers a five-year MD programme; however, students can extend this by a year to obtain another degree, embark on a research project or take an additional year of formal coursework.

There is no undergraduate “pre-med” concentration at Harvard. Students are generally expected to take classes in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, maths, biochemistry and English before applying to medical school, but there is no set structure for what undergraduate students should study.

Harvard Medical School is responsible for several ground-breaking advances, such as in 1799 when one of its professors, Benjamin Waterhouse, introduced the smallpox vaccine to the United States. Harvard has partnerships with 15 of the world’s most prestigious hospitals, allowing students and staff to undertake exchanges across the world.

Top universities in the United States for medicine 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results.

US Medicine rank 2024	Medicine rank 2024	University	State
1	2	Harvard University	Massachusetts
2	5	Stanford University	California
3	6	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland
4	8	Yale University	Connecticut
5	10	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania
6	11	University of California, Berkeley	California
7	12	Columbia University	New York
8	15	University of California, Los Angeles	California
9	18	University of Washington	Washington
10	21	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan
11	22	Duke University	North Carolina
12	25	The University of Chicago	Illinois
13	=27	University of California, San Diego	California
14	31	New York University	New York
=15	=32	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina
=15	=32	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri
17	40	Northwestern University	Illinois
18	41	Boston University	Massachusetts
19	=44	Emory University	Georgia
20	57	University of Southern California	California
21	58	Vanderbilt University	Tennessee
22	=62	Brown University	Rhode Island
23	66	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus	Pennsylvania
24	67	University of Minnesota	Minnesota
25	79	University of California, Davis	California
26	87	Tufts University	Massachusetts
27	92	University of Florida	Florida
28	94	Ohio State University (Main campus)	Ohio
29	=98	Case Western Reserve University	Ohio
=30	101–125	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire
=30	101–125	University of Illinois Chicago	Illinois
=30	101–125	University of Iowa	Iowa
=30	101–125	University of Rochester	New York
=30	101–125	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin
=35	126–150	University of Colorado Denver /Anschutz Medical Campus	Colorado
=35	126–150	Georgetown University	Washington DC
=35	126–150	George Washington University	Washington DC
=35	126–150	University of Massachusetts	Massachusetts
=35	126–150	University of Miami	Florida
=35	126–150	Oregon Health and Science University	Oregon
=35	126–150	University of Texas at Dallas	Texas
=35	126–150	University of Utah	Utah
=43	151–175	University of California, Irvine	California
=43	151–175	University of Texas at Austin	Texas
=43	151–175	University of Virginia (Main campus)	Virginia
=46	176–200	Indiana University	Indiana
=46	176–200	Michigan State University	Michigan
=46	176–200	Northeastern University, US	Illinois
=46	176–200	Penn State (Main campus)	Pennsylvania
=46	176–200	University of South Florida	Florida
=51	201–250	University of Arizona	Arizona
=51	201–250	University at Buffalo	New York
=51	201–250	University of Maryland, College Park	Maryland
=51	201–250	Purdue University West Lafayette	Indiana
=51	201–250	Texas A&M University	Texas
=51	201–250	Tulane University	Louisiana
=51	201–250	Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia
=58	251–300	Boston College	Massachusetts
=58	251–300	Drexel University	Pennsylvania
=58	251–300	George Mason University	Virginia
=58	251–300	University of Kansas	Kansas
=58	251–300	University of Kentucky	Kentucky
=58	251–300	Rutgers University – New Brunswick	New Jersey
=58	251–300	Saint Louis University	Missouri
=58	251–300	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Virginia
=67	301–400	University of California, Riverside	California
=67	301–400	Colorado State University, Fort Collins	Colorado
=67	301–400	University of Connecticut	Connecticut
=67	301–400	University of Delaware	Delaware
=67	301–400	Florida State University	Florida
=67	301–400	University of Georgia	Georgia
=67	301–400	Georgia State University	Georgia
=67	301–400	University of Hawai’i at Mānoa	Hawai’i
=67	301–400	University of Nebraska Medical Center	Nebraska
=67	301–400	Rush University	Illinois
=67	301–400	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina
=67	301–400	Stony Brook University	New York
=67	301–400	Temple University	Pennsylvania
=67	301–400	Wake Forest University	North Carolina
=67	301–400	Washington State University	Missouri
=67	301–400	Wayne State University	Michigan
=83	401–500	University of Arkansas	Arkansas
=83	401–500	University of Central Florida	Florida
=83	401–500	Florida International University	Florida
=83	401–500	University of Houston	Texas
=83	401–500	Louisiana State University	Louisiana
=83	401–500	Mizzou – University of Missouri	Missouri
=83	401–500	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	North Carolina
=83	401–500	Ohio University (Main campus)	Ohio
=83	401–500	Oklahoma State University	Oklahoma
=83	401–500	San Diego State University	California
=83	401–500	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville