Duke University School of Medicine

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The Duke University School of Medicine celebrated its 75th anniversary on July 21, 2005. The School was founded in 1930, at a time when there was especially keen awareness of the vital role that medicine plays in sustaining communities and society. Duke continues to honor that heritage by striving to meet the health care needs of the people its hospital serves, by improving community health, and by fostering the very best medical education and biomedical research. And although Duke is one of the youngest major medical centers in the US, it is also consistently ranked among the very best providers of medical education, research, and health care.

Duke has often been a pioneer in medical education. It introduced the first physician assistant program in the US, and was one of the first three US medical schools to establish a joint MD-PhD program. More recently, Duke was the first medical school to establish a joint degree program with the National Institutes of Health, a joint master of health sciences degree in clinical research. Duke has also formed a partnership with Singapore to establish a medical school in that country.

Duke is widely recognized as one of the best places in the US to study for an MD degree. Its faculty, research opportunities, and quality of education consistently get high marks. Moreover, Duke's small classes -- no more than 100 students enter each year -- makes for lifelong relationships among classmates and faculty.

Duke has a unique medical curriculum which gives students contact with patients a year earlier than other programs do, and which reserves an entire year for independent research. This research focus attracts many students who are interested in research and teaching, or in expanding their studies beyond the traditional scope of medicine. Almost one-third of Duke students earn an MD along with a PhD, MBA, JD, or master’s degree, and approximately one out of five chooses a career in medical education or research.

Duke admissions are extremely competitive. In 2004, it received over 4,900 applications for the 100 class seats available to first-year students.