UNC School of Medicine Named Best Medical School for Primary Care

The UNC School of Medicine is ranked No. 1 for the first time by U.S. News & World Report in the magazine’s 2014 "America’s Best Graduate Schools" issue. The School ranked 1st in Primary Care and tied for 22nd in Research overall. Family Medicine, Rural Medicine and AIDS were also listed as top ten specialties.

"Our vision is to be the nation’s leading public medical school," said William Roper, MD, MPH, dean of the UNC School of Medicine and CEO of the UNC Health Care System. "Primary care is an area of tremendous importance to the health of our state and the nation. I want to thank all of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni for the work they do every day to help meet our vision of leading in patient care, education, and research."

Each year U.S. News & World Report ranks Schools of Medicine and selected health disciplines. UNC was ranked 2nd this year for Family Medicine, tied for 5th for Rural Medicine and tied for 9th for AIDS. "There is consensus across the country that delivery of and innovation in primary care is critical for the future of health care in this country," said Warren Newton, MD MPH, Vice Dean for Education and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. "For that reason, it is important to be ranked so highly in this area."

"To be ranked first in primary care and in the top 25 for research is terrific," said Marschall Runge, MD, PhD, Executive Dean for the School of Medicine, chair of the Department of Medicine, and director of UNC’s NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award. "UNC is part of a select group of schools with strong programs in both primary care and research."

These latest rankings reinforce the UNC School of Medicine’s position as a national leader in both research and teaching. UNC is ranked 9th in the nation for federal research expenditures, and the UNC School of Medicine is ranked 14th nationally in NIH funding (6th among public schools). The UNC School of Medicine has a total enrollment of 765 students and boasts more than 6,700 living alumni. In the 2012 fiscal year, the School of Medicine received more than $391 million in research funds.

The School of Medicine is a core component of the UNC Health Care System, which is comprised of UNC Hospitals, UNC Faculty Physicians, UNC Physicians Network, Rex Healthcare, Pardee Hospital and Chatham Hospital. UNC programs in Audiology, Clinical Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech-Language Pathology are also ranked among the top 20 under the Health category for Graduate Schools. These specialties were last evaluated by U.S. News in 2012. In addition to programs at the School of Medicine, more than 20 other schools, programs, and specialty areas at UNC appear in U.S. News’ "America’s Best Graduate Schools" listings.