The T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School is ranked 10th in primary care education by U.S. News & World Report in its 2023 rankings of America’s best graduate schools. UMass Chan also ranks 47th in research and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing is 44th in best nursing schools for Doctor of Nursing Practice programs.
A significant percentage of Chan School of Medicine graduates enter primary care residency programs every year. This year, 69 students matched in internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics, representing 42 percent of the class. Fifteen students are going into emergency medicine and 14 into obstetrics and gynecology. Fulfilling the Medical School’s mission to care for the citizens of the commonwealth, 69 members of the class will complete some or all of their residencies in Massachusetts, including 36 staying at UMass Chan campuses in Worcester and Springfield.
“UMass Chan Medical School is experiencing an unprecedented moment in its history,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins. “This recognition comes as we prepare to graduate a new class of tremendously capable and compassionate physicians and nurses and exceptional scientists trained by a world class faculty who have made our mission their passion: advancing the health and wellness of communities around the commonwealth and around the world. The work of our faculty and the dedication of our students are apparent in all that we do.”
The latest rankings come on the heels of a year marking transformative growth at UMass Chan.
In September, the University of Massachusetts announced a history-making $175 million gift from The Morningside Foundation, the investment group and philanthropic foundation of the Chan family, to UMass Medical School. The unrestricted gift nearly doubled the Medical School’s endowment as it celebrated 50 years of educating future physicians, nursing leaders and biomedical scientists and as its Nobel Prize-winning research enterprise grew to $400 million. In recognition of the gift, the three graduate schools of the renamed UMass Chan Medical School were renamed the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
In December, a new VA Central Western Massachusetts community-based outpatient clinic for veterans opened on the UMass Chan Worcester campus, where it will serve a growing population of veterans in the region and enrich training at UMass Chan. Also in 2021, ground was broken on a new education and research building and construction is progressing rapidly.
More recently, UMass alumni Dan and Diane Riccio pledged $15 million to advance ALS and neuroscience research at UMass Chan, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded $2 million to support nanoscale imaging technology to detect, track and investigate viruses of pandemic potential.
UMass Chan staff, faculty and students have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response in Massachusetts since 2020, launching the statewide Vaccine Corps initiative to recruit and deploy volunteers.
“We are so proud of the hard work and achievement of our students, faculty and staff,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. “In the face of almost unimaginable challenges, they have adapted and, indeed, thrived, in creating a learning environment that is truly top 10. To remain so faithful to a mission and so determined to excel is the hallmark of a great institution and we see this here literally every day.”
The Tan Graduate School of Nursing ranking rose from 47th last year to 44th this year. “We are proud of the impact of our Doctor of Nursing Practice program, especially on the primary care workforce,” said Joan Vitello, PhD, dean of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing. “Two-thirds of our graduates have become advanced practice nurses in primary care through our family nurse practitioner and adult gerontology/primary care nurse practitioner tracks.”
U.S. News & World Report surveyed 192 medical schools accredited in 2021 by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and American Osteopathic Association. Rankings of the 130 respondents are based on faculty resources, the academic achievements of entering students, and qualitative assessments by schools and residency directors. The nursing school rankings included 158 Doctor of Nursing Practice programs out of 199 surveyed.
UMass Chan has been listed near the top of the primary care education category since 1994 when the magazine began publishing the rankings. The primary care rankings incorporate two metrics for graduates going into primary care: the percentage of 2019 to 2021 graduates entering primary care residencies and the percentage of 2013 to 2015 graduates practicing in primary care specialties.
The research rankings include two measures of research productivity: total 2020 federal research grants and contracts, and 2020 federal research funding per faculty. Doctor of Nursing Practice programs are assessed on their research activity, faculty resources, student excellence and qualitative ratings from experts.
“This is a world class medical school,” said Marty Meehan, president of the University of Massachusetts, during a recent visit to UMass Chan. “It is a leader for primary care and the research being done here is changing lives.”
Related UMass Chan news stories:
Mass. Life Sciences Center grant to support infrastructure for tracking, imaging viruses at UMass Chan
Match Day 2022 a joyous in-person celebration at UMass Chan Medical School
UMass alumni Dan and Diane Riccio pledge $15 million to advance ALS, neuroscience research
University of Massachusetts announces $175 million transformational gift to its Medical School
