University of Arizona, College of Medicine Admission
University of Arizona, College of Medicine Undergraduate Program
University of Arizona, College of Medicine Application

The Facts

The University of Arizona is a rather large, public institution located in the city of Tuscon, Arizona, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 25,000 students. The university's College of Medicine, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 406 graduate medical students. The school is perhaps best known for its innovative research programs, as well as for its emphasis on the needs of under-served local populations and community health. Aside from the basic MD degree, the school also offers a joint MD/PhD degree in the areas of anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, pharmacology, as well as physiology.

Admission to the University of Arizona's College of Medicine is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 6,500 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 260 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 150 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had average MCAT scores of about 10.8 in Biology, 10.5 in Physics, and 9.8 in Verbal, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.7. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and there is currently no early application program in place.

The College of Medicine has about 650 faculty members, all of whom come from relatively diverse medical and academic backgrounds. The school also boasts a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 1:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Graduates of the College of Medicine often go on to be accepted into some of the most competitive and prestigious residency programs in the nation, and most frequently specialize in the areas of family medicine, ob/gyn, internal medicine, as well as pediatrics.

Clinical Programs

Students are required to complete extensive clinical training, complete with a large amount of patient contact beginning as early as year one. Clerkships include 12 weeks of medicine, 6 weeks of pediatrics, 6 weeks of family medicine, 6 weeks of ob/gyn, 6 weeks of psychiatry, 6 weeks of surgery, 3 weeks of specialty surgery, as well as 3 weeks of neurology. Students complete their training at various affiliated facilities including the University Medical Center, the University Outpatient Clinic, the Children's Research Center, as well as the Arizona Cancer Care Center.

What's Good

"We get a very high amount of patient contact from the moment we start classes."

"The faculty here couldn't be better. I absolutely adore most of my professors."

"Students are very supportive in general. They really look out for one another."

What's Bad

"The school is quite large, and the administration can be difficult to talk to if you have any issues."

"There is not really any on campus graduate housing."

"I wish we had more time to seek out research internships. We're pretty busy with our clinical work."

Get assistance with your Medical School application.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college