The College of Medicine – Tucson is shaping the future of medicine.
Welcome to our website and thank you for your interest in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.
What started as just 32 students in 1967 has since grown to 120 per year. Fifty-five years later, students are still eager to be MedCats. More than 8,600 people applied for our Class of 2025, resulting in a 1.38 percent acceptance rate.
This eagerness to be a MedCat comes as no surprise. The College of Medicine – Tucson is a world-class, research-intensive medical school that is preparing the next generation of leaders in science and medicine. In partnership with Banner Health, we put our patients first, ensuring high-quality care from a diverse pool of academic physicians who are at the forefront of medical innovation, inclusive excellence and human health.
The College of Medicine – Tucson offers one of the nation’s best graduate programs. We are constantly surveying the medical education landscape to find ways to improve and prepare our students for the myriad of complex health issues that they will one day face with their patients. Amongst all medical schools in the country, our college ranks No. 74 in research and No. 78 in primary care, according to U.S. News and World Report.
We are considered a leader in scientific discovery and innovation. In 2021, our faculty received over $126 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health. Our research enterprise enjoys a highly collaborative environment consisting of four other UArizona Health Sciences Colleges.
We are also uniquely positioned to provide training opportunities focused on rural medicine and the care of underserved populations. We partner with the state to offer free tuition to medical students who agree to practice primary care in a federally designated underserved community in Arizona after completing their residency training. These efforts will help combat Arizona’s dire physician shortage and the growing burden of medical student debt.
Since joining the University of Arizona in 2019, I have noticed an unparalleled level of collaborative engagement amongst our faculty, staff and students. I truly believe that together, we are transforming academic medicine in the state of Arizona and beyond, leveraging assets and resources from the UArizona Health Sciences, Banner Health and the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System. I am proud to be part of a team that seeks nothing short of academic excellence through diversity, equity and inclusion and I invite you to join this team effort.
Respectfully,
Michael M. I. Abecassis, MD, MBA
Dean, College of Medicine – Tucson
Professor, Departments of Surgery & Immunobiology