University of Illinois College of Medicine

Recognized as one of the country's best medical schools, the College of Medicine is also its largest. Our diverse student body of 1,351 students hails from a wide variety of cultural and economic backgrounds. This diversity adds to the rich educational experience that is the College of Medicine.

The College's four campuses-located in Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana - take advantage of the state's urban and rural environments and offer numerous opportunities for clinical training and research. Our distinguished faculty contributes to the college's reputation as one of the best schools for both undergraduate and graduate medical education. The College's 75 residency programs are highly sought after.

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE FAST FACTS:
REPUTATION
Recognized as a leading medical school, the College of Medicine attracts some of the best students and faculty in the nation. Among our alumni: U.S. Representative James A. McDermott, '63, and Olga Jonasson, '58, a pioneer in kidney transplantation.

RESIDENCIES
75 residencies are available in a wide variety of fields on our four campuses. From emergency medicine in Chicago to family practice in Peoria, internal medicine in Urbana, and rural medicine in Rockford, students choose from a wide variety of specialties. See our residency overview.
RESEARCH
The College's faculty conducts groundbreaking research in many fields. Advancements include the development of a vaccine against prostate cancer, transplantation of pancreatic islet cells to cure Type I diabetes and more. More about our research.

ADMISSIONS
UI participates in the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). Applications become available in April and must be filed in November of the year preceding expected entry. Learn more about applying to UI College of Medicine.

DEGREE PROGRAMS
Students can earn either an MD,MD/PhD, MD/MPH or MD/MBA. Learn more about our educational programs.

FACULTY
The College of Medicine's distinguished faculty trains one in six Illinois physicians. Many faculty members have been recognized as top researchers in their fields. For example, Professor of Psychiatry Ovidio De Leon, MD, is a recent recipient of the Irma Bland Award for Excellence in Teaching Residents, and many UI doctors are recognized every year as "top doctors" by Castle Connolly's America's Top Doctors.

FINANCIAL AID
At UICOM and other medical schools, students rely on loans to cover most costs. During the four-year period from 2003 to 2007, UICOM medical students took on an average of $166,000 in student loan debt while receiving an average of $14,500 in scholarships.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
No other medical school can compete with the College of Medicine's ability to provide students with clinical experience early. On the Chicago campus, [Chicago campus site] for example, students make rounds with physicians and learn to take patient histories beginning in their first year.

STUDENT BODY
As the largest public medical school in the country, the UI College of Medicine is also the most diverse. Our 1,351 students hail from a wide variety of cultural and economic backgrounds.

Campuses
The College of Medicine has four campuses located throughout the state. Each campus has its own character and provides students and faculty with unique opportunities for research and study.

Chicago Campus
Located in the world's largest medical district, medical students on the Chicago campus get early and exceptional clinical experience. All students accompany physicians on rounds and learn to take patient histories starting in their first year. Fifty-three residency programs are available.

Peoria Campus
In Peoria, second- through fourth-year students get clinical experience at Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Illinois - the busiest pediatric hospital in central Illinois - Pekin Hospital, and Proctor Community Hospital.

Rockford campus
Among its many well-respected programs, the Rockford campus boasts the Center for Rural Health Professions, which works to improve health and healthcare in rural communities. Rockford teaches M2's - M4's and offers a family medicine residency program.

Urbana campus
Located on the main campus of the University of Illinois, the College's Urbana site offers students and residents a superb education that includes collaboration with colleagues across campus and cutting-edge research opportunities. Urbana also offers the dual-degree Medical Scholars Program.

College of Medicine: Deans
Dimitri T. Azar, MD, MBA is Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He holds the B.A. Field Chair in ophthalmologic research, and is Professor of Ophthalmology, Bioengineering and Pharmacology.

Dr. Azar joined the University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2006, as Head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences after serving as tenured Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Cornea Service at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Senior Scientist at the Schepens Eye Institute, and as faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Dr. Azar brings experience in administration, research, education and clinical practice to his position as Dean of the College of Medicine. He earned an executive MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago. Dr. Azar is the author of over 400 scientific articles and book chapters. He is the editor of 14 books in ophthalmology, and he holds 15 patents. Dr. Azar has been named one of The Best Doctors in America@ and/or one of the Castle Connolly regional Top Doctors in America annually since 1994. He is a leader in basic science and clinically related vision research, making significant contributions to the treatment of corneal diseases and to advances in refractive surgery through mathematical analyses and applications of advanced optics.

His basic science research on matrix metalloproteinases in corneal wound healing and angiogenesis has been continually funded by the National Eye Institute R01 award since 1993. He serves as a trustee for the Chicago Ophthalmological Society and for the Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology. Dr. Azar has also received multiple leadership awards, including the 2009 Lans Distinguished Award and the University of Illinois at Chicago Scholar Award.

Sara Rusch, MD
Dr. Rusch is a general internist and a Master of the American College of Physicians. As Regional Dean, Dr. Rusch is leading multiple projects to improve UICOMP. These include: building small-group learning spaces; advancing simulation training; expanding research in health outcomes and cancer biology; building a new 20,000 square foot cancer research facility; and expanding residency education through the addition of a psychiatry residency and the expansion of other residency and fellowship programs.

University of Illinois College of Medicine Accreditation
The College of Medicine received a full eight-year accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) at its last accreditation review in November 2009. The school's graduate and continuing education programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), respectively.

Brief History of the College of Medicine
In the late 1800s, disease in Chicago was rampant, as was common in the area at that time. One in six children died of diphtheria, cholera or dysentery, and the role of bacteria in disease transmission was still a new discovery. Although six medical schools were already in existence, five physician-educators: Charles Warrington Earle, Abraham Reeves Jackson, Daniel Atkinson King Steele, Samuel McWilliams and Leonard St. John-decided to open their own proprietary medical school. The gentlemen pooled together $5,541.78, purchased a piece of land and secured a certificate of incorporation. The new school, located on Harrison and Honore streets, was named the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago (commonly referred to as P&S). Its doors opened on Sept. 26, 1882, with a class of 100 students and a faculty of 27 physicians.

At the West Side Free Dispensary, located on the first floor of the medical school, students in small groups could observe pathological cases and their treatment. Patients were classified according to the affected area or system of the body: heart, lungs, eyes, ears, skin or nervous system. The dispensary also furnished material for college clinics in medicine, surgery, gynecology, obstetrics, ophthalmology, neurology and pediatrics. In its first three years, the dispensary registered 20,353 patients and dispensed 17,347 prescriptions.

Other charitable organizations created in Chicago around the same time included the new Hull-House, a social services institution opened by Jane Addams in 1889. The original house remains as part of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, along with the restored settlement dining hall.

In 1913, after years of negotiations, the P&S faculty and alumni donated stock to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees to establish the University of Illinois College of Medicine. In 1970, the Illinois legislature voted to expand the college to three additional sites: Peoria, Rockford and Urbana. Their purpose was to provide access to care for all citizens in the state and increase opportunities for Illinois residents to attend medical school.

PRESENT
The College of Medicine maintains an internationally renowned faculty of approximately 4,000 across the four sites. Various types of professional service are rendered by its physicians, such as primary care, specialty practice, research, teaching, preventative medicine and administration. Medical students have the opportunity to become familiar with several professional roles and to choose the role best-suited for their individual goals and abilities.

University of Illinois College of Medicine Degree Programs :

Medicine

Video Presentation

It gets better: University of Illinois College of Medicine

Queer medical students at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago and their allies take a moment to share their experiences on the difficulties of growing up, and how things got better. Further, how you should be able to trust your doctor because you never know what they've experienced