University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine

Recognition and Rankings

• Princeton Review named UMKC one of the Top 75 "Best Value" public universities in the U.S. Read more here...
• UMKC was ranked number one in the world for innovation management research by the Journal of Product Innovation Management
• Military Times EDGE magazine ranked UMKC as one of the 101 best colleges for veterans.
• UMKC was one of three colleges in the U.S to be presented the President's Award for Community Service in Higher Education
• The Sierra Club named UMKC one of the country's top 100 Green Campuses
• UMKC placed 5th on Newsweek's Gay-Friendly College rankings
• The Henry W. Bloch School of Management's Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is one of only 11 universities ranked in the top 25 by Princeton Review for both undergraduate (ranking: 14) and graduate (ranking: 21) programs.

Acclaimed Faculty
Guggenheim Fellowships were awarded to two members of the College of Arts and Sciences faculty in 2011 - Assistant Professor Christie Hodgen of the English Department and Philosophy Department Chair Clancy Martin.

Conservatory of Music and Dance research professor Zhou Long was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for music for his opera, Madame White Snake.

Other notable past and present faculty include former Kansas City, Mo. Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Rhodes, jazz saxophonist Bobby Watson and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Distinguished Alumni
Distinguished alumni include Florida Governor Rick Scott, Pulitzer prize winning cartoonist Mike Keefe, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Charles Evans Whittaker, actress Edie McClurg, Executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association and National Hockey League Players Association Donald Fehr, and FBI Director Clarence M. Kelley.

Award-winning Students
The accomplishments of UMKC students range from dozens of local and regional honors to Johnson & Johnson, Fulbright and National Science Foundation honorees, and a Rhodes Scholar finalist.

Research
UMKC is committed to research that changes the world, from the discoveries of the School of Biological Sciences to the educational innovations being developed at the Institute for Urban Education to the advances taking place at Hospital Hill.

Sustainability
UMKC's sustainability leadership has resulted in local and national recognition, including being named Mid-America Regional Council Sustainable Success Stories Honoree and Solid Waste Management District Outstanding Program Award, Bicycle Friendly University Honorable Mention, and Sierra Club Top 100 Cool School.

Community
UMKC garnered the top honor from the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2010-11-the direct result of programs such as Tulips on Troost, the Conservatory's Community Music and Dance Academy, and the School of Pharmacy's award-winning outreach programs.

The University of Kansas City was chartered in 1929, and one year later, Kansas City businessman and philanthropist William Volker donated 40.8 acres to the university. In 1931, Volker acquired and donated the Dickey mansion, which would house the first library, classrooms, cafeteria and administrative offices. UKC's first classes began in 1933 with 17 instructors and 265 students enrolled. In 1936, 80 students became UKC's first graduating class.

With the founding of the university, UKC and Kansas City leaders wasted no time expanding, constructing three new buildings in three years. The first building constructed specifically for the university, Mannheim Hall, was built in 1935; Newcomb Hall came one year later, designed to be the school's library. Haag Hall was built in 1937.

Students also wasted no time forming their identity. In 1934, the student council named "old gold and royal blue" the official school colors. And, in 1937, Kasey the Kangaroo became UKC's official mascot. Intercollegiate athletics and fraternities and sororities were approved by the trustees in 1954.

Academics expanded, too, as UKC partnered with area schools to add more divisions, programs and majors. In 1938, Kansas City School of Law merged with UKC to form the Law School, and in 1941, the Kansas City-Western Dental College, founded in 1881, joined UKC. Today, UMKC School of Dentistry is the only dental school in the state of Missouri.

The university's dedication to the arts was born in 1942, with the construction of the Fine Arts Center. The Kansas City Conservatory of Music joined UKC in 1959. In 1979, the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center was completed. Known as the "PAC," it's home to the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, helping UMKC become an integral part of Kansas City's cultural character.

One of the university's most important moves came on July 25, 1963, when UKC became a part of the University of Missouri System. Progress continued to follow, including the construction of Katz Hall (1965), Miller Nichols Library (1965), Royall Hall (1968) and the Education Building (1969).

The UMKC School of Medicine was founded in 1971, offering a unique and revolutionary six-year combined bachelor/M.D. program. Located on the Hospital Hill campus, the Medical School has now graduated over 3,000 M.D.s.

Recent advances, such as LEED@ certified buildings and the 2009 establishment of the UMKC Foundation, have helped the university continue to serve students and the community, and to succeed in its mission to become the region's leading urban research university.

Welcome to the UMKC School of Medicine
Founded in 1971, UMKC's School of Medicine has always been ahead of the curve in training physicians. Our combined baccalaureate/medical degree program and our docent mentoring system have expertly prepared tomorrow's physicians in unique and innovative ways. We have graduated more than 2,700 physicians in our 40 years of using cutting-edge methods that are now being implemented by other medical schools.

As other institutions retool and rethink their strategies, UMKC's School of Medicine has always been at the forefront of medical education. The more time passes, the more we provide our students with the academic, personal and clinical training they need to be leading physicians in the 21st century.

Additionally, the UMKC School of Medicine offers two Masters programs, the Master of Science in Anesthesia and the Master of Science in Bioinformatics.

About the School of Medicine
The University of Missouri opened a medical school on the UMKC campus in 1971. Using an alternative approach to medical education from that of the traditional four-year school, the School of Medicine has as its primary mission the training of physicians able to meet the health-care needs of Missouri and the nation.

The approach used at this school is to grant admission to medical school directly from high school in a curriculum spread over six or more calendar years. By providing students with early and continuous patient-care experience, the curriculum fully integrates the teaching of liberal arts/humanities, basic sciences and clinical medicine. The environment for learning created at this institution de-emphasizes competition and encourages learning through close faculty-student interaction and student partnerships.

All medical schools are reviewed and accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a national body representing the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association. The academic philosophy and plan have been endorsed by this committee, and the school is fully accredited.

University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine Degree Programs :

Medicine

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