The College of Medicine – Phoenix is a
medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
and one of twenty-two
colleges
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...
at the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
, the
State of Arizona's flagship public
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
.
The school and its associated research organization is affiliated with several hospitals and medical centers, including
St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center (home to the
Barrow Neurological Institute, the No. 1 neurosurgery residency program in the United States),
Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix,
Phoenix Children's Hospital, and
Mayo Clinic Arizona.
For the class of 2028, the school received more than 5,500 applications to fill 130 seats in the MD Program.
History
The College of Medicine at the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
was founded in
Tucson
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
in 1967 with an initial class of 32 students. Now called the
College of Medicine - Tucson, it has grown to enroll approximately 120 students annually and has graduated over 4,000 physicians since its inception. By 1983, students at the College of Medicine - Tucson were taking required clerkships in the
Phoenix area in internal medicine, pediatrics, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, and family practice, as well as clinical electives. By 1991 one-third of the College of Medicine - Tucson students spent a portion of their third year in Phoenix.
["College Timeline"](_blank)
on the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix website In 1992, a Phoenix program was officially established to allow the school's 3rd and 4th year medical students to complete clinical clerkships at Phoenix-area hospitals.
In 2004, the
Arizona Board of Regents
The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is the governing body of Arizona's public university system. It provides policy guidance to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona.
History
In 1885, the territori ...
approved the expansion of the program to a new college at the University of Arizona, and an agreement was reached to lease buildings in the new
Phoenix Biomedical Campus (PBC) to the University of Arizona. On May 20, 2005, Governor
Janet Napolitano
Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...
signed House Bill 2768 appropriating $6 million to the new college. In 2006, the historic buildings of the former
Phoenix Union High School completed restoration and were subsequently opened and dedicated.
In July 2007, the College of Medicine - Phoenix was formally opened and its inaugural class of 24 students was admitted to begin their studies in August.
The next year, the class size increased to 48 per year.
In 2012, the
Liaison Committee on Medical Education
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada.''Glossary.'' ACGME website. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical ...
(LCME) granted preliminary accreditation to the college, with full accreditation in 2017. By 2024 the incoming class size was 130,
and in 2024 the inaugural graduates of the college's
MD/PhD dual-degree program received their degrees. The recruitment and admissions processes for
MDs at the two colleges are now separate, but both are part of the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
.
The
Arizona State Legislature
The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the ...
allocated funds for the expansion of the biomedical campus in Phoenix, allowing for the construction of the Health Sciences Education Building which opened in 2012.
That expansion has helped the university continue to address the critical need for physicians in Arizona. In February 2017, the Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building officially opened,
which houses basic and clinical
biomedical research
Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...
on topics including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurological and psychiatric disorders. As of October 2024, construction was underway on a new building that will house the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies.
Though the Phoenix campus began as a collaboration between the University of Arizona,
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
, and the neighboring
Translational Genomics Research Institute, ASU pulled out of the partnership in April 2010, citing state budget cuts.
Both colleges, in Tucson and Phoenix, are now solely associated with the University of Arizona.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix
Medical schools in Arizona
University of Arizona
Educational institutions established in 2007
2007 establishments in Arizona
Universities and colleges in Phoenix, Arizona