Since a few years ago, the United States has been going through a physician’s shortage, and North Dakota isn’t the exception. The problem is more serious in rural areas, where access to medical centers is more restricted, and there are fewer physicians working there. This means that if you live in North Dakota and graduate from a medical school in North Dakota, you will surely find a good job!

In 2016, Dr. G. Richard Olds claimed that “North Dakota has only enough doctors to meet 37 percent of its primary care needs”, which indicates that the problem involves many areas. The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the only medical school here, wants to change the situation. They have developed programs and incentives to tackle the lack of physicians and encourage students to choose the rural health path.

We’ve compiled the most important aspects of this medical school to help you decide if it is an adequate institution for your medical aspirations.

Top Medical School in North Dakota

The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences

With over a century of educational experience in the medical field, the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences was founded in 1905. As the only medical school in the state, it is calculated that around 65% of the physicians that practice in North Dakota was educated here.

In the 2019 U.S. News & World Report ranking, it was the 91st and 93rd best medical school in terms of primary care and research respectively. However, its rural medicine program has been ranked within the top 5 in the country.

This medical school in North Dakota has four campuses throughout the state. The main one is in Grand Forks. The other three campuses are located in Downtown Minot, Downtown Bismarck, and Fargo. It also has a Center for Rural Health and they offer a rural health scholarship for students that want to practice in this field. It is called RuralMed.

The M.D. curriculum divides into two phases. The first phase comprises de first two years and consists of acquiring scientific knowledge and developing basic clinical skills. This is done at the Grand Forks campus.

The second phase comprises the last two years and consists of clinical rotations. Seven clerkships that include a research project must be completed in the third year. An acting internship and seven elective clerkships must be completed in the fourth year. These can be done at any of the four campuses.

Along with the M.D. degree program, they have other professional degrees. These are offered in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health, physician assistant studies, sports medicine, and medical laboratory science.

If you want to apply to this medical school in North Dakota, applications are done through the AMCAS platform. You must take the MCAT, submit letters of recommendation, have the pre-medical course requirements, and share any relevant previous experiences related to medicine or to the community. Applicants also have to take the CASPer test.

Only 78 students are admitted each year. In 2018, the average GPA of the entering class was 3.7 and the average MCAT was 507. They prefer to accept students that are North Dakota residents or that have solid ties to the state. Actually, 60 seats are for students that meet these criteria.

Seven students are admitted through the Indians Into Medicine program, which is for American Indian applicants. The remaining 11 students are admitted only if they are Minnesota residents or from WICHE member states.

We hope that this summary was useful and gave you a better idea of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. If you’d like to learn more, take a look at their website.

 

We hope that this article on medical school in North Dakota was helpful. To know more information on studying abroad, check out the Available Programs for International Students!

About the Author: Hyun Lee

Hyun is the founder at Global Scholarships. He has received a full-tuition scholarship at Birmingham-Southern College as well as $1,000 Burger King Scholarship for his undergraduate degree and has been offered a fully funded scholarship consisting of tuition, living stipend, and health insurance for computer science Ph.D. program at North Carolina State University. Read more about his scholarship journey here.

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