Mayo Medical School

The College of Medicine at Mayo Medical School was founded in 1972 and is affiliated with the Mayo Medical Clinic. Students also have the opportunity to work at St. Mary’s Hospital and the Rochester Methodist Hospital.

The school keeps class sizes small partly to provide individualized attention, but also because all students receive financial aid from the Mayo Foundation. Every student obtains at least half of their tuition through scholarships. The school provides this assistance because they believe that medical school should be available to the very best students, regardless of their ability to pay tuition. The small class size appears to be working – about two thirds of students from Mayo are accepted into their first choice for residency programs and roughly one third are matched to the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medical Education at one of the school’s three campuses.

Along with traditional MD degrees, students can also complete dual degrees (MD/PhD, MD/MBA, and MD/MPH) with other universities. There is also a Physician Assistant program through the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Mayo Medical School offers programs in physical therapy, dentistry, and postgraduate residency and fellowship training programs.

The curriculum is constructed with first-years taking an orientation and public health course. Classes are divided into three- and six-week blocks, and students take one course at a time. During their first year, students must take Basic Structure, Human Structure, Improving the Public’s Health, Normal Function, Principles of Disease, Diagnosis, and Treatment, and Brain and Nervous System. Year two consist of Fluids, Circulation, Nutrition and Digestion, Respiration, Musculoskeletal and Hormones, and Blood and Immunity.

During these first two years, students can also take selectives (during the two-week periods between each block). Students can shadow other doctors, travel abroad on volunteer missions, or conduct research. Students can also propose selectives of their own design. Some of the most popular areas of study at Mayo include emergency medicine, family practice, pediatrics, and diagnostic radiology.

There are many opportunities for students to get involved outside of the classroom at the Guggenheim Building for Research and Education, the Stabile Building, and the Siebens Medical Education Building. These buildings all have state-of-the-art laboratory equipment ideal for study and conducting research. Students can also participate in organizations like the Student National Medical Association or the American Medical Women’s Association. Many students also choose to take on rotations in Mayo facilities in Arizona and Florida. Individuals interested in very small class sizes will love Mayo’s tight-knit student population. Students applying for medical schools will also have a hard time passing up Mayo Medical School’s prestige.