University of Michigan School of Medicine

When the University of Michigan founded its medical school in 1850, it immediately assumed a leadership role in American academic medicine.

We were the first medical school in the United States to recognize the importance of, and to build, a university hospital for physician instruction. We also were a pioneer in the introduction of the modern science-based curriculum, and were among the first schools to change the role of the student from passive observer to active participant in the learning process through high-caliber laboratory instruction and clerkships.