ECU’s Brody School of Medicine leads the state in several U.S. News rankings
In a new ranking, East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine leads the state in graduates practicing in federally designated health service shortage areas, and the percentage of graduates practicing in primary care, and in direct patient care in rural areas.
Brody also ranks as North Carolina’s most diverse public medical school, placing in the top 20% of schools nationwide in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Graduate Schools.
East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine leads the state in graduates practicing in federally designated health service shortage areas, and the percentage of graduates practicing in primary care and in direct patient care in rural areas. (ECU photo by Cliff Hollis)
“We are very proud of where the Brody has placed in the most current U.S. News rankings. What the results reaffirm is that we are on the right trajectory to continue to graduate North Carolinians who have the desire to practice primary care medicine in rural and underserved communities in our state,” said Jason Higginson, executive dean of the Brody School of Medicine. “What the rankings can’t quantify, though, is the motivation that I see in the faces of our students, day in and day out, to make a difference. They are special women and men.”
ECU’s medical school ranked near the top in the U.S. in several categories related to its mission.
U.S. News worked with the Robert Graham Center, a division of the American Academy of Family Physicians, to assess and publish four specific categories for medical schools that were introduced in 2021.
The categories and Brody’s rankings for 2023-24 are:
- Most Graduates Practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas — 10th of 161 schools (top 10% in the nation and first of all medical schools in N.C.). These are federally defined geographic areas, populations or facilities with a shortage of primary, dental or mental health care providers.
- Most Graduates Practicing in Primary Care — 17th of 162 schools (top 11% and first among N.C. medical schools)
- Most Diverse Medical Schools — 22nd out of 130 schools ranked (top 20% and top public university in N.C.)
- Most Graduates Practicing in Rural Areas — 42nd of 155 schools (top 30% and first among N.C. medical schools)
In overall primary care, Brody was 14th out of 123 U.S. schools, placing it in the top 15% in the nation. These rankings are based on several factors: the percent of medical school graduates practicing in primary care specialties; percent of medical school graduates placed into primary care residencies; peer and residency director assessment scores; student selectivity (median MCAT score, undergraduate GPA and acceptance rate); and faculty to student ratio.
Other ECU graduate programs in education and several health sciences disciplines were recognized by U.S. News in rankings released in April. The rankings for medical schools and law schools were delayed until May 11 because of an unprecedented number of inquiries from schools during a pre-release review period, according to U.S. News.
For more information, visit the U.S. News website.
ECU Institutional Planning, Assessment and Research contributed to this story.