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KU School of Medicine ranks No. 10 in the country for primary care

The school also ranks in the top 10 for producing physicians who practice in rural areas, and several of the school’s specialty programs rose in the 2023 rankings by U.S. News and World Report

Best of 2023
Last year, KU School of Medicine was ranked in the top 10 for primary care for the first time since U.S. News began producing primary care rankings in 1999. 

For the second year in a row, the University of Kansas School of Medicine has ranked in the top 10 medical schools in the country for primary care, according to U.S. News and World Report's rankings of medical schools in the United States for 2023. With campuses in Kansas City, Salina and Wichita, KU School of Medicine tied for the number 10 spot for primary care among all U.S. medical schools and ranked ninth among public institutions. 

Kansas has a shortage of primary care providers, especially in rural areas, and the demand for primary care doctors across the country is expected to grow as physicians retire and the aging population needs more care.

Last year, KU School of Medicine was ranked in the top 10 for primary care for the first time since U.S. News began producing primary care rankings in 1999. 

"Producing excellent primary care physicians for the state of Kansas and beyond is a crucial part of our mission, and we are proud to be recognized for our hard work toward achieving that goal,” said Robert D. Simari, M.D., executive vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center.

KU School of Medicine also rose in the rankings to 64th from 75th for research, and to 52nd from 89th for its biostatistics programs. 

Since last year, the school also rose in the public-institution rankings to 16th from 19th among public institutions for its family medicine program, which produces primary care practitioners who care for the whole family in a variety of areas, including obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and geriatrics.

"As the only medical school in the state of Kansas, we have strived to create excellent residency programs in family medicine as well as other specialties within primary care,” said Akinlolu Ojo, M.D., executive dean of the KU School of Medicine. “We will continue to train top-notch primary care physicians to help address the physician shortage and to improve the health of Kansans.”


2023 U.S. News Rankings for KU School of Medicine programs and practice areas
  • 10th in primary care 
  • 52nd in biostatistics graduate programs
  • 64th in research 
  • 9th in % of graduates practicing in rural areas 
  • 17th in % of graduates practicing in underserved areas 
  • 25th in % of graduates practicing in primary care 

To produce the 2023 rankings, U.S. News surveyed 192 accredited medical schools in the United States. In addition to data from these surveys, the schools were evaluated on other data related to academic achievement of students, acceptance rates, faculty-to-student ratios and research activity, as well as peer assessments by other institutions. 

Along with producing specialty and general rankings, U.S. News also ranked schools within categories related to practice areas. KU School of Medicine ranked fifth among public institutions in the percentage of its graduates practicing in rural areas, and ninth overall.

In other notable practice-area rankings, KU School of Medicine also placed 12th among public institutions in the percentage of graduates practicing in underserved areas, and 17th overall, and 11th in the percentage of graduates practicing in primary care, and 25th overall. These rankings were based on data provided by the Robert Graham Center, a division of the American Academy of Family Physicians, using a cohort of graduates from 2013 through 2015.

Other KU Medical Center rankings

U.S. News ranks different programs in different years. Last September, KU School of Nursing ranked 22nd in U.S. News’ best undergraduate nursing programs and it also ranks 11th for best graduate programs for nursing-midwifery among public institutions.

Meanwhile, KU School of Health Professions’ graduate programs in speech-language pathology, physical therapy, occupational therapy and audiology are all ranked in the top 10 for public schools, and its nurse-anesthesia program is ranked 14th.


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