Skip to main content.

Medical Education

With Kansas in need of more physicians, the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita opened in 1971 to provide hands-on clinical training to medical students in their third and fourth years. In 2011, KU School of Medicine-Wichita expanded to a full, four-year campus.

5 reasons Kansas needs more doctors:

  • Low physician-to-population ratios in 5 of 6 geographic regions
  • Aging population needs more care
  • More retirement-aged physicians
  • Increased demand for care with reform
  • Time to get through medical school and residency is 7+ years

While the majority of medical schools are tied to a hospital, KU School of Medicine-Wichita is community-based thanks to more than 1,000 volunteer faculty inside three partner hospitals (Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, Wesley Medical Center and Ascension Via Christi), as well as in doctors’ offices across the state.

In addition to educating doctors and other health care professionals for Kansas, KU School of Medicine-Wichita benefits the community and state by:

  • Bringing clinical trials to residents
  • Improving patient outcomes and lowering costs through research
  • Impacting the economy by $80 million by 2015 as the campus expanded, according to 2009 studies
  • Providing care to those in need

KU School of Medicine is among the best in the nation in producing well-trained physicians in areas where the need is greatest. KU School of Medicine ranked fifth among all public medical schools in the country in the percentage of graduates practicing in rural areas, according to U.S. News and World Report's rankings of U.S. medical schools for 2024. Among all medical schools (both public and private), KU School of Medicine was No. 11 in producing graduates practicing in rural areas.

For three years in a row, KU School of Medicine has ranked in the top 10 public medical schools in the country for primary care.

KU School of Medicine-Wichita

1010 North Kansas
Wichita, KS 67214-3199
316-293-2635