10 Reasons to Choose UND Med School 

Choosing the right medical school matters. Here are 10 reasons why UND will lead you to work worth doing.

1. Real-World Readiness

When it comes to board exams, UND students don’t just pass—they excel, scoring 10 points higher than national averages and achieving near-perfect first-time pass rates.

This means you’ll be well prepared to pass your licensing exams and move confidently into residency. High board scores also open doors to more residency options, including competitive specialties.

2. Competitive Residencies Within Reach

3. Small Class Sizes

With 78 students per incoming class, you won’t get lost in the crowd.

• Faculty and staff will know your name.
• You’ll assist in surgeries and deliver babies early in your clinical years.
• Fewer students in each setting means more hands-on experience for you.

4. Advanced Simulation Training

Learn at UND’s Simulation Center, a high-tech clinical training space ranked in the top 3% nationally. Here, you’ll start hands-on patient care in your first month of med school.

• Train with lifelike patient simulators that simulate real medical conditions from seizures to childbirth.
• Perform neurological, musculoskeletal and abdominal exams before seeing real patients on standardized patients.
• Apply what you’re learning in the classroom through realistic, hands-on simulations.

5. Patient-Centered Curriculum

Each week, you’ll work in small groups to analyze real patient cases, mimicking the complexity of a full clinical encounter. You’ll spend roughly six hours working through each case—mirroring what happens behind the scenes in a 15-minute hospital visit, from initial assessment to diagnosis and treatment planning. This process helps you develop learning objectives, present findings and strengthen your clinical reasoning in a collaborative, non-competitive environment. It’s a hands-on way to prepare for the teamwork and decision-making you’ll use every day in patient care.

Medical Curriculum

6. Team-Based Training

You’ll train with students from other health professions, like pharmacy, social work and occupational therapy, through interprofessional simulations that mirror real clinical settings. This early exposure helps you build communication skills, understand team dynamics and prepare for the collaborative care environment you’ll encounter as a physician.

7. Career Support

Your career goals are our priority. Our Career Advising Program includes 11 individual meetings with a physician advisor over your four years to help you explore specialties, navigate residency applications and meet your goals. 

8. Financial Support for Rural Practice

If you’re interested in rural practice, our state-sponsored RuralMed Program offers financial support in exchange for practicing in a rural North Dakota community after residency.

By applying during medical school, you make a commitment to return and serve a rural community, which includes any location outside Grand Forks, Fargo, Bismarck or Minot, for five years. In return, the state covers a significant portion of your medical school costs.

9. Lower Cost

UND is one of the most affordable medical schools in the U.S. and awards $1 million annually in scholarships.

Cost of Med School

Financial Aid

10. Live it Up Together

You won’t go through med school alone. UND’s got your back with tutoring, test prep, mental health support and resources for your overall well-being.

But it’s not all studying. You’ll join classmates for Med vs. Law flag football Malpractice Bowl, dress up for Med Prom and survive the SIM Center’s legendary Zombie Apocalypse. With 35+ interest groups, intramurals, leadership roles and full access to our top-ranked Wellness Center, you’ll find plenty of ways to recharge, have fun and make lifelong friends.