MEDICAL EDUCATION
A medical school for delaware
The State of Delaware has selected Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) to establish Delaware's first four-year medical school, working through a consortium of academic and clinical partners from across the State. The new campus is the Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel College Delaware Regional Campus. The University of Delaware is one of the consortium partners.
ud as a consortium member
In order to grow the number of physicians trained in our region, SKMC will establish and operate the medical school with academic and clinical partners from across Delaware. Students will complete their first two years at the University of Delaware, using SKMC’s curriculum and admission requirements. SKMC will seek the required LCME approval and anticipates admitting 40 new students a year beginning in July 2028.
The project is funded through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. Current space on UD’s main campus will be refurbished through that funding, complementing our focus on health and the work of the College of Health Sciences. Students in the program will learn in UD’s classrooms and labs, with the support of our student services, libraries, and health and recreation facilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs will be updated as we receive common inquiries.
UD is the site for the program's first two years. Students will complete their preclinical education on UD's Newark campus before moving into clinical training with the consortium's health system partners. UD provides the campus setting and student resources during those first two years. It does not operate, accredit, or own the medical school.
No. SKMC is establishing, operating, and accrediting the medical school. UD is a partner in the consortium and the site for the first two years. UD is not creating, operating, or accrediting a medical school of its own, and has no plans to do so at this time.
UD does not hold an accredited medical curriculum, and standing up a new medical school and earning its first accreditation would take many years, longer than the State's timeline for addressing Delaware's need for more physicians. Because SKMC already operates an accredited MD program, adding a new training location is a much faster path, built on its proven curriculum and faculty. The consortium model lets Delaware realize its vision for a medical school in a relatively short time.
The initiative is part of Delaware's broader rural health plan and is funded through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. The first two years of medical education are mainly classroom and lab-based and take place on UD's campus, while clinical training happens with health system partners in communities across the State, with a focus on Kent and Sussex Counties. The aim is to train Delaware's future physicians here in Delaware and build a workforce that will support the areas of the State that need more doctors, especially rural and underserved communities.
After their first two years at UD, students move into clinical training with hospital and health system partners across Delaware. The aim is to keep their training, and ideally their careers, rooted in Delaware communities.
At this time, the educational partners are the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, and Wilmington University.
The program anticipates admitting about 40 students a year, beginning with its first class in July 2028. These are new seats that add to the number of physicians trained in our region, separate from existing pathways such as DIMER.
Admissions are handled by SKMC, using its established admission requirements. Information about applying to the Delaware program will be shared as it becomes available, and updates will be posted here.
The medical students will be students of the medical school, not UD degree students. During their first two years, they will study on the UD campus and be part of the campus community.
No. This does not change UD's academic programs, admissions or tuition.
Interested UD faculty may be eligible for affiliated faculty appointments with the medical school and may teach in the program. These appointments offer opportunities to engage in medical education, mentorship and scholarly activity.
No. The medical degree will be conferred by SKMC, not by the University of Delaware.
The project is funded through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, including refurbishing the space used for the program's first two years on UD's campus. UD is not making a financial or capital contribution. Its support is in-kind, through the use of existing classrooms, labs, student services, library resources, and health and recreation facilities.
No. The DIMER program remains an important pathway for Delawareans to enroll in medical school. The new seats are in addition to DIMER, not a replacement for it.
Before the program can launch, SKMC must receive approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the independent authority that accredits medical education programs leading to the MD degree. SKMC and the partners will also finalize the agreements that set out each partner's role. The goal is to welcome the first class in July 2028.
We will post additional updates on this webpage as the project develops. Please reach out to med-ed@udel.edu with any questions; we will update the FAQs as we receive common inquiries.