UCR School of Medicine Ranked Seventh for Diversity in US News and World Report Annual Report

The University of California, Riverside School of Medicine has been ranked seventh in diversity in the US News and World Report’s annual Best Medical Schools rankings that were released on July 23, 2024.

UCR SOM tied with the University of New Mexico and was second among University of California medical schools, behind UC Davis (tied for 4th) and ahead of UC San Francisco (11th) and UCLA Geffen School of Medicine (12th). The top three schools were the Morehouse School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Howard University, all historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). UCR SOM’s ranking fell slightly, from fifth last year, as Meharry and Morehouse returned to the list after being absent since 2021.

The US News and World Report diversity rankings methodology compares the diversity of medical school classes with the demographic diversity of their respective states. In 2023, UCR enrolled 40.44% of students from underrepresented minority groups.

Dean Deborah Deas — Deborah Deas, MD, MPH

“This recognition reflects our ongoing effort to fulfill our mission to train a diverse physician workforce and provide equitable health care to the people of the Inland Empire,” said Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, vice chancellor for health sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine. “I often talk about how our students, staff and faculty can go far together when we embrace inclusion, excellence and diversity. This list is an example of multiple institutions doing just that, working together to improve access and diversity in healthcare and medicine.”

This year’s survey ranks students who graduated between 2015 and 2017. With UCR SOM’s first class having graduated in 2017, the school appears on four ranking lists for the first time:

UCR is ranked in a tie for 71st with Loma Linda University for percentage of students working in rural areas at 4.35%.
UCR is ranked 54th in schools with the most graduates practicing in health professional shortage areas at 26.09%.
UCR is tied for 125th of schools with the most graduates practicing in primary care at 20%.
In the category of primary care, UCR was ranked in the fourth tier.
In the category of medical school research, which takes into account a variety of factors, including research grants and contracts, MCAT scores, undergraduate GPA, acceptance rate, and faculty to student ratio, UCR SOM was ranked in the third tier.