The Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, founded in 2019, is a private MD-granting institution in Fort Worth, Texas. Operating under the "Medicine Unbound" philosophy, its curriculum is built around case-based and team-based learning integrated with social determinants of health and health systems science from the first semester. The school maintains small class sizes to enable intensive mentoring and uses competency-based assessment. Unlike Texas's public MD schools, it does not participate in TMDSAS and instead applies through AMCAS.
What makes it different
TCU Burnett Marion is one of the newest US medical schools, founded in 2019 with a design-thinking approach to curriculum built around the question "what should medical education look like for 21st-century health?" It is private and, uniquely among Texas MD schools, applies through AMCAS rather than TMDSAS. The school emphasizes community-centered medicine and trains physicians to function as collaborative healthcare team leaders in value-based delivery systems.
Course & teaching
Case-based curriculum. 4-year MD. Year 1–2: integrated case-based curriculum with early clinical exposure, health systems science, and interprofessional education threads. Year 3–4: core clinical rotations at affiliated Fort Worth hospitals including JPS Health Network and Texas Health Resources. Competency-based milestones replace traditional letter grades in preclinical years.
Research strengths
TCU Burnett Marion School of Medicine (MD) has notable research strength in Health systems innovation, Social determinants of health, Value-based care, Community health, Health equity.
Interview
TCU Burnett Marion School of Medicine (MD) interviews via MMI (multiple mini-interview stations) in hybrid or in-person format. TCU Burnett Marion uses an MMI format reflecting its commitment to selecting students with strong humanistic and interpersonal skills. The interview day typically includes 6–8 timed stations of approximately 8 minutes each covering ethical scenarios, communication exercises, collaborative problem-solving, and reflection prompts. The school opened in 2019 and its curriculum emphasizes "medicine unbound" — an innovative design integrating social determinants of health, interprofessional education, and value-based care from Year 1. Interviewers include faculty physicians, community members, and standardized patient actors, and probe for empathy, ethical reasoning, and genuine curiosity about health systems redesign.
Intake
Approximately 60 students per year.
At a glance
Founded in 2019, based in Fort Worth, TX. Programmes offered: Primary Care, Health Systems Science, Community Medicine, Internal Medicine, Social Determinants of Health.