The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, established in 1905 and headquartered in Grand Forks, is the only medical school in North Dakota and one of the few US medical schools with an explicit mission to train physicians for rural Great Plains communities and Native American populations. The school trains approximately 78 students per year in a distributed model, with preclinical education in Grand Forks and clinical clerkships dispersed across communities throughout North Dakota and the upper Midwest. UND SOM has a strong commitment to Indigenous health, operating programs in partnership with tribal health services and the Indian Health Service. Graduates have a strong track record of remaining in rural and underserved practice.
What makes it different
UND SOM is the only medical school in North Dakota and serves a vast, sparsely populated rural state with one of the highest proportions of Native American residents in the continental US. The school has a distinctive Center of Excellence for Native American health and has strong commitments to training Indigenous health professionals. Its distributed curriculum model sends students to clinical sites across North Dakota, northeastern South Dakota, and parts of Minnesota.
Course & teaching
Integrated curriculum. 4-year MD. Years 1–2: integrated preclinical curriculum at the Grand Forks campus combining basic science with early clinical exposure and introduction to rural and Indigenous health themes. Years 3–4: distributed clinical clerkships at sites across North Dakota (Bismarck, Minot, Fargo, Grand Forks), with rural community placements and Indian Health Service affiliate sites. Students often train in communities of fewer than 10,000 people.
Research strengths
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences (MD) has notable research strength in Native American health disparities, Rural health outcomes, Cardiovascular disease on the Great Plains, Agricultural occupational health, Indigenous mental health.
Interview
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences (MD) interviews via Traditional panel interview — faculty and student one-on-one sessions. UND SOM conducts traditional one-on-one interviews with faculty clinicians and a current medical student, each lasting approximately 30–45 minutes. Interviewers read the application beforehand. Given the school's location in the rural Great Plains and its strong commitment to Native American health and rural medicine, interview questions probe commitment to underserved Great Plains communities, awareness of North Dakota's unique healthcare landscape, and interest in Native American health issues. The full interview day includes an admissions presentation, student-led discussion, and a tour of the campus in Grand Forks, with discussion of the distributed clerkship network across ND and adjacent states.
Intake
Approximately 78 students per year.
At a glance
Founded in 1905, based in Grand Forks, ND. Programmes offered: Rural Medicine, Native American Health, Primary Care, Family Medicine, Community Health.
