The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.
Medical school is a major financial investment regardless of where students enroll. But aspiring physicians can sometimes pay significantly less in tuition and fees by attending a public medical school in their home state instead of a private institution.
Public medical schools charged students an average of $34,699 for in-state tuition and fees in the 2017-2018 school year, according to data submitted by 69 public institutions to U.S. News in an annual survey. That's around $20,000 less than the average for private medical schools during the same period – $54,877 – according to data submitted by 52 private institutions. All of these schools were ranked in the 2019 U.S. News Best Medical Schools Research and Primary Care rankings.
Attending a public institution in another state is an additional option, though out-of-state students are generally charged higher tuition.
Just how much more they pay varies by institution. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, for example, charged non-Texas residents $31,194 for tuition and fees in 2017-2018, according to U.S. News data, while in-state students paid $18,094 – a difference of $13,100. Texas Tech tops the list of affordable medical schools for in-state students.
At each of the 10 least expensive public medical schools for in-state students, tuition and fees totaled less than $23,000 for the 2017-2018 school year. The good news for Texas residents is that six of these 10 schools are located in the Lone Star State.
Meanwhile, the University of Pittsburgh charged in-state students $54,872, making it the most expensive ranked public medical school.
Below is a list of the 10 ranked public medical schools that had the lowest tuition and fees for in-state students in 2017-2018. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
Medical school (name) (state) In-state tuition & fees (2017-2018) U.S. News research rank U.S. News primary care rank
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center $18,094 93 (tie) 68
University of Texas Health Science Center—San Antonio $18,813 62 (tie) 72 (tie)
University of North Texas Health Science Center $19,166 RNP* 90
University of New Mexico $19,456 72 (tie) 20
University of Texas Medical Branch—Galveston $19,586 66 (tie) 85 (tie)
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center $20,521 26 (tie) 19
University of Nevada—Reno $21,154 89 (tie) RNP
University of Texas Health Science Center—Houston (McGovern) $21,654 52 (tie) 85 (tie)
Marshall University (Edwards) (WV) $22,154 RNP RNP
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine $22,672 RNP 93
*RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of all rank-eligible medical and osteopathic schools. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find tuition and fees data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed 177 medical schools for our 2017 survey of research and primary care programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Medical Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The tuition and fees data above are correct as of May 29, 2018.
By
Kelly Mae Ross