YSM History, Mission, Facts & Figures

Yale School of Medicine is one of the world’s leading centers for biomedical research, advanced clinical care, and medical education.

It ranks fourth among medical schools receiving funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and tenth in NIH dollars per faculty member. More than 1,700 Yale physicians provide care to patients from across the region and around the world. The Yale System of Medical Education, with its emphasis on critical thinking and independent student research, has produced leaders throughout academic medicine.

The sixth-oldest medical school in the United States, it was chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College, located first on Grove Street, then at 150 York Street. Since 1924, it has occupied Sterling Hall of Medicine at 333 Cedar Street and surrounding buildings. It has awarded 9,599 medical degrees since 1814. There are 5,744 living alumni with MD degrees, 5,981 with MPH degrees, 1,613 alumni of the Physician Associate Program with the PA-C certificate or MMSc degree, and 223 alumni of the Physician Assistant Online Program

Download a PDF of 2023-24 Facts & Figures for printing.

• 1701 - Yale College founded
• 1810 - Medical Institution of Yale College chartered
• 1833 - The State Hospital, precursor to New Haven Hospital, opens
• 1839 - MD student thesis requirement formalized
• 1857 - First African American student graduates
• 1915 - Department of Public Health established
• 1916 - First women students admitted
• 1923 - Yale School of Nursing established
• 1924 - Yale School of Medicine relocates to Sterling Hall of Medicine
• 1941 - The Yale Medical Library is dedicated
• 1945 - New Haven Hospital merges with Grace Hospital, becoming Grace-New Haven Community Hospital
• 1965 - Yale School of Medicine and Grace-New Haven Community Hospital revise their affiliation, creating Yale New Haven Hospital
• 1970 - Physician Associate Program founded
• 1974 - Yale Cancer Center established
• 1991 - Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine completed
• 1993 - Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital opens
• 1999 - Revised affiliation agreement with Yale New Haven Health System
  
• 2003 - The Anlyan Center for Medical Research & Education at Yale is completed
• 2007 - Amistad Street Building opens
• 2007 - Yale West Campus acquired
• 2009 - Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven opens
• 2010–11 - Yale School of Medicine celebrates its bicentennial
• 2012 - YNHH acquires the Hospital of Saint Raphael
• 2018 - Physician Assistant online program launches
• 2021 Wu Tsai Institute, an interdisciplinary research endeavor, is founded
  
• 2022 - Establishment of an aligned physician enterprise between Yale Medicine and Northeast Medical Group
  

Yale School of Medicine educates and nurtures creative leaders in medicine and science, promoting curiosity and critical inquiry in an inclusive environment enriched by diversity.

We advance discovery and innovation fostered by partnerships across the university, our local community, and the world.

We care for patients with compassion, and commit to improving the health of all people.

The School of Medicine educates future leaders in medicine and biomedical science. Since 1839, medical students have written a thesis based on original research, reflecting that the scientific process of investigation, observation, interpretation of data, and critical evaluation of literature are fundamental to the practice of medicine.

Many medical students take a tuition-free fifth year to pursue additional study, conducting in-depth research or exploring clinical electives and subinternships. A significant number are awarded fifth-year research fellowships and earn the MHS degree.

Each year, approximately 20 students enroll in the school’s MD-PhD Program, one of the original Medical Scientist Training Programs established and funded by the NIH. Graduate students in the combined program in the Biomedical and Biological Sciences earn a PhD degree through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. YSM residents, fellows, and faculty, as well as individuals from other institutions, can earn a two-year Master of Health Science degree. The School of Medicine also offers joint degree programs with other professional schools including Public Health, Law, Management, Engineering, and Divinity.

YSM’s campus-based Physician Associate (PA) Program, one of the oldest PA programs in the country, trains students to become compassionate, high-quality, patient-centered PAs. Serving the same mission, the Yale Physician Assistant Online Program will graduate its final class in 2026.

Research at the medical school covers a broad spectrum, from fundamental studies in the life sciences, including cell biology, genetics, immunobiology, microbial pathogenesis, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology, biophysics and biochemistry, to translational and clinical studies aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. Important research collaborations bring together scientists on the medical campus, Science Hill, and the West Campus. Funding for research at YSM has increased from $836.2 million in 2022 to $955.9 million in 2023.

In 2020, YSM established the Office for Health Equity Research to address health disparities and inequities in underserved populations by coordinating and facilitating health equity research and partnerships at the school, across Yale University, and beyond.

In 2022, the school advanced its commitment to data science by creating a section for Biomedical Informatics and Data Science as a hub for biomedical collaboration. Soon after, in 2023, a new biorepository service was formed to store, retrieve, and share biological samples such as blood, solid tissues, DNA, RNA, and proteins, for current and future research studies. Also in 2023, Yale became one of three partners to form the biomedical research hub, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York. The hub’s mission is to bioengineer immune cells to detect the earliest stages of diseases, potentially before they are detectable with current approaches or before symptoms appear.

• State-of-the-art tools for genomics and proteomics, including whole-genome sequencing and mass spectrometry.
• High-resolution imaging and image analysis at every scale, including cryoelectron microscopy, cryoelectron tomography, and the only focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope in the region.
• High-throughput screening, including RNAi and chemical screens.
• Construction and analysis of animal models of disease.

Clinical investigation at Yale bridges the gap between the basic and translational sciences and the practice of medicine. Research is focused on the factors that affect health and illness in populations, the evaluation of therapeutic interventions, and the assessment of health outcomes based on analysis of large data sets.

The School of Medicine sponsors a wide range of clinical trials, with more than 2,172 active trials in 2023, and over 24,000 “Help Us Discover” unique volunteers enrolled (see yalestudies.org), and 35,457 active subjects. The school offers superb training for clinical investigators in a number of settings, including the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI), the National Clinician Scholars Program at Yale (the evolution of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program), the Yale School of Public Health, and the Investigative Medicine Program, along with discipline-specific training initiatives in selected departments.

YCCI facilitates the training of clinical and translational scientists and provides infrastructure for innovative and collaborative research directed at improving patient care. It funds up to 20 YCCI Scholars yearly and supports investigators in the areas of biostatistics, bioinformatics, study design, core technologies, regulatory review, patient recruitment, and community-based research.

More than 1,700 Yale physicians provide primary and specialty care for patients through through the school’s faculty practice, Yale Medicine. The practice delivers advanced care in more than 100 specialties and subspecialties, and has centers of excellence in such fields as cancer, cardiac care, minimally invasive surgery, and organ transplantation. Yale physicians have made many historical contributions, including the first use of cancer chemotherapy, the first artificial heart pump, and the first insulin infusion pump for diabetes. Today they use such groundbreaking advances as DNA sequencing technology to diagnose suspected genetic diseases and the first therapy to prevent Type I Diabetes Mellitus (TIDM). Yale Medicine is a major referral center for Connecticut and New England and treats patients throughout the world.

An affiliation agreement between the medical school and Grace-New Haven Community Hospital in 1965 created Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), which expanded in 1993 with the opening of the Children’s Hospital, and again in 2000 with the acquisition of the Psychiatric Hospital.

In 1999, an affiliation agreement was established between the medical school and Yale New Haven Health

System, which included multiple non-profit healthcare enterprises, to collectively grow in the areas of clinical programs, clinical research and medical education.

In 2009, the 14-story Smilow Cancer Hospital opened, and in 2012 YNHH acquired the Hospital of Saint Raphael, adding 533 beds and making it one of the largest hospitals in the United States.

The medical center has grown over the years to include the institutions listed below.

In West Haven, the affiliated VA Connecticut Healthcare System maintains clinical, research, and education programs in conjunction with many medical school departments.

• Connecticut Mental Health Center
• John B. Pierce Laboratory
• Yale Health
• Yale Medicine
• Yale School of Medicine
• Yale School of Nursing
• Yale School of Public Health
• Yale New Haven Health, including:
  • Bridgeport Hospital
  • Greenwich Hospital
  • Lawrence + Memorial Hospital
  • Northeast Medical Group
  • Westerly Hospital
  • Yale New Haven Hospital
  • Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
  • Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital
  • Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) is located on the main campus of Yale University. With a residential college system modeled after those of Cambridge and Oxford, the undergraduate school is complemented by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and 13 professional schools, including Architecture, Art, Divinity, Drama, Engineering and Applied Science, Forestry and Environmental Studies, Global Affairs, Law, Management, Medicine, Music, Nursing, and Public Health, which will assume independent school status in July 2024.

In 2007, Yale acquired the 136-acre West Campus in West Haven, which houses many centers, including Yale Centers for Genome Analysis, Molecular Discovery, and Research Computing, as well as the Analytical, Imaging, and Materials Characterization research cores. Yale institutes based at West Campus include Biomolecular Design and Discovery, Cancer Biology, Energy Sciences, Microbial Sciences, Nanobiology, Preservation of Cultural Heritage, and Systems Biology.

Established in 1638, New Haven was the first planned municipality in America, organized geographically in nine squares, including a picturesque town green. Today, New Haven is a vibrant coastal city located on Long Island Sound between New York and Boston. Cultural opportunities abound, from dance, theater, and music to the treasures of Yale’s art and natural history museums.

The School of Medicine is an active partner in fulfilling Yale’s international goals, which include preparing students for international leadership and service, attracting the most talented students and scholars to Yale from around the world, and positioning Yale as a global university of consequence. Faculty members conduct research abroad, teach, and design courses in global health. Their work runs the gamut from molecular studies at the nanoscale to the analysis of social networks in disease transmission and prevention, to the improvement of health care systems.

Yale Institute for Global Health
A university-wide effort led by the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health that serves as the focal point for research, education, and engagement with global partners to improve the health of individuals and populations worldwide.

Yale Office of International Affairs
A resource for establishing and maintaining collaborations abroad, drawing on existing relationships on six continents. It maintains an online faculty research database.

Previous versions of Facts & Figures are available to download in PDF form below.