YSM 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 fourth in NIH dollars per faculty member. More than 1,900 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, Yale School of Medicine 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 10,080 medical degrees since 1814. There are 5,824 living alumni with MD degrees, 6,521 with MPH degrees, and 1,849 alumni of the Physician Associate Program with the PA-C certificate or MMSc degree, and 353 alumni of the Physician Assistant Online Program division.

Download a PDF of 2025-26 Facts & Figures for printing.

All data in Facts & Figures as of 6/30/25 unless otherwise noted.

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) 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 an optional year of extended study to conduct in-depth research, explore clinical electives and sub-internships, or obtain a joint or dual degree. A significant number earn a joint MD-Master of Health Science (MHS) degree, which is supported through a one-year research fellowship. YSM also offers a two-year MHS degree for those with biomedical sciences or medical professional degrees (such as MD, MMSc, PharmD, OD, DNP) and several joint degree programs with other professional schools including Public Health, Law, Management, Engineering, and Divinity.

Many students choose to 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 earn a PhD degree through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

YSM’s Physician Associate (PA) Program, one of the oldest PA programs in the country, trains students to become outstanding clinicians and leaders who serve their communities and advance quality healthcare. PA students earn a Master of Medical Science degree at YSM. Serving the same mission, the Yale Physician Assistant Online Program graduated its final class in May 2026.

In 2024, YSM formed six student advisory houses that support MD and PA students with academic and career advising and provide a place for them to connect with their classmates, students from other classes, residents and fellows, faculty, community, and alumni.

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. Total funding for research at YSM was $834.4 million in 2025.

In 2022, the school advanced its commitment to data science by creating a section for Biomedical Informatics and Data Science as the academic home for faculty focused on clinical organization, analyses, and access, as well as developing the computational infrastructure needed to employ artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics in a secure and privacy-protecting manner. In 2024, the section achieved department status.

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. In 2025, YSM supported the creation of the Yale Biomedical Imaging Institute, bringing together renowned experts in imaging technology, clinical translation, and data science from across the university.

• 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 understanding human pathophysiology, the evaluation of therapeutic interventions, the factors that affect health and illness in populations, and the assessment of health outcomes based on analysis of large data sets.

Yale School of Medicine sponsors a wide range of clinical trials, with more than 2,296 active trials in 2025, over 29,000 “Help Us Discover” unique volunteers enrolled (see yalestudies.org), and 40,007 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), 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 12 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 1,900 Yale physicians provide primary and specialty care for patients 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, New England, and New York, and treats patients throughout the world.

An affiliation agreement between the medical school and Grace-New Haven 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 includes multiple non-profit healthcare enterprises, to collaboratively 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. Today, our larger medical collaborations have grown to include the educational, research, clinical, and healthcare facilities associated with Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Health System, including those at right.

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
• Yale Health
• Yale Medicine
• Yale School of Medicine
• VA Connecticut Health System
• 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, Environment, Global Affairs, Law, Management, Medicine, Music, Nursing, and Public Health, which assumed 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.

Yale 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 healthcare 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.
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  A partnership that provides support for the exchange of students, fellows, and faculty in such areas as cancer, immunology, and neuroscience.

The School of Medicine had an operating income of $2.9 billion in FY25. A total of $973.7 million in sponsored research funding was received and spent during the fiscal year*. Clinical income totaled $1.64 billion. The school ranked fourth among medical schools receiving research funding from the NIH in FY25 and fourth in NIH grants per faculty member. Salaries and benefits totaled 65.3% of expenditures.

*Research income does not equal award amounts because research dollars are not always spent in the same period in which they are awarded.

View past issues of Facts & Figures, published annually since 1986, at the YSM Historical Library archives.