The New York University Grossman School of Medicine (previously the New York University School of Medicine from 1960 to 2019) is one of the two medical schools of New York University, the other being NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine. Both are part of NYU Langone Health. The school was founded in 1841.
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History
The school was founded in 1841 as the Medical College of the University of New York, with an inaugural class of 239 students. Among the college's six original faculty members were renowned surgeon Valentine Mott and John Revere, son of Paul Revere. In 1898, the Medical College of New York University consolidated with Bellevue Hospital Medical College, forming the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York University.
In 1935, the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College was renamed the New York University College of Medicine. In 1960, New York University College of Medicine was renamed New York University School of Medicine.
The faculty and alumni of NYU Grossman School of Medicine have contributed to the control of tuberculosis, diphtheria, yellow fever, and sexually transmitted infections, as well as the development of vaccines for measles, rubella, hepatitis B, polio, and cancer; advances in the treatment and prevention of stroke and heart disease; and the introduction of minimally invasive surgical techniques. In the early 1980s, clinicians and researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine working at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue were among the first to identify an alarming increase in Kaposi's sarcoma, opportunistic infections, and immune system failure among young gay men and alert health authorities to an imminent health catastrophe, soon to be known as HIV/AIDS.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine counts among its faculty and alumni four Nobel laureates:
Otto Loewi (awarded 1936), who determined that the primary language of nerve cell communication is chemical rather than electrical
Severo Ochoa (awarded 1959), who conducted landmark studies in biochemical genetics and nucleic acids
Baruj Benacerraf (awarded 1980), who performed groundbreaking research on genetic regulation of the immune system
Eric Kandel (awarded 2000), who discovered molecular processes that underlie learning and memory
In 2007, Robert I. Grossman, a neuroradiologist who had served as chair of NYU Langone Health's Department of Radiology since 2001, was appointed the 15th Dean of NYU School of Medicine and CEO of NYU Medical Center.
In 2010, the school introduced the program of "Curriculum for the 21st Century" (C21), a new curriculum that affords students earlier and more frequent interaction with patients and new learning pathways with more opportunities for specialized training in areas best suited to their interests.
In 2013, the school established an accelerated three-year M.D. pathway that allows select medical students to graduate early, easing their financial burden while providing a direct route into one of twenty residency programs and enabling faster entry into various medical specialties.
In 2018, the school implemented full-tuition scholarships for all current and future students in its M.D. degree program, making NYU Grossman School of Medicine the first top-ranked medical school in the nation to provide full-tuition scholarships to all of its students.
On November 6, 2019, the New York University School of Medicine was renamed the New York University Robert I. Grossman School of Medicine in honor of Robert I. Grossman, the school dean at the time.
In 2023, NYU Grossman School of Medicine introduced its 3+1 curriculum, allowing every student to graduate in three years or choose an optional fourth year to pursue research or one of several dual degrees that combine an MD with a master's degree.
A 2024 study published in Academic Medicine and led by Joan F. Cangiarella, Executive Vice President and Vice Dean for Education, Faculty, and Academic Affairs, Chief Academic Officer, found that graduates of three-year medical school programs performed as well on tests of skill and knowledge as their peers in traditional four-year programs.
In 2025, Alec C. Kimmelman, MD, PhD, a physician and researcher, was appointed Dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine the 16th CEO of NYU Langone Health.
Curriculum
NYU Grossman School of Medicine has 29 academic departments in the clinical and basic sciences. Its curriculum includes three main tracks:
Three-Year MD pathway: Provides pre-clinical and clinical studies in three years and incorporates a year-long integrative pre-clerkship experience, with clerkships beginning in the second year. Graduates can apply to any residency program in the country.
Three-Year MD with a directed pathway to residency NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Provides pre-clinical and clinical studies in three years, with a directed pathway to any of NYU Grossman School of Medicine's 29 residency programs.
Four-Year MD/Master's dual-degree or MD/research year pathways: Students earn an MD in three years with the option to pursue a fourth year for research or to earn a master's degree along with their medical degree.
The School's joint degree programs include:
MD/MPA in Health Policy and Management (with the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service)
MD/MPH in Global Health (with the NYU School of Global Public Health's programs on Global Health Leadership)
MD/MA in Bioethics (with the NYU School of Global Public Health)
MD/MSCI In Clinical Investigation (with NYU Grossman School of Medicine)
MD/MBA in General Management (with the New York University Stern School of Business)
MD/MSBI in Biomedical Informatics (with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences)
Admissions
For the MD Class of 2025, 8,385 candidates applied and 102 were admitted.
Milestones
1846: New York Academy of Medicine is founded by New York University Medical College faculty members Lewis Sayre, Gunning S. Bedford, and others
1854: Human dissection is legalized in New York State to make more cadavers available for medical study, due to lobbying efforts by John W. Draper, a cofounder of New York University Medical College and president of the medical faculty
1865: Stephen Smith, a public health advocate, directs fellow faculty members of New York University Medical College to conduct the most comprehensive health survey of an American city ever undertaken, leading to the establishment of New York City's Metropolitan Board of Health, the first such public health agency in the U.S.
1904: U.S. Army Colonel William C. Gorgas, an 1879 alumnus of Bellevue Hospital Medical College, is appointed chief sanitary officer for the Panama Canal project, for which he implements measures that eradicate yellow fever and contain malaria, permitting construction to be completed
1907: Sara Josephine Baker, a faculty member of University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, leads efforts as New York City's assistant commissioner of health to track down and quarantine "Typhoid Mary" Mallon, a domestic cook who, as an asymptomatic carrier of the disease, is the source of a deadly outbreak
1923: University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College graduates its first female medical students: Grace S. Goldberg, Ella M. Hediger, Helen Druhan O'Brien, Marion Robertson, Edith C. Rosenthal, and Anna Topper
1926: May Edward Chinn is the first Black woman to receive a medical degree from University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College
1932: Department of Forensic Medicine, the first academic department of its kind in the U.S., is established at University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College. with Charles Norris, New York City's Chief Medical Examiner, as its chair
Research
With $962 billion in active awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NYU Grossman School of Medicine is among the nation's top-funded health systems for research. Its faculty are involved in a range of multidisciplinary studies aimed at understanding the mechanisms behind health and disease. In 2021, NYU Grossman School of Medicine was selected by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to be the Clinical Science Core of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, a project aimed at understanding the long-term effects of COVID-19 to help develop new approaches to diagnosis and treatment. The School's award of more than $450 million is one of the largest grants in NIH history
Notable people
Robert I. Grossman, Dean & chief executive officer (2007–2025)
Alec C. Kimmelman, Dean & chief executive officer (2025–)