Student enrollment at the University of Nebraska Medical Center set another record high for the 19th straight year with 4,055 students enrolled for the 2019-2020 school year, an increase of 85 students or 2.1% over last year's record of 3,970.
"This is a significant year for UNMC. For the first time in our history, we have enrolled more than 4,000 students, our 19th consecutive year of enrollment increase, and more than a 50% increase from where we were in 2000," said Dele Davies, M.D., UNMC senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies. "It’s truly a reflection of our continued commitment to provide the highest quality programs to address the demand for highly skilled health care providers and scientists in our state and beyond."
During UNMC’s 19 years of continued growth, it has added several new and critically needed programs, including this year, the first class of master’s degree in genetics counseling and a new master’s in health administration.
"Our genetics counseling program in particular is a good example of responding to a major community need due to the increasing and anticipated future explosion in genetics testing and the need for skilled counselors to help interpret the data and provide useful and empathetic advice to patients and their families," Dr. Davies said.
The genetics counseling program was borne from a partnership between the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute, the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, UNMC’s hospital partner, Nebraska Medicine, and a number of community partners including Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Methodist Health System, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and Boys Town National Research Hospital.
Below are enrollment highlights. Note: some students are enrolled in dual programs.
College of Dentistry
The College of Dentistry admitted 52 new dental students and 24 new dental hygiene students. The total student enrollment is 290, including 40 post-graduate students. Hometown demographics for the incoming dental class break down with 23 rural and 28 urban students and one international student. For dental hygiene, it’s 14 rural and 10 urban students. There were 530 applications for the 52 slots in this year’s dental class.
College of Medicine
There are 132 new students entering their first year of medical school, bringing the total enrollment to 544, which includes 40 students in the M.D./Ph.D. Scholars Program. The new students in the college, about 86% of whom are Nebraska residents, were selected from a total of 1,618 applicants. There are 575 resident physicians training at UNMC.
College of Nursing
The College of Nursing enrolled a total of 1,091 students across UNMC’s five campuses in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, Scottsbluff and Norfolk. This represents a 3.3% growth over the last year, with strong growth occurring in the bachelor’s degree in nursing program and the graduate programs being filled to capacity.
College of Pharmacy
The college admitted 55 new students with an average GPA of 3.6. Of these new students, 67% are Nebraska residents with 68% of those coming from rural areas. The new students bring the total enrollment in the four-year program to 238 students.
College of Public Health
Enrollment in the college is 180 for its professional programs, which includes 142 master’s degree students and 38 certificate/non-degree students. Of the 70 incoming students, 59% are residents of Nebraska and non-resident students are represented by 13 different states and six different countries.
College of Allied Health Professions
A total of 648 students are enrolled in the college, including online students. Campus-based enrollment increased by 4% over 2018-19, and approximately 10% over the past three years. The Health Science Education Complex in Kearney has reached full enrollment with a 110 students this year. The college has students in 14 different programs.
Graduate Studies
Graduate Studies enrollment is 531 students which represents a 7.5% increase over last fall. Graduate Studies offers advanced instruction leading to master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in fields ranging from the basic biomedical sciences to public health to patient-oriented research. Among all UNMC graduate students, 82 percent are enrolled in Ph.D. programs.
Munroe-Meyer Institute
Munroe-Meyer Institute is providing interdisciplinary training, course work, and practicum experiences in research and patient care to 323 students enrolled in undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs from universities in Nebraska and across the country, including UNMC. New trainees starting this year include 57 undergraduate students, 24 master's level students, 24 doctoral level students/interns, and 30 post-doctoral fellows.
We are Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. Our mission is to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities through premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care.
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UNMC enrollment at 4,055 sets record for 19th straight year
