The Commonwealth of Massachusetts' first and only public medical school, the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) was founded in 1962 to provide affordable, high-quality medical education to state residents and to increase the number of primary care physicians practicing in underserved areas of the state. More than 40 years later, UMMS retains the pioneering spirit that attracted its founding faculty and students, even as it has matured to become one of the nation's top 50 medical schools.

UMMS, located in Worcester, is one of five University of Massachusetts campuses, and one of about 28 free-standing, university-based academic health science centers in the U.S. Ranked fourth in the nation in primary care education in the 2006 U.S.News & World Report's “America's Best Graduate Schools,” UMMS comprises three schools - the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Graduate School of Nursing. UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care provider in Central Massachusetts, is the clinical partner of UMMS.

Beyond its core mission of distinction in health sciences education, UMMS has exploded onto the national scene as a major center for research, and in the past four decades, UMMS researchers have made pivotal advances in HIV, cancer, diabetes, infectious disease, and in understanding the molecular basis of disease. Research conducted at UMMS also plays an important role in the institution's public service: through its Commonwealth Medicine programs, UMMS collaborates with public agencies to improve access and delivery of health care to at-risk and uninsured populations by leveraging the institution's research, academic, management and clinical resources.

Through its commitment to education, research and public service, UMMS has distinguished itself among medical schools across the nation.