UCSF Named Second Best Medical School in the Nation for Surgery by U.S. News

The UCSF School of Medicine has been named the second best medical school in the nation for surgery in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of the best graduate and professional schools, moving up from fifth place last year. This is the third consecutive year in which U.S. News has included surgery as a specialty ranking for medical school, and each year, UCSF has been included in the top five schools.

U.S. News' 2021 rankings for medical specialty areas are based on ratings made by medical school deans and senior faculty at peer institutions who are asked to identify up to 15 schools offering the best programs in each specialty taught in medical school. 

The No. 2 ranking for the surgery program at the medical school is a testament to the efforts of our Department of Surgery faculty including the residency program leadership, Department Chair, Julie Ann Sosa, M.D., M.A., FACS, Program Director Linda M. Reilly, M.D., Associate Directors, Ryutaro Hirose, M.D., Lygia Stewart, M.D., and Kenzo Hirose, M.D.; the leadership of the Department of Surgery Clerkship, Matthew Y.C. Lin, M.D. and Jessica Gosnell, M.D., the Director of the Surgical Skills Center Hueylan Chern, M.D. The work of our residents with medical students also contributed greatly to this ranking. 

Julie Ann Sosa, M.D., M.A.	Linda M. Reilly, M.D.	Ryutaro Hirose, M.D.	Lygia Stewart, M.D.
Kenzo Hirose, M.D.	Matthew Y.C. Lin, M.D.	Jessica Gosnell, M.D.	Hueylan Chern, M.D.

For the second year in a row, UCSF was also the only medical school ranked in the top five in all of the specialty areas covered in the survey: anesthesiology, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology, and surgery.

“This is a significant recognition of the work we have done to create an exceptional environment for discovery, patient care and learning,” said Talmadge E. King Jr., MD, dean of the School of Medicine. “Now, more than ever, the UCSF School of Medicine takes pride in its ability to prepare a generation of physicians and scientists to treat the most vulnerable populations, and strive to solve the Bay Area, state and nation’s most urgent health problems.”

UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, noted the schools’ history of consistent excellence and the fundamental role each school plays in advancing UCSF’s mission. “Our schools provide the training ground for some of the world’s most talented and diverse students, and seed the next generation for advancing health in our local community, the broader nation and the globe. I am immensely proud of our faculty and administrators who guide these schools and the students we are honored to train.”

The U.S. News medical and nursing school rankings are based on data provided by schools, as well as surveys of deans and faculty at peer institutions. Other factors include the amount of funding that faculty receive from the National Institutes of Health, how selective the school is in admitting students, and the ratio of full-time faculty to students.

The rankings are published in the magazine’s 2021 issue of “Best Graduate Schools.”