The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) is a medical school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The School of Medicine is one of sixteen schools that comprise the University of Pittsburgh and is located in the Oakland neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh. The School of Medicine is also known as Pitt Med.

The school encompasses both a medical program (offering the Doctor of Medicine) and a graduate program (offering Doctor of Philosophy and Master's degrees in several areas of biomedical science, clinical research, medical education, and medical informatics).

The School of Medicine is a world-renowned research institution and serves as the nucleus of the Pittsburgh region’s cutting edge biomedical research initiatives and is home to a growing number of world-class investigators. The School of Medicine and its affiliates received $447 million in National Institutes of Health funding.

The School of Medicine is ranked as a “top medical school” by U.S. News & World Report for both research (14th) and primary care (20th)

The School of Medicine is associated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). UPMC is a leading American healthcare provider and institution for medical research. It consistently ranks in U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 best hospitals in America. On that annual list, it has appeared eight consecutive times from 1999 through 2007. As of 2007, UPMC ranks 13th among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.

Chartered in 1886 as the Western Pennsylvania Medical College, a free-standing school formed by local physicians, the School of Medicine sought university affiliation even in the early years of operations. In 1891 the School became affiliated with the Western University of Pennsylvania and, two decades later, was integrated into the newly designated University of Pittsburgh. Abraham Flexner, a renowned educator, published his first report, Medical Education in the U.S. and Canada, in 1910 after he had visited 155 medical schools, including the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In his report, Flexner made the following comments relative to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “Since the present management took hold last fall, the admission of students has been more carefully supervised, the building has been put in excellent condition.... Whole-time instructors of modern training and ideals have been secured... A new building is in the process of erection...”

Flexner went on to cite the School as an example of what could be accomplished through sound University Management.

For the next four decades the School continued to evolve. At the end of World War II, active planning for a major change was initiated with the encouragement and assistance of the Mellons, a prominent Pittsburgh family. The University accepted the University Health Center concept and, in 1953, appointed the first vice chancellor of the Schools of the Health Professions. Plans were made to house the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy in a new building contiguous to the principal teaching hospitals and the Graduate School of Public Health.

To generate the necessary capital, the University planned a fund drive to raise an endowment. A handsome beginning was made when, by mid-December of 1953, $15 million was assured by grants of $5 million each from the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation.

The new building, Scaife Hall, was completed in 1956 and recruitment of additional full-time faculty was begun. With increased facilities and faculty, the School of Medicine began to be recognized as a major center for research in a number of areas. In turn, the faculty of the School of Medicine attracted appreciable support for research and training from the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. Moreover, the School became assured of financial support for medical education when, in 1967, the University became state related as part of the higher education system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Summary content courtesy of wikipedia.org

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