Athens has a new class of medical students—and UGA has a medical school at last. Sixty-four students attended their first class Monday at the newly established UGA School of Medicine, becoming the inaugural cohort in a program designed to help address Georgia’s long-running doctor shortage.
CBS Atlanta reported that the students are beginning their academic journey as the first class in the school’s history. For UGA, the milestone caps a rapid launch that moved from state approval to a functioning medical school in roughly two years.
The inaugural class was selected from more than 2,000 applicants who applied during a condensed two-week admissions cycle, with 235 prospective students interviewed, according to UGA Today. The school extended admission offers to 64 students in April, giving those students the unusual chance to help shape a brand-new institution from its first day.
Georgia’s Second Public Medical School Opens In Athens
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents authorized UGA to establish an independent School of Medicine in Athens in February 2024, making it the state’s second public medical school, UGA announced. The program builds on the university’s existing health sciences presence and its longtime medical partnership with Augusta University.
The timing reflects a very real need beyond the campus gates. Georgia Magazine reported that Georgia has 10 counties without a practicing physician, while dozens more lack specialists in areas including internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics.
UGA says the new program will emphasize team-based learning, hands-on training and early clinical experience, with students beginning patient assessments during their first year. The school’s stated mission is to prepare physicians who can serve communities across Georgia, including rural and medically underserved areas.
The School Still Has Accreditation Milestones Ahead
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education granted UGA preliminary accreditation on February 13, allowing the university to recruit and admit its inaugural class, according to UGA Today. Preliminary accreditation is an important launch point, but the school will continue through the accrediting body’s review process before reaching provisional and full accreditation.
The physical campus is still taking shape, too. A new $100 million medical education and research facility is scheduled for completion in December 2026 and is expected to include clinical simulation space, team-based classrooms and biomedical research infrastructure, as UGA reported.
For the 64 students who walked into class Monday, the construction schedules and accreditation language are more than institutional paperwork—they are the backdrop to becoming the first UGA-trained doctors in a program built from scratch. Their first day marked a historic campus moment, but the bigger test will come years from now, when graduates begin practicing in the Georgia communities that need them most.
