Meharry Medical College

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Meharry Medical College is one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically black academic health science centers dedicated to educating physicians, dentists, researchers, and health policy experts.

Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, Meharry was the first medical school in the South for African Americans. It was chartered separately in 1915.

Today, Meharry includes a medical school, dental school, and a graduate school; and is home to the Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy at Meharry. The degrees include Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.

Meharry is a United Methodist Church-affiliated institution. A 2010 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine ranked Meharry as one of the nation’s top five producers of primary care physicians. Meharry is also a leading producer of African Americans with Ph.Ds. in biomedical sciences.

In addition to providing quality professional health care education, exemplary patient care, and compassionate community outreach, Meharry Medical College produces the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, a public health journal.

Meharry Medical College is a global academic health sciences center advancing health equity through innovative research, transformative education, exceptional and compassionate health services and policy-influencing thought leadership. True to its legacy, Meharry empowers diverse populations to improve the well-being of humankind.

The Office of Admissions provides information about the college and the admission process. We also serve as staff and consultants to the committees on admission for the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Graduate Studies.

Please be advised that admissions requirements and procedures vary for each school. The Committee on Admissions of the respective school selects students for admission to Meharry Medical College, and each applicant must meet the specific requirements of the school or division to which admission is sought.

Only one freshman class is admitted at the beginning of each academic year of school and program. The number of Meharry applicants greatly exceeds the capacity, so all applications are considered on a competitive basis from the standpoints of scholarship, intelligence, aptitude, character, and general fitness.

The mission of Meharry Medical College includes empathy for the disadvantaged, education in the health sciences, and maintenance of a center of excellence for the practice and delivery of health care. Any preference given to students is given in light of this mission.

Research at Meharry is focused on eliminating health disparities that disproportionately affect people of color and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Researchers at Meharry are pioneering innovations to address the biological, behavioral, molecular, environmental, social, and other factors that contribute to the disproportionate burden of poor health care outcomes in minority and underserved populations.

The four signature areas of research at Meharry are: cancer, HIV/AIDS, molecular and behavioral neuroscience, and women’s health. Researchers at Meharry conduct bench to bedside to community research, which leads to improved patient care and the development of new treatments.

Meharry’s researchers generate new knowledge, perform innovative investigations, and mentor students pursuing degrees in Meharry’s School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, and School of Graduate Studies and Research.

Our research facilities include our research cores, which provide state of the art technology, advanced expertise, and teaching of technologies to our faculty, research staff, and trainees.

Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research (CAHDR)—unraveling the biology of HIV/AIDS and seeking remedies for the populations most affected. The CAHDR has three major areas of focus: biology, behavioral, and community outreach.

Researchers at the CAHDR study new mechanisms of HIV infections, pathogenesis, immunity, and development of novel means for intervention.

Center for Women’s Health Research (CWHR)—addressing diseases unique to women, particularly those experienced at higher rates among minority populations. Current and future research studies at the CWHR are in the areas of reproductive health, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and social and environmental factors in women’s health, as well as health care access and quality.

Meharry Medical College was founded in 1876 by Samuel Meharry and his four brothers in response to an Act of Kindness he had received on a Kentucky road one rainy night—a chance meeting now known as The Salt Wagon Story. In 1886, Dr. George Whipple Hubbard founded a department that would “provide the Colored people of the South with an opportunity for thoroughly preparing themselves for the practice of dentistry,” and Meharry’s dental program opened its doors to nine students, three of whom were physicians. The School of Graduate Studies and Research at Meharry Medical College began in 1938 as a series of short courses in the basic and clinical sciences; in 1947, a Master of Science Degree program was implemented as the first graduate degree, a Ph.D. program was established in 1972, and an M.D./Ph.D. program in 1982.

Today, Meharry receives over 5,000 applications for admission to the M.D., D.D.S., M.S.P.H., and Ph.D. programs, providing opportunities for people of color, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, and others, regardless of race or ethnicity, to receive excellent education and training in the health sciences and conduct research that fosters the elimination of health disparities.