Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences

The mission of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences is to educate, train, and comprehensively prepare uniformed services health professionals, scientists, and leaders to support the Military and Public Health Systems, the National Security and National Defense Strategies of the United States, and the readiness of our Uniformed Services.

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is the nation’s federal health professions academy — akin to the undergraduate programs of the U.S. military academies at West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs. And like the academies, students are not charged tuition; they repay the nation for their education through service. In many respects, USU’s curricula and educational experiences are similar to those of civilian academic health centers, with one important difference: its emphasis on military health care, leadership, readiness and public health set USU apart.

The F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine offers doctorate degrees in medicine, doctorate and master’s degrees in public health and related disciplines, doctorate degrees in medical and clinical psychology, and interdisciplinary Ph.D. degrees in three military-relevant areas of science: molecular and cell biology, neuroscience and emerging infectious diseases. To enroll, students must be U.S. citizens and have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the U.S., a U.S. territory or Canada. Each year approximately 30 percent to 40 percent of incoming students have prior service either as academy graduates, ROTC program participants or as service members. The remainder come from civilian backgrounds with no prior military experience.

Medical students are commissioned as junior officers in their chosen service — Army, Navy, Air Force or U.S. Public Health Service. They are on active duty throughout their education and are compensated as such. Upon completion of their education (including residency), they owe seven years service to the nation. More than 60 percent of USU graduates willingly serve 20 years or longer.

USU graduate students, both military and civilian, pursue doctoral (and some master’s) degrees in public health, clinical psychology or the biomedical sciences. Students must be citizens to qualify for stipends from appropriated funds. The high caliber of USU’s basic science departments, research centers and the University’s partnerships with the NIH and several national labs provide an extraordinarily rich environment for scientific discovery and professional growth.

Students in the DNP and MSN programs must be on active duty in the Army, Navy or Air Force or be in the U.S. Public Health Service. Ph.D. students may be active-duty nurses in one of the four uniformed services or work for the Veterans Administration or other federal service. Active-duty students and federal employees apply for admission, first through their service, and then to the University.

Students in the Postgraduate Dental College are pursuing a Master of Science in Oral Biology in conjunction with their postgraduate clinical specialty training. All students are active-duty officers who have already earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery or a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree.

All USU graduates pursue their professional practice within the federal health system that provides extraordinary access to a range of experience and practice around the globe. This practice is shaped by the USU education that prepares them to be leaders, working across professions in teams to focus on disease prevention and health promotion.

Since our first graduating class in 1982, the USU's MDs. Nurses and graduates in biomedical sciences provide exceptional service through service in the U.S. Military and civilian careers of distinction. Today, America's Medical School has 691 enrolled students and 5,043 graduates. Over 1,300 graduates in Biomedical Sciences lead aggressive research in medical research. Today's 663 graduates of the School of Nursing blend science, research and field training in advanced practice and PhD degrees. The USU's Postgraduate Dental College provides advanced degree's to the military's dental community, graduating 72 students since establishment.

The University's research program covers a range of clinical and other topics important to both the military and public health. Infectious diseases, trauma medicine, health maintenance, and cancer are areas of particular strength.

Researchers are also making important new efforts in state-of-the-art fields that cut across disciplines, such as genomics, proteomics, and drug-delivery mechanisms.

USU is home to many different Centers and Institutes, which help advance the university's research, education and public service missions. Faculty members and students collaborate with other leading experts at USU's Centers and Institutes on projects that push incredible boundaries across manifold disciplines of biomedical science. Their work is shaping military medicine and world health in many positive, powerful ways.

AFRRI mission is to preserve the health and performance of U.S. military personnel and to protect humankind through research that advances understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation. To these ends, the institute collaboratively researches the biological effects of ionizing radiation and provides medical training and emergency response to manage incidents related to radiation exposure. The Military Medical Operations Team at AFRRI exists to operationalize the research performed at AFRRI, and bring operational needs and issues from the force to the institute.