University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Campus Moves to Four-Year Program

DULUTH, Minn. — The University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Campus has moved to a four-year program.

Since it was founded in 1972, the Duluth campus has operated as a two-year program, with students transferring to the Twin Cities campus for their last two-years to finish their clinical training.

Now starting this semester, students are able to stay at the Duluth campus to finish their training at local hospitals or in rural communities.

The four-year program also allows students to maintain relationships with faculty and physicians in the area.

“The people that they meet on the first day are going to be the same people that they’re going to see on graduation four years down the road, which I think is a big change for them in the positive direction,” Dr. Kevin Diebel, Regional Campus Dean of The University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Campus said.

“They’re going to be able to have really long term relationships with faculty here, physicians in the community that we hope really establish the ability to maintain desire to work here and in this region of Minnesota,” Dr. Diebel said.

The move to a longer program comes with the hope that many students will stay in the Duluth area after graduation, as well as the ability to recruit local students to join the program and strengthen the medical field in the region.