The University of Iowa trains more than half of Iowa’s physicians. Their preparation starts with the White Coat Ceremony, a celebrated experience in the Carver College of Medicine that intends to impress upon them the obligations inherent in the practice of medicine: to be excellent in science, to be compassionate, and to lead lives of uprightness and honor.

The Carver College of Medicine’s 25th annual White Coat Ceremony, held Aug. 16, 2019, welcomed the college’s class of 2023, and represents the first time these future physicians will recite the Oath of Hippocrates, calling attention to the importance of the doctor-patient relationship.

Prior to the start of classes, each first-year student at the Carver College of Medicine is assigned to one of four learning communities for their entire four years of medical school. Each learning community is comprised of approximately equal numbers of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students. The communities are designed to foster more peer-to-peer interactions, provide opportunities for leadership and service, and strengthen students’ relationships with faculty, collegiate staff, and others across campus.

The Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine is part of University of Iowa Health Care, the state’s only comprehensive academic medical center. Based in Iowa City and dedicated to providing world-class health care and health-related outreach services to all Iowans, UI Health Care also includes University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and University of Iowa Physicians, the state’s largest multi-specialty physician group practice.

3,878
total applications
361
Iowa residents
3,517
non-residents
102
Iowa residents in the general training program
43
non-residents in the general training program
2
Iowa residents in the medical science training program
5
non-residents in the medical science training program
50%
are women
4
students in the rural program
30%
are ethnic minorities
20
the youngest age
23
mean age at admission
39
the oldest age
Scenes from the 2019 White Coat Ceremony
30
different undergraduate majors
58.6%
biological sciences
2.6%
physical sciences
17.1%
non-science subjects
19.1%
mixed disciplines
2.6%
other health professions
62
undergraduate colleges represented
40.8%
are graduates of regents institutions
30.9%
from University of Iowa
8.6%
from Iowa State University
1.3%
from University of Northern Iowa
9.2%
are graduates of other colleges in Iowa
Produced by the UI Office of Strategic Communication and UI Health Care Marketing and Communications
Photography
Justin Torner
University of Iowa’s impact on Iowans’ lives