Welcome to the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford. Our campus is one of four that comprise the University of Illinois College of Medicine, the largest medical school in the United States. The Rockford campus recently completed a $26 million expansion and renovation project with new classrooms, laboratories and a clinical skills training suite. As a health sciences campus, we offer graduate programs in pharmacy, nursing and public health and offer a master’s in medical biotechnology, in addition to medicine. The synergy among these programs fosters interprofessional education and provides a wealth of opportunities for our students.
Each University of Illinois campus has its own character. Rockford is a city of 150,000 people located 90 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Our campus is known for our rural medicine program, focus on health disparities, emphasis on fostering independent learning and community based education. The oldest part of our campus dates back to 1915 when the facility served as a TB sanitarium until the late 1960’s when it was slated to close. A group of community physicians approached the University of Illinois and offered a commitment of their time, energy and resources to provide the clinical education if the University developed a medical school at the former sanitarium. The first class of medical students was admitted in Rockford in 1972. Today, our students still work directly with community physician faculty members who integrate students into their practices. Learning directly from practicing physicians in a community setting with patient care responsibility appropriate to their level of training is an opportunity few schools can offer their students.
While each campus is unique, all four of the University of Illinois medical school campuses share a curriculum with the goal to graduate physicians who are clinically competent and caring, compassionate, culturally competent and skilled at communication. Students at each campus acquire the knowledge and skills needed for whatever medical specialty they might choose. Last year, Rockford students matched to 15 different residencies in 18 states.
Our hands-on community experiences coupled with our core group of full time faculty members who are available to mentor and guide students in their education, choice of specialty, research and to nurture students in both their personal and professional growth, makes Rockford a great place to study medicine.
We hope you will visit us soon.
Mitch King, MD, Interim Regional Dean