Georgia trains physicians for a rapidly growing state with significant healthcare needs; from Atlanta's major academic medical centers to rural communities across the Coastal Plain and the Blue Ridge foothills. Its five accredited programs span a wide range of selectivity, mission, and cost (from nationally recognized good medical schools in Georgia like Emory and MCG to accessible osteopathic pathways) giving applicants genuine choices at every tier. 🏥
For applicants wondering how many medical schools are in Georgia, the answer is five: four MD programs and one DO program, all detailed below. This guide covers every program with current admissions data, what distinguishes each one, and how to choose the right fit for your goals.
| Institution | City | Deg. | GPA | MCAT | In-State Tuition | Out-of-State | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emory University School of Medicine | Atlanta | MD | 3.79 | 516 | $94,340 | $94,340 | Research, competitive specialties, global health |
| Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University | Augusta | MD | 3.85 | 513 | $62,750 | $91,670 | Primary care, public medicine, rural Georgia |
| Morehouse School of Medicine | Atlanta | MD | 3.69 | 506 | $93,425 | $93,425 | Health equity, underserved communities, primary care |
| Mercer University School of Medicine | Macon | MD | 3.79 | 505 | $42,586 | Similar (prefers GA residents) | Primary care, rural medicine, underserved Georgia |
| Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine — Georgia | Suwanee | DO | 3.50 | 505 | $60,284 | $60,284 | Osteopathic medicine, primary care |
⚠️ Data reflects 2025–2026 admissions cycle. Verify at aamc.org/msar (MD) or choosedo.org (DO).
For a national view of where Georgia's top program (Emory) ranks among the country's best, our guide to the best medical schools in the US has the full comparison.
Before we jump to knowing the programs and schools more in detail...
🗳️ What matters most to you when choosing a Georgia medical school?
List of the Top Medical Schools in Georgia
All five programs are profiled below in order of selectivity. Each leads to full medical licensure and NRMP residency match eligibility; what differs is mission, tuition, campus location, and the type of physician each program is designed to train.
spanning Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, and Suwanee!
Emory University School of Medicine
Emory is Georgia's highest-ranked program nationally and consistently appears in US News top-30 lists for both research and primary care. Located in Atlanta's Druid Hills neighborhood, it is affiliated with Emory Healthcare, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Grady Memorial Hospital, and sits less than five miles from the CDC; making it particularly strong for students interested in infectious disease, public health, and global medicine.
City
Atlanta
School type
Private
Numbers
#1 in Georgia
Focus
Research, competitive specialties, global health
MCAT
516
GPA
3.79
Tuition
$94,340
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
MCG is Georgia's flagship public medical school and one of the oldest in the South, founded in 1828. It has the highest median GPA of any state program at 3.85 and significantly lower in-state tuition than any of the Atlanta private programs; making it the strongest value option for residents who are academically competitive. The AU/UGA Medical Partnership campus in Athens allows first- and second-year students to complete their preclinical training at the University of Georgia's main campus before moving to Augusta for clinical years.
City
Augusta
School type
Public
Numbers
Georgia's flagship public medical school
Focus
Primary care, public medicine, rural Georgia
MCAT
513
GPA
3.85
Tuition
$62,750
Atlanta and Augusta represent two very different clinical environments. If you are also weighing similarly structured public programs in major northeastern states, our guide to medical schools in New York covers SUNY Downstate, Stony Brook, and other strong public options with comparable in-state tuition advantages.
Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse is one of four historically Black medical schools in the United States and the only one founded after the Civil Rights era (1975). Its mission is unique in American medical education (explicitly designed to address health disparities and train physicians for underrepresented communities) and its Atlanta location gives students access to Grady Memorial Hospital, the region's largest public hospital and major safety-net health system.
City
Atlanta
School type
Private
Numbers
One of 4 HBCU medical schools in the US
Focus
Health equity, underserved communities, primary care
MCAT
506
GPA
3.69
Tuition
$93,425
One of four historically Black medical schools in the country; mission explicitly centered on serving underrepresented communities and addressing health disparities.
Dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities; increasing the diversity of the health professional and scientific workforce; and addressing primary healthcare needs of the underserved through programs in education, research, and service, with emphasis on people of color and the underserved urban and rural populations.
Morehouse School of Medicine Mission Statement
Mercer University School of Medicine
Mercer has the lowest tuition of any MD program in the state at $42,586 annually and a community-based model that disperses students to clinical sites across rural and underserved areas of the state through its Problem-Based Learning curriculum. It has a strong preference for residents and a deeply embedded primary care mission; a high proportion of graduates enter family medicine, internal medicine, and general surgery each year.
City
Macon
School type
Private
Numbers
Lowest MD tuition in Georgia
Focus
Primary care, rural medicine, underserved Georgia
MCAT
505
GPA
3.79
Tuition
$42,586
For comparison, California's public programs like UCSF and UC Davis have a similarly community-oriented model with state residency preferences and affordable in-state tuition. Our guide to top medical schools in California covers the full California landscape including Kaiser Permanente's innovative low-tuition model.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
PCOM's Georgia campus in Suwanee (north of Atlanta) is the state's only accredited osteopathic program and one of the largest DO programs in the Southeast by enrollment. It provides a pathway into medicine for students who may not meet the GPA or MCAT thresholds of Georgia's MD programs while still offering full NRMP residency match eligibility and the same scope of practice as MD graduates.
City
Suwanee
School type
Private
Numbers
Georgia's only DO program
Focus
Osteopathic medicine, primary care
MCAT
505
GPA
3.50
Tuition
$60,284
What Makes a Medical School “Good” in Georgia?
Rankings and admission statistics are useful starting points, but they do not tell the whole story. These are the factors that most determine whether a Georgia program is genuinely a good fit for a specific applicant. Texas's programs offer a useful comparison; a similar mix of elite private research institutions and strong affordable public options. Our guide to best medical schools in Texas covers how applicants there navigate that same tradeoff.
All four MD programs in the state are accredited by the LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education), the standard body for allopathic medical education in the US and Canada.
PCOM Georgia is accredited by the COCA (Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation). Both LCME and COCA accreditation lead to full state licensure and NRMP residency match eligibility.
Always verify accreditation status directly with LCME (lcme.org) or COCA (osteopathic.org) before submitting any application.
🔬 Research Opportunities and Faculty Support
- Emory: the strongest research environment in Georgia, with over $400 million in annual research expenditures and close ties to the CDC, the Winship Cancer Institute, and the Emory Global Health Institute.
- MCG (Augusta University): growing research portfolio with particular strengths in cardiovascular disease, cancer biology, and neuroscience through the Augusta University Health system.
- Morehouse: research focused on health disparities, community-based participatory research, and chronic disease in underrepresented populations; a distinctive research niche not replicated elsewhere in the state.
- Mercer and PCOM Georgia: primarily teaching-focused institutions; research opportunities exist but are more limited than at Emory or MCG. Better suited to students whose primary goal is clinical practice.
🏥 Clinical Training and Hospital Affiliations
- Emory: Emory University Hospital, Grady Memorial Hospital, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital; one of the most diverse and prestigious hospital networks in the Southeast.
- MCG: Augusta University Medical Center (the state's only Level 1 trauma center in the Augusta area), Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, and regional campuses at UGA and in Savannah.
- Morehouse: Grady Memorial Hospital is the primary affiliate; one of the busiest Level 1 trauma centers in the country and a major safety-net institution serving Atlanta's most vulnerable populations.
- Mercer: distributed community-based model, with students rotating through sites across middle and coastal Georgia; strong exposure to rural and underserved clinical environments.
- PCOM Georgia: primarily outpatient and community clinic-based training in the Atlanta metro area, with clinical affiliates across north Georgia.
Admission Requirements for Georgia Medical Schools
Georgia programs share the same core prerequisite framework as most US medical schools, but differ meaningfully on residency preference, MCAT benchmarks, and what they look for beyond the numbers. Our guide to medical schools in Illinois covers a comparable set of programs (ranging from elite research institutions to community-focused public programs) with the same admissions framework if you want to compare approaches across states.
📋 Core Prerequisites for All MD Programs
- Biology: two semesters with lab (cell biology, molecular biology, or genetics often recommended in addition to general bio).
- Chemistry: two semesters general chemistry + two semesters organic chemistry, both with labs.
- Biochemistry: at least one semester; increasingly required by all five programs.
- Physics: two semesters with lab.
- English/Writing: two semesters of college-level English or writing.
- Math/Statistics: one semester of calculus or statistics required by most programs.
- Verify exact requirements at each institution's website; Emory and MCG have published detailed prerequisite lists that differ in specifics.
📊 MCAT and GPA: Benchmarks
- Strongest programs (Emory, MCG): median MCAT 513–516, median GPA 3.79–3.85. These benchmarks are competitive nationally, not just within the state.
- Mid-tier programs (Morehouse, Mercer): median MCAT 505–506, median GPA 3.69–3.79. Below these medians, application becomes significantly more difficult without exceptional non-academic strengths.
- DO program (PCOM Georgia): median MCAT 505, GPA 3.50; the most accessible thresholds of any Georgia program.
- Residency matters at MCG and Mercer. MCG gives significant preference to residents, and out-of-state tuition ($91,670) is nearly 50% higher than in-state ($62,750). Mercer prefers residents and is less likely to offer out-of-state interview invitations.
- Apply early. All state MD programs process applications through AMCAS on a rolling basis. Submitting in late June or early July gives you a meaningful timing advantage.
Which Georgia Medical School Is Right for You?
With five programs covering very different missions, price points, and clinical environments, the right choice depends heavily on your individual goals and profile.
| Program | Campus(es) | Degree | GPA | MCAT | Tuition | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emory University SOM | Atlanta | MD | 3.79 | 516 | $94,340 | Research, competitive specialties |
| MCG at Augusta University | Augusta / Athens / Savannah | MD | 3.85 | 513 | $62,750 IS / $91,670 OOS | Primary care, public medicine |
| Morehouse School of Medicine | Atlanta | MD | 3.69 | 506 | $93,425 | Health equity, underserved communities |
| Mercer University SOM | Macon / Savannah | MD | 3.79 | 505 | $42,586 | Rural and primary care medicine |
| PCOM Georgia | Suwanee | DO | 3.50 | 505 | $60,284 | Osteopathic medicine, primary care |
🎯 Matching Your Goals to the Right Program
- Research and competitive specialties: Emory is the clear choice. Its hospital network, NIH funding, and residency match outcomes in dermatology, surgery, and academic medicine are unmatched in Georgia.
- Best value for Georgia residents: MCG offers the strongest combination of academic reputation and in-state affordability. Its multiple campuses also give students genuine choices of clinical environment.
- Health equity and community medicine: Morehouse is not just a good choice for students who care about underrepresented communities; it is specifically designed for and by those who share that mission.
- Primary care and rural medicine: Mercer is the most affordable MD program in Georgia and has the strongest track record of placing graduates in primary care roles across the state's rural and underserved areas.
- DO pathway: PCOM Georgia is Georgia's only osteopathic option. It is the most accessible program by admissions thresholds and provides full residency match eligibility. Factor in its higher tuition relative to MCG when making your decision.
References
- "Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR)." Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 2025, www.aamc.org/msar.
- "Best Medical Schools." U.S. News & World Report, 2026, www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools.
- "Medical Schools in Georgia." MedSchoolCoach, 2025, www.medschoolcoach.com/resource/medical-schools-in-georgia.
- "Emory University School of Medicine." Emory University, 2025, med.emory.edu.
- "Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University." Augusta University, 2025, www.augusta.edu/mcg.
- "Morehouse School of Medicine." Morehouse School of Medicine, 2025, www.msm.edu.
- "Mercer University School of Medicine." Mercer University, 2025, medicine.mercer.edu.
- "Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine — Georgia." PCOM, 2025, www.pcom.edu.
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