Fort Worth M.D. School Welcomes Inaugural Class


Sixty students will make history when they arrive July 8 at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, the nation’s newest M.D. school.

By Maricar Estrella

Sixty students will make history when they arrive July 8 at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, the nation’s newest M.D. school.

Adding to the academic offerings of both universities, this collaborative new medical school represents an expansion of health professions training in Fort Worth.  With a curriculum designed to transform medical education, this visionary medical school will focus on creating physicians who are compassionate leaders prepared for the future.

Sixty-percent of the inaugural class of the new TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine are women and 58 percent of the class self-identifies with one or more of the school-defined diversity domains.

With an impending national shortage of more than 120,000 clinicians by 2030 and an educational environment that hasn’t changed in more than 100 years, the ground-breaking Fort Worth medical school is training physicians as Empathetic ScholarsTMwho are compassionate, excel in new technology and can communicate effectively with their patients.

“We’re excited to welcome the next generation of physicians. Medical school is challenging, and the role of a physician continues to become more and more complicated.  We will inspire these students to be servant leaders,  pioneers in medical innovation and patient- and family-centered providers of care,” said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “As Empathetic Scholars, they will lead by example in a health care industry that needs their skills and leadership.”

The 60 students come to the School of Medicine from across the United States, representing 34 undergraduate colleges and universities, as well as eight graduate institutions. Here’s more about the incoming Class of 2023:

  • 60 percent women; 40 percent men
  • Average age is 24
  • 100 percent have bachelor’s degrees from 34 institutions, including Baylor University, Brigham Young University, Emory University, Penn State, Rice University, San Diego University, Texas A&M University, University of Notre Dame, University of Southern California and University of Texas at Austin. Two students graduated from UNT and 12 from TCU.
  • 52 percent of the class comes from Texas. Other states represented are Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
  • One student is a triple major, several have double majors and nearly 30 undergraduate areas of study are represented ranging from sciences, social sciences and humanities, including a music performance major.
  • 16 percent have graduate degrees, including three from UNTHSC.
  • The average GPA for the inaugural class is 3.62, while the average MCAT score is 508.
  • 58 percent of the class self-identifies with one or more of the three School of Medicine-defined diversity domains:
    • Race/Ethnicity: 20 percent of the class self-identifies as Black/African-American or Hispanic/Latino
    • LGBTQ: 10 percent of the class self-identifies with the LGBTQ community
    • Socio-Economic: 43 percent of the class represents the first-generation to attend college, attended community college, worked to support the family before the age of 18 or graduated from a rural-designated high school

Paul Dorman, chairman and CEO of Fort Worth-based DFB Pharmaceuticals, has generously donated the cost of tuition for the first year for the inaugural class, who will be known as the Dorman Scholars.

“The high percentage of students representing diverse backgrounds and degrees speaks volumes about our forward-thinking curriculum and admissions process,” said Tara K. Cunningham, Ed.D., associate dean for admissions and student diversity at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Our Admissions Committee worked tirelessly to choose these remarkable future physicians.”

The Class of 2023 will participate in Welcome Week, July 8-12, on both the UNTHSC and TCU campuses where they will meet faculty, staff and community members and participate in orientation activities. The students will begin their studies on July 15.

The unique private-public partnership between Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas Health Science Center will prepare students to be compassionate physicians, excellent caregivers and prepared to meet the challenges of the rapidly advances in medicine. By 2030, the annual economic impact of the medical school is estimated at $4 billion and the school is expected to generate about 31,000 jobs for North Texas, according to a Tripp Umbach study.

Maricar Estrella, 817-735-2701, m.estrella@tcu.edu