Idaho has limited options for medical education. But a new school at the University of Idaho in Moscow aims to change that.
The U of I plans to launch its first health care-related graduate programs in fall 2025 under a new school for medical professions. The School of Health and Medical Professions will be just the second medical school in the state, joining the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine in Meridian, a private medical school affiliated with Idaho State University and the only doctor of osteopathic medicine-granting school in Idaho.
The state has a shortage of doctors and other health care workers that “has plagued Idaho for years,” the university said in a news release. The new school looks to improve health care education opportunities in North Idaho and across the state.
Idaho is among just five states that do not have a school offering doctor-of-medicine degrees, though the state has an existing partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle that reserves 40 undergraduate medical education slots for Idaho students.
The state subsidizes part of the cost of tuition and fees for each student admitted to the program, known as the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho Regional Medical Education program, or WWAMI. The program costs Idaho students about $84,000 a year, with state support covering roughly half of tuition.
The new medical school at U of I was spearheaded by the program’s Regional Dean and Director Jeff Seegmiller. It will have three departments: medicine, clinical medicine and nursing.
“Our goal is not only to fill the current gaps in health care provision, but also to create a sustainable pipeline of skilled professionals who can contribute to the well-being of Idahoans for generations to come,” Seegmiller said in the news release . “These programs are designed to equip future health care professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the growing demands of our communities.”
Idaho is one of the least-populous states in the country, but it’s also one of the fastest-growing. U.S. Census Bureau data shows that Idaho was the fourth-fastest growing state in 2023, the Idaho Statesman previously reported . The Gem State also has an aging population, with significant in-migration of older residents.
The U of I’s new school will offer a master’s degree in gerontology, the study of old age.
Students in that program will learn about healthy aging, biological aspects of aging, social and emotional aspects of aging and economic and policy factors related to aging, according to Emma Zado, a spokesperson for the U of I. The university estimates the degree will cost a total of $18,000, or $6,000 per semester for three semesters running in the fall, spring and summer, she said.
The school and the degree were approved at an Idaho State Board of Education meeting in June. On Wednesday, the board is also slated to approve a doctorate of anatomical sciences, Zado told the Statesman. That degree is expected to cost residents $10,548 in tuition and fees. Non-residents would pay $29,784.
The U of I has said it hopes to add two additional master’s programs and two additional doctoral programs, including a doctorate in clinical psychology.
The university expects to enroll 10 students in the gerontology program and 16 in the anatomical sciences program during the school’s first year, Zado said.
The U of I will house the new school in its D.A. Huckabay M.D. Medical Education Building , which is also home to the WWAMI medical education program. And, in anticipation of the school’s growth, the university broke ground in July on an expansion to that building.
The university has said it worked closely with Idaho State University to make its School of Health and Medical Professions possible. Idaho State University offers a range of health care degrees at its campuses in Pocatello and Meridian. The schools have an agreement to jointly develop several programs together, including physician assistant programs.
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