Rowan University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) has been ranked second in America’s osteopathic medical schools, according to the 2022 “10 Best DO Schools in the U.S.”

Published by Premed Experts, Rowan falls only to Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in first place. 

According to Dr. Thomas A Cavalieri, dean of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, the Premed Experts website provides information to students who may want to pursue a career in medicine. 

“They actually did this ranking themselves based on surveys, and the success of the schools, and admission criteria, and all the things that the school offers and we were very fortunate to rank number two in the nation,” Dr. Cavalieri said. 

Rowan’s SOM ranking lists their GPA at a 3.59, along with tuition prices, location, the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) score and that Rowan is a public university. According to the Premed Experts Team, Rowan SOM also has a joint DO/JD program because of a partnership with Rutgers School of Law. DO stands for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, while JD stands for Juris Doctor. 

“The core DO program is flexible enough to work for all kinds of students. Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine has two different pre-clerkship curriculum tracks,” the Premed Experts Team said. “These tracks are formulated a bit differently to ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn the material effectively.”

Dr. Cavalieri believes that graduate medical education is something that helped Rowan SOM receive this ranking. 

“This is when you get your degree, you’re out of medical school and you’re working in a hospital system, and you become a resident. We have, for the past 10 years, almost 100% of our graduates getting residency programs,” Dr. Cavalieri said. 

According to Dr. Cavalieri, many Rowan graduates go to local hospitals such as Inspira, AtlantiCare or Jefferson Health New Jersey. Some also go to competitive programs such as Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. 

 “These hospitals know that when you’re a Rowan graduate that you’re going to be well-trained, and that you’re going to be able to start your residency and function very well as a compassionate and clinically skillful physician,” Dr. Cavalieri said. “That’s part of our mission… to train physicians who are clinically skillful, compassionate, culturally competent and from diverse backgrounds.” 

Dr. Cavalieri and the Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine are proud of their ranking and are sure it’s from their hard work. 

“We’re all very excited. I think it’s because we strive to be the best that we could be, so that we can produce the best possible doctors for the community, and to get external validation of this is very exciting and we’re very happy,” Dr. Cavalieri said.  

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