ATHENS, Ga. () — On the Health and Sciences campus at the University of Georgia in Athens, they are getting ready for a new neighbor – a new building that will house a new medical school if all goes as planned.  

“As the flagship state institution for higher education, we already have the foundation of academics, research, community outreach, and public service and so we are in a very unique place to make a significant impact on the health of Georgia,” said Dr. Erica Brownfield, the senior associate dean for academic affairs. “We have a supply and demand problem here in Georgia. We have a lot of people, and we don’t have a lot of physicians.” 

Brownfield said Georgia ranks eight in population and 40th in the number of physicians per capita. That gap will begin to narrow when UGA matriculates its first class in July of 2026, pending accreditation.

Brownfield will oversee admissions. 

“We’re looking for that bright person who has resilience, they’re innovating, they’re creative, they have a genuine warmth to them, and they’re really rooted in a sense of community, and they’re driven and committed to serving the state,” Brownfield said.

Brownfield said the ultimate goal is for the University of Georgia Medical School to be the driver for collaboration that will make a big impact in healthcare all across the state: collaboration with other medical schools, health care partners and communities in all 159 counties.

“There’s no other school that we’re aware of that really is the driver to bring all these different resources together: the expertise, the creativity to really focus on a common purpose or mission and that’s what we’re hoping to do at this school,” Brownfield said.

Pending accreditation, applications will be accepted starting in February or March of next year and they would only have eight weeks to recruit that first class.

The building won’t be finished until December of 2026, but UGA already has education space for its current partnership with Augusta University Medical School.

No new students will be admitted to that program and the students already enrolled will still be able to graduate.