Podiatry Medical Schools

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Podiatry (DPM) schools

General Info

There are currently 8 colleges of podiatric medicine in the United States. Successful completion of one of these programs leads to a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) degree. Many of these programs are affiliated and either partially or fully integrated with an MD or DO school.

The education consists of 2 years of basic science/general medicine courses followed by 2 years of clinical rotations, similar to regular medical school. These rotations are done in non-hospital based clinics as well as major hospitals and deal with general medicine, basic podiatric medicine, and podiatric surgery. Research opportunities for medical students are available during these 4 years.

DPM students take the NBPME (National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiner's) boards and match for Podiatric Medicine & Surgery (PM&S) residencies. Applications for colleges of podiatric medicine are handled through the AACPM.

Podiatrists may practice in all of the US states.

Podiatry schools are somewhat easier to get into than MD and DO schools due to lower average GPA and (no) MCAT requirements. However, admission is still somewhat competitive, nonetheless.

Check out the list of Podiatry Medical Schools.

Residency

During the 4th year, students participate in the podiatric residency match & scramble. Applications for residency are handled through the Central Application Service for Podiatric Residencies (CASPR). Applicants interview at centralized regional interview program (CRIP) locations. These usually consist of an East, Central, and West CRIP location. While all residency programs are members of CASPR, a few programs do not attend CRIP interviews and interview separately after the CRIP dates.

Podiatric residencies are a 2-3 year long and are termed Podiatric Medicine & Surgery 24 (PM&S-24) and Podiatric Medicine & Surgery 36 (PM&S-36) programs. DPMs rotate through various medical specialties and are trained in podiatric medicine, forefoot, rearfoot, and ankle surgery.

Combined Degree Programs

Many schools offer an optional master's degree program along with the DPM degree. Examples include Masters of Health Care Administration and Masters of Public Health (MPH) degrees. Consult specific schools for more information on opportunities.

Other Related Info

See the Path to Medicine section for a brief overview of the entire medical training and the Taste of Med School section for more detail about the medical school experience. You can also read Student Perspectives to get an idea of what applicants (DPM and other) did to gain admission to schools. Also, be sure to check out the med school diaries for a more "insider" view into med school life. For a complete list of podiatry and medical schools, details and statistical information about podiatry and medical schools, visit the Med Schools Statistics section.