Welcome from the Dean

Welcome to the Web site of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. As dean of the medical school, I am proud of what we have to offer, and I am delighted that you are interested in learning more about us.

Wake Forest University is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, approximately halfway between Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia. Our city has a fascinating history, an abundance of charm, a vibrant arts community, a wide variety of recreational opportunities, and a commitment to technology and research development. We are right in the center of ACC basketball and football, as well as world-class golf, and we are located less than an hour from the mountains and just a short drive from the coast.

In addition to the medical school, Wake Forest University comprises the undergraduate college, graduate school of arts and sciences, school of law, school of business and accountancy, divinity school, and graduate school of management. The School of Medicine confers the traditional MD degree, as well joint degrees including the MD-MBA, MD-MS, and MD-PhD in cooperation with the graduate school and professional schools.

The medical school is the centerpiece of Wake Forest University Health Sciences. We are a $100-million research community, with much of our funding coming from the National Institutes of Health. We maintain nationally recognized research centers in cancer, drug abuse, human genomics, hypertension and vascular disease, investigative neuroscience, stroke, ultrasound, women’s health, and many other disciplines including our newest, the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health. Our joint venture with Virginia Tech to open a School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, and the dramatic expansion of our urban research park are two major initiatives that will carry us into the future.

The School of Medicine recently celebrated its centennial, and for 62 of our 100 years we have been affiliated with North Carolina Baptist Hospital. Today, the school and the hospital together make up the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, an 830-bed tertiary-care center with a Level I Trauma Center, the Brenner Children’s Hospital, the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging, and the Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Center.

This stimulating environment provides an ideal situation for the study of medicine, anchored by what we believe is the best medical curriculum available anywhere. Our curriculum has earned national accolades as a model for medical education reform. This problem-based program makes excellent use of personalized, small-group learning, while emphasizing high-technology resources that have placed us among America’s “most-wired” campuses.

Our medical school carefully selects applicants who demonstrate the intellectual ability, personal attributes, and motivation to be successful—in medical school, in postgraduate training, and throughout their professional careers. We also recognize and appreciate a genuine desire on the part of our students to improve the lives of others by preventing, treating, and when possible, curing disease. Our students enjoy an atmosphere of camaraderie and collegiality with each other and with our highly qualified faculty and administrators, who provide a superb education as well as personal support. Beyond the academic experiences offered at our medical school, we encourage the development of our students as caring physicians dedicated to providing the very best care, professionally and personally, to all patients.

I invite you to explore our web site and contact us if you would like to have additional information. We think you will agree with us that Wake Forest University School of Medicine is a great place to pursue an education in medicine. Choosing Wake Forest just might be the best decision you will ever make.

William B. Applegate, M.D., M.P.H.