UF College of Medicine launches new educational program in Jacksonville
A cohort of medical students will spend their third and fourth years in Jacksonville beginning May 2026
UF medical students interested in joining the first cohort of the UF College of Medicine regional medical campus in Jacksonville participated in a tour of the campus in August.
Photo by Nelson Keefer
Oct. 9, 2025 — As the University of Florida’s vision for a downtown Jacksonville campus is being realized, a new program will allow medical students to live and learn full-time in the city — the first UF initiative of its kind on the First Coast.
Starting in May 2026, UF College of Medicine medical students will have the opportunity to elect to spend their entire third and fourth years of clinical training at the long-established College of Medicine campus in Jacksonville. The expansion of the regional campus program will help students — starting with an inaugural cohort of eight — establish themselves professionally in the city of Jacksonville. The College of Medicine sees this as a key pipeline program for medical professionals who want to practice in the River City, where the health care industry and the economy are growing rapidly.
“Establishing a regional medical campus — an effort that was championed by Jacksonville faculty and came about thanks to strong cross-campus collaboration — will enhance academic support, create a more integrated educational experience and better enable our clinical programs to support our health system,” said Jennifer Hunt, M.D., M.Ed., interim Dean of the College of Medicine and the Folke H. Peterson Dean’s Distinguished Professor. “For the college and university community, it will provide greater opportunities for interprofessional education, resource sharing and growth while enabling our students to capitalize on the strengths of each campus.”
Expanding UF’s presence in Jacksonville
This summer, after years of collaborative discussions, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education — the UF College of Medicine’s accrediting body — granted the college approval to progress with the regional medical campus designation. And it came at an opportune time.
A rapidly growing city, Jacksonville recently passed a population milestone. With more than 1 million residents, it is among the nation’s top 15 fastest-growing metropolitan areas. The university’s plans in the region include offering graduate-level academic programs aligned with the city’s workforce needs in fields such as business, health science, engineering, law and architecture.
For decades, the UF College of Medicine campus in Jacksonville has served as a major clinical site for medical education, with UF medical students in their third and fourth years of training spending 20 to 25% of their clinical time in Jacksonville. Students who opt into being part of the new regional medical campus cohort will benefit from immersing themselves in living and learning in a busy urban center long term. They will have access to mentorship, research and other opportunities with Jacksonville-based UF faculty, beginning at the time of matriculation into medical school.
“Our College of Medicine campus in Jacksonville has a proud history of advancing patient care, education and research in Northeast Florida,” said Dean Linda Edwards, M.D., who has worked at the College of Medicine campus in Jacksonville for four decades. “Establishing a regional medical campus here builds on that rich legacy and opens even greater opportunities for our students, faculty and community. What excites me most is how this moment brings Gainesville and Jacksonville closer together — uniting our strengths, aligning our goals and ensuring our college moves forward as one.”
Bringing new talent to the city
Giving students the opportunity to live and work in Jacksonville for two years will allow them to build roots in a new community, said Shelley Collins, M.D., a professor and associate chair of pediatrics on the Gainesville campus and the senior associate dean for educational affairs at the College of Medicine.
“Providing an opportunity for our students to spend the full complement of their clinical years in Jacksonville allows students to become immersed in the care of the breadth of patients who come to an urban academic health center,” she said. “Living and working in the community also encourages them to feel even more connected to their patients than they already do when they rotate there for various clinical clerkships.”
Frank Genuardi, M.D., M.P.H., the senior associate dean for educational affairs at the UF College of Medicine campus in Jacksonville, echoed these sentiments, calling attention to the various clinical opportunities students can access on campus and in the city.
“Completing two years of clinical rotations in Jacksonville gives our students a remarkable range of opportunities to grow as future physicians,” Genuardi said. “Whether it’s taking a boots-on-the-ground approach through our street psychiatry program, building long-term patient relationships in a weekly continuity clinic or engaging in the many other unique, hands-on training experiences available here, our students not only build their clinical skills but also develop a deep sense of service and connection to the community.”
All UF medical students will continue to spend time on the Jacksonville campus during their training, and students in the regional medical campus cohort will also be able to choose to do a clinical rotation on the Gainesville campus.
In addition to the College of Medicine beginning to recruit future students to join the regional campus through the college’s admissions process, more than 40 first- and second-year UF medical students interested in joining the regional medical campus cohort toured the Jacksonville campus in August to meet with leaders, staff and alumni practicing in the area.
“The campus’ commitment to serving the community really shines through, especially in programs like the food pharmacy, cooking classes and providing community spaces for patients to use,” said Gissel Garcia, a second-year medical student who attended the tour. “These initiatives reflect a holistic approach to medicine that extends far beyond the clinic. For prospective students, it signals that the college values diverse training experiences and offers multiple pathways to grow as a future physician. Given that this is a new program, there is the opportunity to really pave your own way and begin initiatives that not only shape your own trajectory but also leave a lasting impact on future students.”
Photos by Nelson Keefer
