Upstate Medical University

Public · NY

Photo: Kiran891 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationNY · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads159

Student:faculty8:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate—

6-yr grad rate—

Drop-out rate—

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition—

Out-of-state tuition—

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity31.5%

Gender diversity76.1%

International1.3%

Identity—

Overview

SUNY Upstate Medical University, in Syracuse, is New York's academic medical center for central New York — primarily a medical, graduate, and professional school built around its teaching hospital. Undergraduate study exists but is narrow, limited to clinical fields such as nursing, radiation therapy, and medical technology, typically structured as upper-division completion for students who transfer in after starting coursework elsewhere.

Academics

Because the institution is organized around the medical center, undergraduate programs are taught by faculty embedded in active clinical practice, with hands-on hospital rotations built into the curriculum from early on rather than reserved for a capstone year.

Campus & student life

Upstate functions more like an academic medical center than a traditional college campus — students in its undergraduate health programs tend to be older on average and often already working in healthcare, with campus life centered on hospital and clinical spaces rather than a typical undergraduate quad or dorm scene.

Getting in

Entry into the undergraduate clinical programs is competitive within each specific field, with prior coursework in the sciences and often a transfer record given more weight than a traditional high-school-to-college application narrative.

After graduation

Graduates move directly into central New York's hospital and healthcare workforce, often into the Upstate University Hospital system itself, giving the undergraduate programs a clear, direct pipeline into clinical employment.

Worth knowing

Students should understand this is not a conventional four-year college experience — it functions as a specialized health-sciences and medical institution, best suited to students already set on a specific clinical career rather than those wanting to explore broadly before choosing a major.

upstate.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate—

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot reported

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Applying