Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

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The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), established by the United States Congress in 1972 and graduating its first class in 1980, is a center for military medical education and research. It is the United States' only fully accredited federal school of medicine (SOM) and graduate school of nursing. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the country at home and abroad in the medical corps.

With an enrollment of approximately 167 students per class, the SOM is located at 39°00′06″N, 77°05′10″W in Bethesda, Maryland on the campus of the National Naval Medical Center and is located across Maryland Route 355 from the National Institutes of Health. The SOM is named in honor of former Congressman Felix Edward Hébert.

Typically, the SOM first year class is composed of 63 Army students, 51 Air Force students, 51 Navy students, and 2 Public Health Service students. Students attending this institution receive free tuition, as well as reimbursement for all fees. Textbooks are issued to the students at the beginning of each semester.

USU students are considered active duty military personnel during their schooling and receive pay befiting the rank of O-1 (2nd Lieutenant for the Army and Air Force, Ensign for the Navy and Public Health Service). Upon graduation, these students are promoted to O-3 (Captain for the Army and Air Force, Lieutenant for the Navy and Public Health Service) and are expected to serve at least 7 years active duty and 6 years on inactive ready reserve. Students graduating from USU receive four years credit toward retirement, which is obtained after he or she reaches twenty years of service credit.

Approximately 80% of military physicians reaching 20 or more years of service are graduates of USUHS. Also, a majority of medical corps leadership positions are occupied by graduates of USU.

The university currently has two mottos: "Learning to Care For Those In Harm's Way" and "Providing Good Medicine In Bad Places."